(Bluesky/Instagram: @madeleinefwhite)
It’s May and I’ve just submitted my publisher’s edits for my new novel. When I first sent it out, convinced it was finished, it was anything but.
Luckily, my publishers saw more. What followed were long days; 12 hours at a time returning to the work line by line, rewriting chapters and POVs. There were moments of recognition as my work became stronger – and, by the time I sent my final version, it felt less like completion than arrival at a different understanding of the book and of what it had asked of me.
Writing is hard. Being honest with yourself is harder. From the moment we begin to identify as writers, we are asked to hold belief and doubt, to continue through rejection, to hear what sits beneath it, and to return to the work over and over again. This is where community matters. Not simply as encouragement, but as structure: a place where showing up becomes part of the practice. We interviewed our June issue sponsors, London Writers’ Salon, yesterday. They spoke about how we writers are a unified people because we are working around a shared intent. How powerful is this in today’s divided world!
I’m writing this on the eve of the May Day – a moment that has long marked collective action and shared purpose. In a world that can feel increasingly divided, that act of coming together, through writing, feels quietly significant. Echoing our issue theme: we are Borrowing each other’s experience, strength and hope.
With this in mind, I’m pleased to share news from across our own partner community. A new longlist from the Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation marks a decade of adventure writing, bringing together voices from across the world and across genres. The inaugural Libraro Prize Shortlist reflects a new kind of discovery, where reader engagement sits alongside editorial judgement in shaping what is seen and supported; the winner will be revealed on 13 May.
I’m proud of the work we see in Write On! (digital, audio and in print) 
and of the communities that make it possible. Together, we’re forming not only the stories we tell, but the society we become. Do check out our latest issue (28). It includes a conversation with bestseller historian Alison Weir.
As ever, it’s your work and ideas being featured: co-creation in action. So please do see our submissions guidelines here. and submit around our theme of Borrowed.
Write On! Audio, the podcast ‘For Writers Everywhere’ connects emerging and established writers to each other, the publishing industry and a wider audience in an audio celebration of diversity, originality and excellence. 
