Write On! 20 is out today: In this Hay Festival sponsored issue we explore how to pick ourselves up and start again. Themed ‘Beginnings And Endings’ we look at why beginnings and endings never quite turn out as we expect and why, we should approach our creative journeys as a series of beginnings.

We lead with the seminal Kit De Waal, author of the acclaimed novel, My Name is Leon, who turns the accepted narrative on its head, telling us how she didn’t find her voice until midlife and why it’s so important that people from challenging socio-economic backgrounds are supported and how this can be achieved.

“We don’t need a physical room. Just a mental one. Time and space are very similar things…For some of us, just having a pen of our own is an achievement… We must help each other. We owe it to each other to help others succeed. There is an angle with which we look at the world, and that is you, your own individuality, your own experiences. You need to channel that into the words on the page… and stick to it.”

Other highlights include our Insight ‘Agony’ page, featuring bestselling author and self-designated ‘witch’ Elen Sentier and bad-boy-made-good, Davon And Greene. The Local Flavour page sees columnist, H.B. O’Neill, tell us about his road to publishing success with Fahrenheit Press. And a wonderful Big Debate is penned by Richard and Judy long-lister, the award-winning writer Hema Macherla, who explores translingual writing.

This printed edition continues to be inspired by work featured in the online Write On! Extra and podcast Write On! Audio.

Write On! 21, out on 26 June 2024, is themed ‘Overcoming’ and leads with disability champion, author and Sunday Times columnist Melanie Reid.

SEE ISSUE 20 HERE.

Launched in April 2019, Pen to Print’s Write On! continues to reach new readers as Barking & Dagenham’s Arts Council England Library NPO (National Portfolio Organisation) magazine. United by a desire to come together beyond boundaries of geography, culture and expectations, Write On! is created by and for writers. Write On! is available digitally and through Barking and Dagenham libraries and other libraries and centres in different parts of London, Devon, Manchester, Birmingham, Kent, Newcastle, the West Midlands and Essex. University distribution points include Christchurch, Sunderland and Goldsmiths. Increasingly, we are sharing the printed magazine with writers from across the UK who are asking for copies for their writing groups and local bookstores.

Pen to Print is part of Barking and Dagenham Libraries which means the ethos of the organisation is founded on promoting an inclusive community spirit. Due to the reach or our publications, which includes Write On! Audio and Write On! Extra in the digital sphere, we connect beyond Barking & Dagenham to create wider ripple effects. We are therefore delighted that this has encouraged 215,000 users from 198 countries to respond to the ideals of engagement transparency, connection and inclusion.

A Call to Action:

In keeping with Pen to Print’s vision that everybody should have the chance to tell their story and inspire potential in others, we welcome new writing and ideas from London, the UK and internationally. The Write On! 21 ‘Overcoming’ theme will inform content for the digital Write On! Extra (accessible will inform content for the digital Write On!  Extra (accessible through pentoprint.org) and podcast Write On! Audio (on all major podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Just type Pen to Print into your browser. Alternatively, find us via our Spotify Podcast hosting site).

1. 1. For up-to-date editorial information, including how to submit to the Write On! suite of publications, including audio, see: The Editor’s Introduction.
   2. Partnerships: Write On! has already facilitated partnerships and co-operation with Hay Festival, Writers’ and Artists’, All Stories, Bloomsbury, Penguin, the Wilbur and Niso Smith Foundation, Write Back UK, the Curtis Brown Agency, The Margate Bookie, University of Derby, Christ Church University Canterbury, The University Of Sunderland, The Romantic Novelist Association (RNA), the Alternative Stories and Fake Realities Podcast, The Turner Contemporary, Libraries Unlimited (Devon), The London Library, Becontree Broadcasting Station and the Barking and Dagenham Talking Newspaper (making Write On! available in a spoken form) many others are currently being explored. If you would like to discuss ideas, please do get in touch at: pentoprint@lbbd.gov.uk
   3. To advertise online or in the next issue please see our newly launch Write On! Together magazine, with demographics, testimonials and lots of information. We are currently running a £50 per 1/8 page offer. A Back Cover full page advert is £500 and issue sponsorship is £750. Get in touch with Pen to Print for further details.