It was absurd – to argue with something that photosynthesized my guilt – but the absurdity thrilled me. Maybe that’s what queerness is, I thought: the pleasure of breaking form, of wanting in directions that defy taxonomy. It was absurd – to argue with something that photosynthesized my guilt – but the absurdity thrilled me.… Continue reading Soil Under My Fingernails: Queer Identity in Timothy Ngome’s Where the Petals Remember My Name
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CRAFT TOOLS: Deus Ex Cista
One of the things I love most about writing poetry is the freedom offered its author. It’s said that poets see the world differently, which is why poetry can sometimes strike those more familiar with fiction or drama as challenging, even weird. I’m not sure if I believe in an essential point-of-view shared by all… Continue reading CRAFT TOOLS: Deus Ex Cista
What We’re Reading
We the editorial staff of Spellbinder believe the writing we take in is just as important as the writing we produce. Whether focusing on texts within their own genre or taking inspiration from other parts of the literary world, many of the greatest writers we know are also great readers! Unsure what you should look… Continue reading What We’re Reading
CRAFT TOOLS: (Word) Clouds In My Coffee
In the recent film, Come See Me In The Good Light, a documentary about the life, art, and death of beloved poet Andrea Gibson, there’s a scene where Gibson talks about putting together their first book and how their publisher, exasperated, told them, “Andrea, all these poems have the same words rearranged in a… Continue reading CRAFT TOOLS: (Word) Clouds In My Coffee
Our Enemy, Ourselves: Anxiety Personified in Elizabeth Ingamells’ My Friend, the Hag
I admire my friend’s consistency and unwavering attention to my every unwanted feeling, nervous twitch, or anxiety riddled thought. While I’m huddled against my pillow, petrified of an open curtain, she is just outside my door, whispering. Featured in the Winter 2026 issue of Spellbinder Magazine, Elizabeth Ingamells’ My Friend, the Hag uses an evocative… Continue reading Our Enemy, Ourselves: Anxiety Personified in Elizabeth Ingamells’ My Friend, the Hag
Writing the Mind in Motion: Tips and Resources for Stream of Consciousness
Stream of consciousness is often described as the most intimate of literary techniques. It tries to capture the mind as it actually functions: layered, looping, distracted, luminous, contradictory. For writers it can feel liberating and disorienting at once. How do you capture the quicksilver movement of thought without losing the reader? How do you preserve… Continue reading Writing the Mind in Motion: Tips and Resources for Stream of Consciousness
Autumn 2025 – Drama
OTTO And we carry around your little bags. Always carrying around bags of things you don’t need. Bundles of yarn. Sweaters for kittens we don’t have. An old Bible you know nothing about. Bottles of paint and brushes. Crumpled receipts that are two years old. What do you need all that shit for? I once… Continue reading Autumn 2025 – Drama
Language-themed Prompts for Autumn
Spellbinder submissions for the Autumn 2025 Issue are open until August 14th! We’ll be sharing some prompts over the coming weeks to inspire your creativity during this submission period. For this autumn, we are proposing that you consider language as a subject for your writing. Whether you already speak multiple languages or hope to one… Continue reading Language-themed Prompts for Autumn
Writing Tips – Free Indirect Discourse
Our characters always seem so lively in our heads, don’t they? As writers, we’re privy to their every thought, every reaction, every heartbeat. The problem is, how can we bring that level of intimacy to a reader so that our characters are just as real to them as they are to us? One of the… Continue reading Writing Tips – Free Indirect Discourse
Writing Tips – Show, Don’t Tell
“Don’t say it was delightful; make us say delightful when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers Please will you do the job for me.” – C. S. Lewis I’m sure every writer has heard the phrase ‘show, don’t tell’ at some… Continue reading Writing Tips – Show, Don’t Tell