Write On! Issue 28 OUT TODAY

Write On! 28, is out today. Sponsored by Hay Festival this issue explores explores the theme of ‘Choices’:
the decisions that shape a creative life. Some are deliberate and visible; others are made almost unconsciously, through habit, circumstance, or instinct. As writers, we are constantly choosing: what to pursue, what to set aside, when to persist, and when to let something change. Not every choice is dramatic, but each one leaves a trace.

With that in mind, in our cover interview the amazing Dr Alison Weir is in conversation with Niema Bohrayba, discussing history, context and choices that shape us. Here she is talking about how she chooses what to write:
“I’m always trying to bring history to life by giving it context; making it vivid within its own moral and social framework…. Making history readable doesn’t mean making it inaccurate.”

On our sponsor page, Hay headliner and author of Art Cure, Professor Daisy Fancourt, in conversation with Lucy Kaufman, sharing perspectives about why the arts are so important in our fast-paced modern lives.

Issue 29, themed ‘Borrowed’ with headliner, bestselling travel writer, Tharik Hussain, is sponsored by London Writers Salon and will be out 22 June 2026.

This theme will also inform content for the digital Write On! Extra (accessible through this website) and Write On! Audio. (This podcast can be accessed 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.

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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, Warwickshire, Sunderland and Essex. University distribution points include Christ Church Canterbury, 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 of our publications, which include 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 380k+ users from 198 countries to respond to the ideals of engagement transparency, connection and inclusion.

A Call To Action:

1. 1. For up-to-date editorial information, including how to submit to the Write On! suite of publications, including audio, see:  Editor’s Introduction.
   2. Partnerships: Write On! has already facilitated partnerships and co-operation with The Hay Festival, The RNA (Romantic Novelists’ Association), All Stories, Bloomsbury, Penguin, the Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation, Write Back UK, the Curtis Brown Agency, The Margate Bookie, Libraro, The University Of Sunderland, Christ Church University Canterbury, the Alternative Stories and Fake Realities Podcast, LoveReading, The Turner Contemporary, Libraries Unlimited (Devon), Dudley Libraries, Nottinghamshire Libraries, The London Library and Becontree Broadcasting Station, with many others 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 Write On! Together magazine, with demographics, testimonials and lots of information.