Julia Bell

An expert insight into the transformative power of storytelling, together with practical advice on how to make your writing come alive.

An expert insight into the transformative power of storytelling, together with practical advice on how to make your writing come alive.

Late in the 1960s, before Bell was born, her father and mother visited Aberaeron, a small fishing town on the west coast of Wales. Here, her father heard a voice - which he knew to be God - directing him to minister to the Welsh. Six months after she was born in the early 1970s, they moved to Aberaeron where he took up his first curateship. Over the next eighteen years they would move to various parishes within a forty mile radius: first to Llangeler a predominantly Welsh-speaking parish in the Teifi valley, then back to Aberaeron where Bell's father became vicar, and then to a larger and more Evangelical church in Aberystwyth. This unique memoir in verse offers a series of snapshots about religion and sexuality. In verse because it's how Bell remembers: snapshots in words strung along a line, which somehow constitute a life. Snapshots of another time from now, but from a time which tells us about how Bell got here. Not the whole story, but her story. Of an English family on a mission from God, of signs and wonders in the Welsh countryside, of difference, and of faith and its loss.

This collection brings thirty authors in from the margins to occupy centre-page. Queer storytellers. Working class wordsmiths. Chroniclers of colour. Writers whose life experiences give unique perspectives on universal challenges, whose voices must be heard. And read. Emerging writers chosen from open-submission are placed alongside established authors— Aisha Phoenix, Alex Hopkins, Bidisha, Chris Simpson, DJ Connell, Elizabeth Baines, Gaylene Gould, Giselle Leeb, Golnoosh Nour, Hedy Hume, Iqbal Hussain, Jonathan Kemp, Julia Bell, Juliet Jacques, Justin David, Kathy Hoyle, Keith Jarrett, Kerry Hudson, Kit de Waal, Lisa Goldman, Lui Sit, Nathan Evans, Neil Bartlett, Neil Lawrence, Neil McKenna, Ollie Charles, Padrika Tarrant, Paul McVeigh, Philip Ridley, Polis Loizou.

The ultimate comprehensive guide to mastering the craft of creative writing, featuring insights from acclaimed authors Ali Smith and Kit de Waal. Edited by experienced writers and teachers Julia Bell and Paul Magrs, The Creative Writing Coursebook is an indispensable tool for aspiring writers at all levels. This fully updated edition guides you through three essential stages of practice: Gathering ideas and inspiration, Shaping your work with effective structure and compelling characters, and Finishing with expert critique and advice on publication. Enriched with exercises, activities, and contributions from 44 authors including Ali Smith, Kit de Waal and Amy Liptrot, The Creative Writing Coursebook is the perfect companion for beginners finding their voice or experienced writers refining their skills. Whether your goal is professional publication, writing groups, or personal enjoyment, this comprehensive guide offers invaluable insights and inspiration to help you craft your best work and navigate the path to success.

Fiction on the Web is the internet's longest-running short stories website. Since 1996, it has published over a thousand stories - and these are fifty-four of the very best. Features stories by Rob Boffard, Rotimi Babatunde, Hanja Kochansky, Fred Skolnik, Anne Goodwin and 49 other authors. Edited by Charlie Fish, and with a foreword by author and educator Julia Bell. All proceeds from this book are donated to the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust."54 irresistible short stories. Buy 'em without a blink." - Richard E. Grantwww.fictionontheweb.co.uk

'Ten minutes to midnight!' Jonathan shouts over the sound of the blazing fire. Sparks rise into the sky and mingle with the stars. 'Only ten minutes!' Bevins says, falling down on his knees. 'So it begins.' Rebekah has lived on the island her whole life, and it's only now that she's starting to wonder what she might experience outside her strict religious community. Alex has been sent to the island to escape her dark past, and through her eyes it's a dark and sinister place. Thrown together by chance, Rebekah and Alex strike up an unlikely friendship and it's together that they attempt to break free of their worlds and make a world of their own. But when a kiss between the girls is witnessed by an islander there is no escape they can make - the Rapture is coming for them all.

"I'm fat," I hear myself saying. I look in the mirror. My face has gone hot and red; I feel like I'm going to explode. "I'm fat." It sizzles under my skin, puffing me up, pushing me out, making me massive. Weight has always been a big issue in Carmen's life. How could it not? Her mom is obsessed with the idea that thin equals beautiful, thin equals successful, thin equals the way to get what you want. Carmen knows that as far as her mom is concerned, there is only one option: be thin. When her mother sweeps her off to live in the city, Carmen finds that her old world is disappearing. As her life spirals out of control Carmen begins to take charge of the only thing she can -- what she eats. If she were thin, very thin, could it all be different?