For the twenty-fourth T&T on Thursday 2nd July, Damiano Polcaro, Jacqueline Lambert talked about book covers with Morgen hosting. Click on the ‘play’ button below to see the whole recording (just under an hour)…
T&T #22 ~ Advice for Wannabe Writers
Join Morgen and historical novelist and short story author Ali Bacon as they discuss what they’ve learned over the 2+ decades and provide tips for not only anyone looking to write but those who already do but would like to learn more. Ali mentions Emma Darwin’s Substack: https://www.emmadarwin.com/this-itch-of-writing.
Tonight was all about podcasts and there’s a new page!
As part of the T&T Panels on 16th June 2026 Sarah ‘SJ’ Banham and Morgen talked about podcasts. The recording is here.
Morgen used to host ‘Bailey’s Writing & Editing Tips’ (see first picture) but that’s on hold at the moment. She does currently host the ‘300-Words A Day’ daily writing prompt podcast, available currently on Spotify but will hopefully be elsewhere in the not-too-distant future, starting with Substack, inspired by Sarah’s recent move there.
Because of today’s session, Morgen’s created a new page within the Information area of this site: Podcasts.
Results of the inaugural Self-Pub Fest 300-word Competition – April/May 2026
Hello everyone. I’m delighted to announce the results of the inaugural 300-word competition on the theme of ‘The Opening’. There were 14 entries from 12 writers providing a pot of £36.85 after PayPal fees.
Half of that (£18.43) goes to the Self-Pub Fest charities (see https://self-pub-fest.co.uk/charities), leaving £18.42 for the prize pot.
However, a new (anonymous) fan of short stories has promised to top up the prize portion of the pot whenever it falls below £30 so each two-month round ~ including April/May! ~ will have the following split: Winner £15 ~ Second £10 ~ Third £5.
Obviously if there are more entries than a £60 total then the entire pot will be split 50:50 as originally promised but with this guarantee it’ll hopefully mean more entries as time goes on. Please do share the main https://self-pub-fest.co.uk/300-words-a-day/competitionlink on your social media profiles/pages. Thank you!
As with most competition judging I go through each story once, slotting them where I think they may go. I often rejig when going through them in order from the ‘winner’ down to ‘highly commended’ and beyond (where there are more entries than places).
This is a writing competition so, in theory, the more polished stories fair better, wherever there’s a theme I do take this into account. Where I might place two stories equally the one closer to the theme usually has the edge. It’s also how I react to a story. If I go “wow” then the chances are that story will come in the top three, not always but often.
So the results are… <drum roll>
Andrea, David and Morgen chat about the publishing industry
#16 Monday 8th June Andrea D Woolhead, David Wake and Morgen chatted about various aspects of the publishing industry. Click on the play button below to watch the recording…
Join David Wake and Morgen as they talk about publishing
On Tuesday 2nd June, the nineteenth T&T, was on the topic of publishing routes: get an agent, publisher, self-publish or a mix? ~ with David Wake with Morgen hosting.
The latest Monday Mini-Fest was on marketing!
On Monday 1st June 2026, the panel below, with Morgen hosting, talked about various aspects of marketing for authors. The recording is below.
- Crime novelist and marketing manager Damiano Polcaro
- Thriller and romantasy novelist Jack Chandler
- Marketing Strategist and The Author Bridge founder Sarah Kirwan
These are free events but we’re raising money for local book-related charities and we’d be really grateful if you would donate whatever you afford via the Charities & Donate page. Thank you so much.
T&T#18 – Scriptwriting
On Thursday 28th May at 6pm the panel below talked about: scriptwriting. Do you write scripts? Do you read them? What advice would you give to wannabe scriptwriters? We mentioned JK Rowling ‘Fantastic Beasts’ script in book form…
- Science-fiction, fantasy, cosy mystery, thriller and comedy author David Wake
- Crime/women’s novelist and non-fiction author and Self-Pub Fest founder Morgen with an ‘E’ (host)
The recording from this session is below.
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If you’d like to take part in any of these sessions, do take a look at the other topics on The T&T Panels page, and there’s also the weekly Monday Mini-fests.
New to Self-Pub Fest? See the Participate page outlines the process of getting involved.
These are free events but we’re raising money for book charities local to the Aylesbury (Buckinghamshire, England) area and we’d be really grateful if you would donate whatever you afford via the Charities & Donate page. Thank you so much.
We talk about poetry in the latest T&T
Yes, on Tuesday 26th May the panel below talked about: poetry in all its forms. Do you write poetry? Do you read it? Which form(at) do you prefer? To form or free verse? What’s the difference? How do read poetry aloud? Do you write to a rhyming form or meter?
- Historical fantasy novelist and short story author BB Elsin
- Crime/women’s novelist and non-fiction author and Self-Pub Fest founder Morgen with an ‘E’ (host)
The recording from this session is below.
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If you’d like to take part in any of these sessions, do take a look at the other topics on The T&T Panels page, and there’s also the weekly Monday Mini-fests.
New to Self-Pub Fest? The Participate page outlines the process of getting involved.
These are free events but we’re raising money for book charities local to the Aylesbury (Buckinghamshire, England) area and we’d be really grateful if you would donate whatever you afford via the Charities & Donate page. Thank you so much.
The latest Monday Midday Mini-fest
On Monday 25th May 2026, the panel below, all members of New Street Authors, talked about writing groups (the recording is below)…
- Crime novelist AA Abbott
- Children’s author John Moore
- Science-fiction, fantasy, cosy mystery, thriller and comedy author (and NSA chair!) David Wake
- Crime/women’s novelist, non-fiction/short story author, and Self-Pub Fest founder Morgen Bailey
- Crime and thriller novelist, publisher and writing coach Ryan Stark
These are free events but we’re raising money for local book-related charities and we’d be really grateful if you would donate whatever you afford via the Charities & Donate page. Thank you so much.