Arts & Entertainment > Literary

Advantages: Better than Q!
Disadvantages: Not as good as Uncut!

...very interesting experience! The Mojo "Filter" is next. Yep, that’s right, their review section. Mojo, like Uncut, doesn’t differentiate between classic and contemporary recordings (although there is a separate re-issues section). The 22 pages dedicated to albums cover about 54 releases, with an average word-count of 150; this is the most generous of the three magazines, but consequently the most restrictive in number of albums reviewed. ...
...to call wallet-worrying reviews. Mojo has the lowest percentage of ads, thankfully most of them music-related. I have to be fair and rate this magazine higher than Q, which was not my original intention. I can’t ignore the fact that it is better written and more in-depth. I won’t mark it down just because it often features musicians I have never heard of. I have to say, though, that I would probably still buy Q ahead of it, if it focused ... Read review

Advantages: Ideas and competitions for aspiring writers
Disadvantages: New editions are slow to get on the shelves

I read a previous review on this by a man who obviously only sees financial gain as the benefit from writing. As a regular reader of Writers' Forum I find the articles and advice it offers extremely helpful and encourages me to 'look outside the box'. Most writing competitions charge a fee for entering - some more than others and, yes, perhaps I was lucky as I only sent them one story which is to be published in July's edition. So for me there was ... Read review

Advantages: Good articles, tips, market news, author interviews etc
Disadvantages: None, unless you're not interested in writing

Writing Magazine is published bi-monthly, and can be found in most good newsagents, classified as 'special interests', or possibly 'arts', at a cost of £3. I started reading this magazine because I did a bit of freelance writing for magazines, and because I'm always interested in reading current articles about writing. I used to buy the occasional issue, then eventually decided to subscribe, which would allow me to receive their sister magazine, ...
...in each magazine: the Writing Magazine competition is open to anyone, and requires a small entry fee, but the Writers' News magazine competitions are free, and for subscribers only. There are poetry competitions as well, a few times a year. * Current issue * I recently received the August/September 2003 issue of Writing Magazine. I was delighted to see that it contains a 'Star Interview' with Susan Howatch, one of my favourite modern writers. She ... Read review

Advantages: The odd interesting article, ideas for markets.
Disadvantages: Commercial soulless tat.

...is supposedly trying to help writers get paid for their work, the self-publishing/print on demand industry gets some kind of glowing article. Usually it's some ageing clergyman saying: 'Faber rejected my book about railway stations in Suffolk, but then these nice people took £3,000 of my life savings to turn it into a paperback and now I'm really happy.' Writer's Forum is a magazine that has lost any shred of dignity it may once have had. It gets ...
...sprung up to charge second-rate writers vast sums of money to make their manuscripts into books that aren't worth reading. Some of these companies do provide quality services, don't get me wrong. Pen Press enjoys an excellent reputation, and people like Parchment and RPM are just printers looking for a nice little sideline, with no pretensions to being publishers. But so many come in with a line that goes like this: 'Publishers will never read ... Read review

Advantages: Inspires, encourages, has a variety of features
Disadvantages: Not quite up to the standard of its rival

...this magazine is aimed at writers – but specifically what kind? A glimpse at the contents page reveals helpfully that it is, “For writers of short stories, magazine features, novels, plays, film scripts and poetry.” That would seem to include the majority of writers, and as a wannabe feature writer certainly includes me. On the website, which I also investigated, WF cites itself as a “major resource for writers from beginners ...
...Budding journalists, poets and fiction writers are interviewed and in the current December issue there is an article about 16-year-old triplets who have designed a website to encourage other young writers. I am always fascinated to hear how successful authors started their writing careers and how they maintain their success and work rate. WF publishes interviews with a variety of writers and recently has featured Patricia Scanlan and Carmen Posadas. ... Read review