My big writing news this month is that my short story “Men Online in the Local Area” has been published in Showtime 2022. It is about Harry, a young man living in East London, who is finding building a new life in his new home difficult. Superficially, it is about the ups and downs of using dating apps, but its real subject is about how a big, busy city can be a very lonely and difficult place to form new friendships in.

This anthology, Showtime 2022, is special to me because I am one of the editors of it.

I am a member of Newham Writers Workshop and my writing has really benefitted from it. Having honest feedback has shown me what works, in my writing, and what needs improvement. It has also helped me learn so much about writing techniques and what makes good writing. My short story, “Men Online in the Local Area”, really benefitted from this feedback. Members showed me what worked, what could enhance it, and what distracted from it. They helped me rewrite the opening of it and to work towards the ending. I won’t post the original version here because I am much happier with the finished version in Showtime 2022, it is the far better story.

Each year we, Newham Writers Workshop, produce an anthology of members’ work, called Showtime. For the past two editions (the pandemic prevented us publishing one in 2021) I’ve been one of the editors of it. My main role has been sorting out its formatting, not always easy, and getting it published on Amazon.

Showtime 2022 is a grab-bag of different types of writing. There is poetry, short stories, essays, a book synopsis and even the results of a writing exercise. They also cover a wide variety of subjects, just as varied as the different people who make up the membership of Newham Writers Workshop.

Whether read on the go or sitting back in a comfortable chair, this book is a treasure chest of different and inspiring writing, a chance to find a writer you have not heard of.

Happy reading

Drew

P.S. Find past editions of Showtime here