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Firewords is nominated for a Stack Award!

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If you’re a fan of magazines yet haven’t heard of Stack, you should really check it out. Stack selects the best independent magazines and delivers a surprise mag to its subscribers every month. Earlier this year, the news that Stack was starting an awards scheme aimed purely at independent magazines was very exciting… and even more exciting was finding out that Firewords had been shortlisted in the ‘Best Original Fiction’ category. Yay!

Here are the awards explained by Stack founder, Steve Watson…

Independent publishers make some of the world’s most exciting and inspiring magazines, but come awards time they’re virtually invisible. The Stack Awards 2015 is our attempt to put that right; an awards scheme made specifically for independent magazines, recognising the best work done by independent publishers and their contributors between October 2014 and September 2015.

The big awards ceremony is on Monday 30th November in London, so wish us luck! To be honest, we aren’t expecting a win because the competition is so strong but just being shortlisted is a huge honour. The other five shortlisted magazines in the ‘Best Original Fiction’ (as well as those in all the other categories) are fantastic, so whichever mag picks up the award will be a worthy winner.

Long live indie mags!

Meet the Team: Mike Wolfson, Assistant Editor

Meet the Team: Mike Wolfson, Assistant Editor

In this series of blogs we meet the team who bring you Firewords. Next up is our Assistant Editor, Mike. (Interview by Dan Burgess, Editor.)

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Eek, did I say I wanted to do this interview? Ha ha - I’m one of those private individuals that hates talking about themselves. That’s partly why I hide behind the pen name M. J. Wolfson. Very few people know that the real me leads a double life and I write fiction.

M. J. Wolfson came into being circa 2008. Before 2008 I was an occasional scribbler. I’d write down ideas for stories, and sometimes I’d start writing them but I’d never finish them. Confidence was always the killer. I used to go through months where I’d supress the urge to write. Why was I thinking about writing? Me, a writer, who was I kidding? Each time I gave up I’d start to get a little bit down, a little bit grumpy, and a little bit moody. I realised that the only way to shift those blues was to write. So M. J. Wolfson was born along with a conviction to not give up and to take writing seriously.

Meet the Team: Dan Burgess, Editor

Meet the Team: Dan Burgess, Editor

In this series of blogs we meet the team who bring you Firewords, starting with our Editor-in-Chief, Dan Burgess. (Interview by Jen Scott, Associate Editor.)

Dan Burgess is a name many of you will be familiar with. Although I work with him daily, he can be a fairly reticent character (sorry, Dan). Now this is my chance to interrogate question him – bearing in mind that he’ll get his own back later when it’s my turn to be interviewed!

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Hello! I’m originally from Yorkshire but have lived all over the place. I find it hard to stay still. Currently I’m in Newcastle but will be moving to Toronto, Canada, next month. My day job is as a graphic designer, which means I solve problems visually, whether that be branding for a company, print design or even some screen based stuff. It’s a fun job that is different every single day, which is why I love it. Firewords fits in at all other times: before work in the early hours, after work and at weekends. It’s pretty all consuming but is definitely worth it.

Inspired by Frozen? Back Away From Your Computer Slowly.

Do you have a wee girl or boy at home who likes to fling their arms around wildly while singing about letting go? Did you get cabin fever over the festive period, stuck in a house with little sisters or grandchildren playing the movie on repeat?

Ok, perhaps we set ourselves up for this one when we introduced a Winter theme for Issue 4, but still, we were amazed by the number of submissions received (of all genres) that touched on the plot of Frozen. Perhaps Disney has punctuated this movie with subliminal messages encouraging its audience to go away and write, although all we noticed was a rather perturbed looking reindeer.

Let’s face it, with such an array of writers out there, it is almost impossible to come up an idea that is original in the truest sense of the word. It can be a great writing tool to use the world around us as inspiration, and often the created world will sneak in. The problem comes when the idea being coined in fact comes from a source that is both memorable and iconic. Touching-things-that-turn-to-ice is right up there with vampires-that-shimmer-in-the-sun. We can borrow and tweak within reason, but some things are off limits.

Ironically, Frozen itself took inspiration from the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Snow Queen. Could you spot the resemblances in the finished movie? Probably not. The professionals went in, pulled the plot apart and left us with something markedly different. So next time you are inspired and feel creativity fluttering in your belly like a bluebottle against a window, stop and think. What makes your piece different to others that come before it? And is this difference enough?

