Pen to Print

Pen to Print ACE-funded creative writing organisation • Supporting & platforming writers of all backgrounds

The Reading Agency - Teachers' Reading ChallengeAn exciting opportunity for school and library staff to expand, update a...
08/09/2026

The Reading Agency - Teachers' Reading Challenge

An exciting opportunity for school and library staff to expand, update and diversify their knowledge of contemporary children's books.

How it works:
Sign in and choose a book
Read and review
Earn a badge
Join the mailing list

Find out more: https://www.teachersreadingchallenge.org.uk/

**September is ReadFest 2026 - Barking & Dagenham's Literary Festival**Book Recommendation - Writers' & Artists' Yearboo...
08/09/2026

**September is ReadFest 2026 - Barking & Dagenham's Literary Festival**

Book Recommendation - Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2027

This bestselling Writers' & Artists' Yearbook contains a wealth of information on all aspects of writing and becoming a published author, plus a comprehensive directory of media contacts.

Packed with practical tips, it includes expert advice from renowned authors and industry insiders on:
- submitting to agents and publishers
- writing non-fiction and fiction across different genres and formats
- poetry, plays, broadcast media and illustration
- marketing and self-publishing
- legal and financial information
- writing prizes and festivals.

Revised and updated annually, the Yearbook includes thousands of industry contacts and over 80 articles from writers of all forms and genres, including award-winning novelists, poets and playwrights, scriptwriters for TV, radio and videogames.

If you want to find a literary or illustration agent or publisher, would like to self-publish or to crowdfund your creative idea then this Yearbook will help you.

🎧 New episode alert 🎧 This week on Write On! Audio, you can enjoy:➡️ Listener Contribution from writer, poet and publis...
08/09/2026

🎧 New episode alert 🎧

This week on Write On! Audio, you can enjoy:➡️ Listener Contribution from writer, poet and publisher Peter Roe with his long poem ‘A Field Guide to Wonder.’

Peter is a member of the Jawbone Collective, a group of writers working in Dorset and you can find out more about the collective and their work and events by following this link https://www.jawbonecollective.org.uk/

Listen to this episode here: https://pod.link/1434232412

Or on your favourite podcast streaming platform

**September is ReadFest 2026 - Barking & Dagenham's Literary Festival**Book Recommendation - She Wants Revenge by Yana Y...
07/09/2026

**September is ReadFest 2026 - Barking & Dagenham's Literary Festival**

Book Recommendation - She Wants Revenge by Yana Yanovich

Eden thought being dumped was the worst thing that could happen to her. Then she met Sofia.

When her ex shares intimate photos of her around school, Eden channels her fury into a curse, with the help of the magnetic new girl who's just walked into her life. Sofia knows exactly how to make bad boys pay, and together the two of them start targeting the boys who deserve it. But what begins as heated revenge quickly burns into something more.

There's a darker side to Sofia's petty curses and passionate embraces, one Eden isn't ready for. And when curses turn to consequences and murder is suddenly on the table, Eden will have to decide: resist the girl who's rewritten her whole world, or lose herself completely to uncover the hidden family magic that might be the only thing that can stop her.

The Emerging Author Dagger is officially open for submissions!This international competition for unpublished writers inv...
07/09/2026

The Emerging Author Dagger is officially open for submissions!

This international competition for unpublished writers invites the opening of a crime novel of up to 3,000 words and a synopsis of up to 1,500 words, and is open until 6pm on 29th January 2027.

The winner receives £500, and every shortlisted entry is sent to agents and publishers who are actively interested in discovering new crime writing talent.

Head to thecwa.co.uk/EA for all the info, including key dates, FAQs and T&Cs.

07/09/2026

Every Tuesday we will be sharing a poem from one of our wonderful Pen to Print and Write On! contributors. We hope you enjoy!

**

If I Should Meet An Alien by Eithne Cullen

If I should meet an alien
from distant outer space,
he’d have skin as fair as candy floss
and a smile on every face.

And I'd take him to my Nan's house,
I'm sure he'd like it there
he'd like her milky tea and scones,
and her big recliner chair.

We'd have a game of football,
he'd do tackles and nutmegs,
he'd be running rings around me,
as in fact, he has three legs.

He'd be joining Zumba classes
with my auntie and my mum
his four arms would swing wildly,
till he fell flat on his bum!

And at school he'd sit beside me,
and science would be a breeze,
some things would be new to him
but he'd remember them with ease.

And at home he'd be amazing
I’d be sure to let him win,
and he'd ruin the new sofa
with his scaly, leathery skin.

Then he'd climb into his space ship,
time to be off on his way,
I'd be sad to see him leaving,
hope he'd come again someday.

