‘Summer Solstice, 4:53am’ by Danielle Gilmour ‘I move so slowly through the acresthat my legs are dewy.The waters of the estuary are coming –or going – I’m unsure which butwhichever they are they don’t need to ask’ Danielle Gilmour’s poem ‘Summer Solstice, 4:53am’ is about giving birth. This subject matter is explored with a beautiful… Continue reading Spring 2023 – Poetry
Author: Ned Vessey
Art Tips – Creating from Nature
In this week’s blog post, I’ll be exploring ways in which the natural world might be able to inspire you in your art. Many of you might already paint, draw or create other forms of art using the natural world and all within it as inspiration, but hopefully you might find some tips below that… Continue reading Art Tips – Creating from Nature
Winter 2023 – Non-fiction
Alone with a Book is an excellent piece of creative nonfiction which we are very proud to have published in the Winter 2023 Issue of Spellbinder. Overall, Alone with a Book is really lovely, well-written and funny, but it doesn’t stop there. In this piece, the author Stephanie Shi beautifully examined the loneliness and connection… Continue reading Winter 2023 – Non-fiction
Winter 2023 – Fiction
Like Sardines by Douglas Jern The passenger layer now reached the tops of the seat backs, and newcomers had to climb up it to get inside, and climb it they did. Nothing seemed to faze them. Before long even the luggage racks were full of people, who lay there looking bored as the train rolled… Continue reading Winter 2023 – Fiction
Winter Prompts for Re-writing Classics
Spellbinder submissions for the Spring 2023 Issue (publ. April 2023) are open until February 14th. We have shared some prompts on our social media channels during the past week to boost your creativity and imagination while submissions are open. The prompts we posted during this submission window are under the theme of “Re-writing Classics”, which… Continue reading Winter Prompts for Re-writing Classics
Writing Tips – Editing
In previous blog posts I have spent quite a lot of time looking at ways in which you can start writing. Today I thought I would do something a little different, and look at the art of what you do once you have finished writing: editing. In my own writing, I am often guilty of… Continue reading Writing Tips – Editing
Autumn 2022 – Fiction
Walking Backwards by Dino Costi In Walking Backwards, the reader is literally walked back in time by Costi. The story’s retrograde setting is one in which women are valued most as wives and child-bearers. Marriage is constantly on the minds of Sabrina, Abigail, and Caroline, not as a possibility but as a fate. But as… Continue reading Autumn 2022 – Fiction
Autumn Prompts for Re-writing Fairy/Folk Tales
Spellbinder submissions for the Winter 2023 Issue (publ. Jan 2023) are open until November 14th. We have shared some prompts on our social media channels during the past week to boost your creativity and imagination while submissions are open. The prompts we posted during this submission window are under the theme of “Re-writing fairy/folk tales”,… Continue reading Autumn Prompts for Re-writing Fairy/Folk Tales
Writing Resources – Short Stories
Sometimes, it feels as though writing short stories or flash fiction can be harder than writing a full-length novel. You may be limited to a relatively short word or page count. You might not have any idea how to come up with a storyline that will fit into the length required for a short story.… Continue reading Writing Resources – Short Stories
Summer 2022 – Fiction
The brevity of Jocelyne Lamarche’s Ghost belies its complexity. Coming in at just 210 words, the story manages to pack in vivid imagery, establish a strong sense of character and weave its way through feelings of sadness, longing and hope. It is a story to be read again and again, one of those which yields… Continue reading Summer 2022 – Fiction