Milford SFF Conference

Super useful for those who are querying (and even for those of us who are not, it's always interesting to see what people are looking for. Also, I get a kick out of the niche preferences like "no horses please")

The Long Way Around to Exo by Colin Brush Aged 33 – heart brimming with trepidation, head swimming with expectation – I took the prologue and first chapter of my (uncompleted) first novel to Milford in York in 2003. This November, 2025, Di…

We too often hear about a novel that's written in a flurry of creativity, instantly lands an agent & published with barely a hint of sweat. And then there is the reality. Colin Brush recounts the saga of being published after attending Milford in 2003. milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/07/22/t...

RECOG – My First Writers’ Group, by Jacey Bedford Way back in the days of dial-up, usenet, and newsgroups on the internet, umpty twiddly years ago, I found a bunch of serious writers on the group misc.writing who taught me what manuscript format w…

Back when we had to dial up the internet & it yelled at us, finding a writing group was a bit more difficult. @jaceybedford.bsky.social shares her experience of finding a group for critique, support, and celebration! And you can, too; they're out there! milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/07/15/r...

Happy Valentine's Day from the book loving Milford Mandrake to all of you book lovers out there! Spend some time today reading with your sweetheart or on your own (because nobody likes to be interrupted when they're reading)!

So what *is* spec fic, really? Tune in for more of @vallescurarule.bsky.social & my interview with @danielwillcocks.bsky.social at The Writer's Chair podcast where we talk all things SFF/F on the cusp of SPEC FIC FOR NEWBIES 3 coming out from @lunapress.bsky.social!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wcw...

Cover image of Damn Fine Story: Mastering the Tools of a Powerful Narrative by Chuck Wendig. The cover is orange with an illustration of a deer (with antlers) wearing a gentleman's coat and tie and a monacle.

A new Writing About Writing About Writing post from Pete Sutton! Have you read any of these, and have you found anything in them beneficial to your writing journey? milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/07/08/w...

Against a background of multi-colored confetti are three book covers. Spec Fic for Newbies Volume 1: The cover is split into thirds with the top and bottom third red and the center third black. Text on the top third reads Tiffani Angus and Val Nolan in yellow font. The middle third reads Spec Fic for Newbies in bold white font. And the bottom third reads A Beginner’s Guide to Writing Subgenres of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror in yellow font. Spec Fic for Newbies Volume 2: The cover is medium blue on the top and bottom third with the center third black. In the top blue block are the authors’ names in yellow: Tiffani Angus and Val Nolan In the middle black block is the main title in white: Spec Fic for Newbies Vol. 2 In the bottom blue block is the subtitle in yellow: A Beginner’s Guide to Writing More Subgenres of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Spec Fic for Newbies Volume 3: The cover is bright green on the top and bottom third with the center third black. In the top green block are the authors’ names in yellow: Tiffani Angus and Val Nolan In the middle black block is the main title in white: Spec Fic for Newbies Vol. 3 In the bottom green block is the subtitle in yellow: A Beginner’s Guide to Writing Even More Subgenres of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Beneath that is the text "Soec Fic for Newbies Vol 3 is available for pre-order!" and “Out March 24!” In the center is a QR code and in the bottom right is a Luna Press logo.

And we have lift off!

Spec Fic for Newbies Vol. 3 by me and @vallescurarule.bsky.social will be out from
@lunapress.bsky.social at the end of March! This one is .... green! (ooh! aah!)

Pre-order here:
www.lunapresspublishing.com/product-page...

MIlford SF Writers’ Conference Each year a small group of published writers of speculative fiction get together for one special week in September at Gladstone’s Library, Hawarden, North Wales, to critique work, discuss ide…

If you're thinking about the Milford SF Writers' Conference at @gladlib.bsky.social Sept. 12-19, 2026, act fast because there are only 3 spots left!
en-suite room, bfst & dinner incl., access to the library, *and* daily critique sessions! milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/about-milfor...

Photo of the inside of Gladstone's Library in Hawarden, Wales. The room is Tudor style with wood rafters and railings, and there are desks against the railings in the loft and various tables and desks downstairs among the book shelves.

Photo of a bedroom in Gladstone's Library in Hawarden, Wales. There is a bed with a Welsh stripe coverlet, a wooden wardrobe, and a white and wood desk with a black chair and an old-style radio. The desk overlooks a window with greenery outside.

Photo of the common room at Gladstone's Library in Hawarden, Wales. The room is full of couches and chairs, all with red and red-patterned upholstery. A wood table in the centre holds a jigsaw puzzle, there are bookshelves on the left wall and a fireplace at the far end.

There are only 4 spots left on the Milford Writer's Retreat, 9-16 May at @gladlib.bsky.social. Includes an en suite room, breakfast & dinner, & access to a SILENT library where you can write to your heart's content! More info here:
www.milfordsf.co.uk/retreats.htm

8) The Irresistible End by Colin Brush The last instalment in Colin Brush’s series on how to write the perfect blurb for your book. ‘But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of th…

The final installment in Colin Brush's series about writing a blurb, and he gives you a choice of 6 main ways to end it to attract readers: milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/07/01/8...

two men standing next to each other with the words " i 'm writing this down this is good stuff " above them Alt: The gif is a snippet from Back to the Future, with Marty and his dad (as a teenager) standing next to each other. Marty's dad is writing something down on a pad of paper and the words "I'm writing this down this is good stuff" is below them.