© Eithne Cullen, 2017

**Congratulations!**We are thrilled to announce the release of debut novel Elderwood by R.E. McAuliffe, local author and...
07/09/2026

**Congratulations!**

We are thrilled to announce the release of debut novel Elderwood by R.E. McAuliffe, local author and Pen to Print Alumni.

The Blurb:
Ireland, 1995. To her annoyance, 15-year-old Aoifeis whisked away by her mother Maggieto spend the summer in Elderwood, a remote manor owned by the Anglo-Irish Stafford family. Worse still, Maggie reveals that she has separated from Aoife's father. Aoife's only consolation is her budding friendship with Niamh, the housekeeper's wayward granddaughter. Niamh leads Aoife into a maze of thrills, drugs, secrets and betrayals - and at its heart lies the curse of Elderwood. Pitting themselves against adult authority, the girls lose control of the evil they unleash...

Twenty-five years later, Maggie's death brings Aoife back to the Staffords. As she finds herself lured into a world she thought she'd left behind, she's forced to face the question she's spent her life avoiding: just what is the curse of Elderwood, and can she break it?

We thought you might be interested in the upcoming American Writers' Week with the British Library.When: 28 Sept - 2 Oct...
07/09/2026

We thought you might be interested in the upcoming American Writers' Week with the British Library.

When: 28 Sept - 2 Oct
Where: British Library & Online
Book Tickets: https://events.bl.uk/events/american-writers-week

Book now for the British Library's American Writers’ Week (28 September – 2 October), presented in association with Festival America, Vincennes, France.

Participating writers include Alison Bechdel, Armistead Maupin, Daniel Kraus, Jeanine Cummins, Joyce Carol Oates, Katie Kitamura, Rabih Alameddine and Viet Thanh Nguyen.

To find out more about each session and the speakers, or to book tickets, please visit its event page.

Each event for American Writer's Week is individually priced, or book two or more in person events to get 25% off. The discount will be automatically applied to your basket when you add multiple events.

In association with The Eccles Institute for the Americas and Oceania.

07/09/2026

Seagull Media House are looking for writers from Barking and Dagenham to pitch original concepts for the opportunity to be produced and performed in East London!

Applications Close on September 14th 2026!

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Get the chance to have your story produced on stage in East London.

Produced, managed and performed by local artist, your story will be fully realised with staging, lighting and sound!

This is a multi-phased process:

Phase 1: Online Application via Email

*How To Apply:

You must send an email to [email protected] containing:

- Your name
- Concept title
- Themes & Tones
- Estimated Run Time
- A short synopsis of the piece
- Writer Bio

Feel free to attach any media regarding the concept such as poster designs, scripts, inspiration etc.

Phase 2: Pitching

If you successfully make it through phase 1, a virtual meeting will be organised for you to pitch your concept in real time to our team, consisting of board members and producers.

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Once you’ve successfully made it through both phases, your concept will of officially be chosen and preparations for production will begin!

*T&C’s:

- This is an unpaid, voluntary opportunity
- Applicants must be residents of Barking and Dagenham
- Applicants must be age 16+
- Concepts submitted can be a minimum of 50 minutes and a maximum of 90. (Anything outside these parameters will not be accepted)
- Cast sizes of over 5 will not be accepted
- Must be family friendly or maximum 13+

Monday Moments: Summer NostalgiaRead the page online: http://bit.ly/2PaUPNJ Page Editor Amber Hall says "Welcome back re...
07/09/2026

Monday Moments: Summer Nostalgia
Read the page online: http://bit.ly/2PaUPNJ

Page Editor Amber Hall says "Welcome back readers! This month, our theme continues to be ‘Nostalgia’. As autumn approaches, I wanted to explore the feeling of nostalgia we have for summertime and reflect on summer’s end.

This time of the year is, at least in my mind, forever linked to school holidays. Those six weeks off in childhood felt endless, free, and full of possibility. I still remember that horrible sense of things finishing when September came around. Even now, August bookends my year. September always feels like the beginning of a new chapter, even though my day-to-day life in adulthood looks the same as the seasons change.

There’s something about summer and childhood, and the sense of saying goodbye to these things, that is inherently linked. In my last Monday Moments page, I looked at places of nostalgia, and it struck me that so many of these were connected to childhood. It makes sense, of course, because the memories of our youth are so potent. Those early experiences are the things that shape us.

The pieces I’ve chosen for my page this month are again steeped in childhood. This time, though, each is tinged with memories of hazy, lazy summer days."

Monday Moments features the following submissions:
Building Sandcastles by Lesly Anne Armour
August Birthday by Lena Smith
Patches by Amber Hall

Read Write On! http://pentoprint.org/product/see-write-on-issue-29-here/

Listen to Write On! Audio http://bit.ly/3o2QFsm

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