It’s June, so here on the “Friend” Fiction Desk, thoughts are turning to the longest day, Wimbledon, and . . . Christmas stories!
If you have a Christmas-set story, or one with a New Year theme, now’s the time to send it in.
Why do we need Christmas stories so early?
We need time to read, consider, purchase and illustrate your story, as well as to put it into the Production process. So the more time we have, the better.
We’ll begin planning Christmas content for our weekly issues, and our Specials and Annuals, very soon. It’s a lot of work!
Let us know your story has a Christmas theme
When submitting your story, it’s helpful to us if you can mark the envelope with “Christmas Story”, so we know exactly what’s inside.
We need Christmas poems too, please
We also need Christmas-themed poems. Traditional and faith-based poems are especially welcome for our weekly magazine, and for our little Fireside Book and the always-popular Friendship Book.
Light-hearted or humorous Christmas poems are popular with readers of our Specials and our Annual, too.
We often have a double issue at Christmas time, so we need lots of poems on a Christmas theme.
Christmas Pocket Novels
Pocket novels with a Christmas-y theme have gone down well with our readers in the past. We’re looking for submissions between 39,000 and 42,000 words. Take a look here for some hints and tips on writing a “Friend” Pocket Novel.
Guidelines
Guidelines for fiction, poetry and Pocket Novel submissions can be found on our website.
Lucy Crichton Better known as “Fiction Editor Lucy”, I am always on the look-out for the very best short stories, poems and pocket novels. As well as sourcing enjoyable content, I enjoy working with our established contributors, encouraging new talent, and celebrating 155 years of “Friend” fiction!