Looking for feedback and community? The Milford SF Writers' Conference is a workshop running 12-19 September at @gladlib.bsky.social and it still has open slots! Find out more and get an application here: www.milfordsf.co.uk/about.htm

I attended the Milford Workshop last September. An absolutely amazing experience! I am coming back this year. The retreat is very tempting too…

Do one of them if you can! You will not regret it. 🔥🔥🔥

5-min distraction incoming: my sci-fi comedy flash-fiction "A Troubleshooting Guide to Your Flat-Pack Planet" is now out in Nature Futures. media.nature.com/original/mag...

We will have info about the 2027 retreat up in a few months!

kermit the frog is typing on a typewriter . Alt: Kermit the frog is typing like a mad thing on a manual typewriter

Hey, Writers! Milford has spaces available for the
Writers' Retreat 9-16 May at @gladlib.bsky.social. A week of time & space to write, with an en-suite room, breakfast & dinner incl, & access to the quietest library ever?
TAKE MY MONEY!
More info & apply here: www.milfordsf.co.uk/retreats.htm

One of our Milfordites is running a Kickstarter soon, so get in on it early! It looks like it's gonna knock our socks (and glittery platforms) right off!

7) The Many Shaped Blurb by Colin Brush The seventh in a series of how-to posts by Colin Brush ‘Poetry is precise a thing as geometry’ – Gustave Flaubert We’ve looked at beginning our blurb and structuring it utilising opposites and tens…

Let's keep going with Colin Brush's series on how to write a compelling blurb: How does shape (aka scope) affect things?
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/06/24/7...

Milford loves to hear about the attendees' successes! Please share with us your publications, especially if they came after you attended a Milford Workshop or even wrote part of the piece at a retreat! Here's to a fabulous 2026!

6) Middling – the power of opposites to structure your blurb by Colin Brush The sixth in a series of how-to posts by Colin Brush ‘Elric knew that everything that existed had its opposite. In danger he might find peace. And yet, of course, in peace there was danger. Being a…

Starting the new year back with Colin Brush's series on writing a blurb (for those of you with publishing in 2026 as a goal!): milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/06/17/6...

Bursaries for writers of colour to attend the Milford Writers Workshop next year are now open. I seriously cannot recommend the experience enough. Apply here: www.milfordsf.co.uk/bursaries.htm @milfordsff.bsky.social

APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN for the Milford Bursaries:
Funded Places for SF Writers of Colour September 2026!!

We have two bursaries available.

Apply before 30 Nov. All necessary info here: www.milfordsf.co.uk/bursaries.htm

Think of it as letting it steep just the right amount of time before returning to work on it, sort of like how you steep a cup of tea until it's exactly right.

5) Beginnings, or How to Get People’s Attention by Colin Brush It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.’ Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell We’re just over the halfway point in my guide to writing blurbs and you’re probably won…

Colin Brush's next step in writing a blurb: writing a beginning that gets--and keeps--a possible reader's attention by considering your opening line.
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/06/03/5...

The cover of the novel, Daughters of Nicnevin by Shona Kinsella. On the front are two figures in a field of wheat on a starry night. The special edition hard backs are fantastic as well :-)

my good friend @shonak.bsky.social is launching this wonderful book on the Friday evening of @worldfantasy2025.bsky.social (7pm, so put it in your diary). So come along and be entranced by this brilliant story.

Cover of Rabbit in the Moon showing a dark haired man in dark clothing standing in the ruins of a theme park looking at the moon.

Just to let @worldfantasy2025.bsky.social attendees know: my book Human Resources will be available from Newcon Press, but I am bringing along a *small* number of copies of my (BSFA Award shortlisted) novel Rabbit in the Moon and my (not shortlisted for anything) novel Driving Ambition.

4) Pitching your story’s Emotional Hook by Colin Brush Number 4/8 in a series of weekly posts on how-to write your own cover copy by Colin Brush reprinted from Summer 2020. Follow this blog to get all the instalments. I never take on a client unless I …

Next up in Colin Brush's series about writing blurbs focuses on the story's emotional hook, which requires you to boil it all down to a 12-word (or shorter!) pitch!
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/05/27/4...

Poacher Turned Gamekeeper? by Juliet E McKenna When I became a published fantasy author, I didn’t really plan on developing a sideline as a creative writing tutor. The first time I ran seminars was at a convention, when the writer scheduled to …

Have you ever wondered why an author would teach a writing workshop? It usually happens by accident, but it can be a very valuable experience for a new writer. Listen in on @julietemckenna.bsky.social telling you about her experience.
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2024/05/07/p...

Writing about writing about writing #12 – by Pete W. Sutton Part 12 of an intermittent series where I read or re-read the writing books on my shelf to see if they’re worth keeping. See previous part here This book stems from Thomas’s creative writing lectur…

Over on the Milford blog, we are back with Pete Sutton and his Writing About Writing About Writing posts. This time, he looks at Scarlett Thomas's Monkeys With Typewriters: How to Write -- and Read -- Better.
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/05/13/w...

3) Who Are We Talking To? by Colin Brush Number 3/8 in a series of how-to posts on writing your own cover copy by Colin Brush reprinted from Summer 2020. Follow this blog to get all the instalments. ‘Half the money I spend on advertising …

The next step in writing a blurb and marketing your book: Colin Brush explains how you have to know who your audience actually is (and no, it's not "everybody").
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/05/06/3...

When There Are Wolves Again by EJ Swift — Runalong The Shelves I would like to thank Arcadia for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and valid review Publisher – Arcadia Published – Out Now Price – £20 hardback £9.99 ebook   Dec...

New Review - happy publication day to the excellent When There Are Wolves Again by @catamaroon.bsky.social - a science fiction novel for the 21st century that gives us hope. Run and get it I think we need this. One of the best reads of my year! www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2025/10...