Our New Fiction Guidelines

By Allison Hay - January 11, 2024
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If you’ve always wanted to try your hand at fiction writing, then why not let 2024 be your year? Our new fiction guidelines highlight the opportunities available, and what you should do if you want to write for “The Friend”.

The Home of Great Reading roundelLast year “The People’s Friend” published an incredible 769 pieces of fiction!

With seven brand-new fiction stories featured in each weekly issue of “The People’s Friend”, plus fiction content for our “Specials”, Annual and bookazine, there are plenty of opportunities for writers.

Here’s a few pointers, but please read the full guidelines below before submitting any work.

Short Story Submissions

We’re looking for stories with a range of themes, tones and genres. The best way to get a feel for our stories is to read the magazine regularly. Our preferred genres include romance, mystery, cosy crime, family and stories from a young person’s point of view. We can accept word counts of 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000, 3500, and 4000 words, though we occasionally print 10,000 word long reads in our “Specials”.

Stories should reflect modern life whilst bearing in mind “The People’s Friend” heritage and values. Aim for a “feel-good” tone with engaging characters.

Your submissions must be new and exclusive – please don’t send in stories that have been published before.

Pocket Novel Submissions

We publish two pocket novels a month with a word count of 38,000. The genres covered are similar to our short story requirements, with historical or contemporary settings. If you are including seasonal themes in your story (e.g. Christmas, Easter), remember to send them in at least six months before intended publication.

Poetry Submissions

We publish poetry twice a month in “The Friend”. Aim for 12 to 16 lines, though we can be more flexible in length for poetry for our Annual.

Fiction Writing Tips

Join us for our Writing Hour on X (formerly Twitter) every Tuesday at 11am – it provides a supportive space for authors.

Our Fiction team regularly add writing tips and prompts online, so keep checking our website for the most up-to-date content. Here’s a selection to get you started.

Our New Guidelines & Submission Details

Fiction Guidelines for The People's Friend

Fiction guidelines for The People's Friend

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Allison Hay

I joined the "My Weekly" team thirteen years ago and, more recently, "The People's Friend". I love the variety of topics we cover both online and in the magazines. I manage the digital content for the brands, sharing features and information on the website, social media and in our digital newsletters.
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