The Design of Firewords – Case Study #1

The Design of Firewords – Case Study #1

Sarah Dayan & The Old Garden of the Alcazar

At the heart of Firewords is our commitment to design. Once the frenzy of a submission period is over, in come our illustrators and artists to do their magic and ensure the whole publication is instantaneously attention-grabbing.

In a new feature, we are going to start looking at design more closely. This series of blogs will allow us to meet some of the creative talent we’ve worked with and find out why they made the design decisions that they (thankfully) did, and how they felt they enhanced the piece of writing they were given.

First up is Sarah Dayan, a hand-letterer from France who has so far contributed to Issue 1 and Issue 3 with her amazing lettering skills. In her own words, Sarah takes us through her decision making process as she worked on a lettering piece for the short story ‘The Old Garden of the Alcazar’, by Rachael de Moravia, which can be seen in Issue 3 (you can grab a digital copy from our store.)

Need the perfect Christmas gift quick?

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Season’s greetings everyone. If you are new to Firewords, now is your chance to catch up with our story so far. We have Christmas bundles for sale in our online store, which include all 3 editions to date (plus a hand-stamped bookmark and blank gift tag!).

Of course, we believe that Issues 1, 2 & 3 are full of such amazing writing and stunning art that everyone should own a bundle! Firewords is independently published and this involves the hard work and dedication of many talented people, all of whom give up their time to make this project a reality; so, to all you ‘Little Helpers’, we are sending you a big bundle of Christmas cheer!  

A bundle make an excellent present for someone in your life who enjoys being creative, loves being immersed in a story and appreciates a project that is not created for profit but for the sheer joy of making, collaborating and sharing. Of course, it don’t have to be bought as a gift, so don’t feel bad for treating yourself!

Thank you to everyone who has ordered a bundle so far. Our little elves are wrapping them up in festive ribbon as we speak!

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Why Your Rejection Letter Means Nothing

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At a recent book fair, we were talking to several writers about their experiences of submitting to literary journals. It was surprising to hear that they had all given up trying after receiving rejections.

We were aghast and quickly reassured them that they shouldn’t take rejections personally. We know (first hand!) that rejections are hard to take, which is why we try to give personal feedback to the submissions we receive, even though it makes our job infinitely harder (we’ll go into our reasons for giving feedback in a later blog).

Rejections are, by far, the worst part of the job for an editor (unless they happen to be some kind of sadist). All these talented writers have chosen your magazine from the hundreds available to submit to, to put themselves and their writing out there in the most vulnerable way. During the last call for submissions, Firewords received almost 500 pieces. There’s no conceivable way we can publish all the good writing, which means we have to reject over 95% of the submissions - a lot of which are of a publishable standard.

There are any number of reasons why a piece may not make the cut. A few of these are:

  • Another accepted submission is too similar in theme/style.
  • The piece unbalances the overall tone of the issue.
  • A particular member of the editorial team doesn’t connect with the piece, when others may have loved it.
  • The topic is very specialised and would not relate to a wider audience.
  • It’s not right for that particular publication.

Notice, none of the above reasons have anything to do with the standard of your writing.

Just because one magazine, or one editor, or ten editors, don’t like a piece doesn’t mean you should give up. Just because one story doesn’t make it doesn’t mean you’ve failed as a writer. Keep writing. Keep improving your craft. And most of all, never stop putting yourself out there. No one will ever enjoy your writing if it stays on your computer.

The digital edition of Firewords

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Firewords Quarterly was originally designed as a physical printed publication. We think it’s best experienced in this way; after all, there’s nothing quite like the feel of high-quality, uncoated paper! However, we understand the postage costs can make the magazine more expensive, especially for our international friends, so we’ve created this handy PDF version which can be viewed on most electronic devices (iPads, tablets, computers, phones, toasters etc.) Download it from our store and have yourself a unique literary experience!

Issue 2 – Out now

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Like the long-awaited first rays of summer sun, the ‘Summer’ themed edition of Firewords Quarterly has arrived with a bang and, if we do say so ourselves, it’s a real literary and visual treat.

Grab a copy of Issue 2 from our online shop. As usual, it’s packed full of powerful short fiction, poetry and original artwork by creatives from around the world. Issue 3 is also on the horizon, so keep your eyes peeled!