Image by Bryan Walker (https://unsplash.com/@bryanmillarwalker)
It’s been a minute since my last post, and I’ve been really procrastinating. But I’ll be starting the MSc in Creative Writing (Fiction) program at the University of Edinburgh in the following weeks, so I’ve been preparing for that. I’m officially in Scotland, but I haven’t moved into my term time dorm yet. I’ll likely post another update then if I’m not… lazy.
On the writing front, the past few months I’ve been trying to up my submissions count (pending submissions now range anywhere between 50-70), and I’ll have some more stats below if anyone wants to look at those. They’ll probably be close estimates though, because I’m terrible with data organizing and whatnot.
I think I’m getting a lot closer to figuring out what exactly my “voice” and “style” as a writer is. I’m definitely more of a dark fantasy and horror writer, with some more literary fiction thrown into the mix. Though I’d like to think all of my work is a mix of literary and speculative.
I finished a workshop with the Humber School for Writers in July under the guidance of Naben Ruthum—who is a wonderful instructor, by the way—and finished my duties as a jury member for the British Fantasy Society Awards (Best Horror Novel) this year. It was a great experience getting to read the shortlisted novels and discuss them with my fellow jurors—keep an eye out for the award announcements forthcoming!
As far as memberships go, I’m still far from becoming an active SFWA member, but I just need one more pro sale to become an active HWA member!
I’ll also be reading my work at FantasyCon in Birmingham this year, so if you’re attending, you can catch me on Saturday the 26th during 5-6PM!
Some writing stats:
Rejections since September 2020: Total (434) | Personal (132) | Form (302) (This is a rough estimate for personal vs form, sometimes I might get it wrong)
Acceptances since September 2020: 24 (Including reprints) — Acceptance rate: ~4.4%
Withdrawn since September 2020: 60
Total submissions since September 2020: 604 (544 excluding withdrawn submissions)
Currently pending submissions: 86
*I didn’t separate my speculative from my literary work and poetry, but my success rate with speculative work is higher—though that could be because I also write more speculative fiction.
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