Welcome to this newsletter in which I’ll share free (or at least good value) opportunities I’ve found for nature writers, recommend nature-writing blogs and books, suggest nature-writing tips/prompts, and more…

This photo is of a 10cm long eel which was in our monitoring trap last week on the Thames at Hampton Court before we sent it on its way upriver.

June updates:

  • new comp listing The deadline for the Nan Shepherd prize for underrepresented voices in nature writing (free entry) is 17 July 2023 for unpublished authors to submit a book proposal. “The prize is open to previously unpublished writers based in the UK and Ireland who consider themselves underrepresented in nature writing, whether through ethnicity, disability, class, sex, gender, sexuality or any other circumstances.”
  • new comp listing For the 2023/24 Nature Chronicles Prizes (free entry), submit your 2000-8000 words between 1 September 2023 and 15 January 2024. “Entries must not have been published, self-published or accepted for publication in print or online”.
  • new comp listing The deadline for the Nature Writing Prize for Working Class Writers 2023 (free entry) is the 14 July 2023 for unpublished 1000 words or less of fiction, non-fiction or poetry from writers who self-identify as working class, are unpublished in book form and don’t have an agent.
  • monthly A Contemplative Writing online workshop (free) takes place the third Saturday of every month between 12-1pm. If you’re finding nature writing regularly a challenge, this might be the thing…
  • weekly Five Words International Poetry Competition (entry 5 euros) might be worth considering if you’re inspired by writing under pressure. Five new words are posted each week to include and some of the combinations (eg. speck spill lover over silver) could definitely inspire nature themes.
  • monthly The Shooter Literary Magazine flash non-fiction/fiction competition (entry £3.50) seems a perfect opening for nature writing.
  • ongoing No list of writing competitions can be entirely comprehensive but I like to keep an eye on this one – compiled by Neon Books.

This month’s Who to Read or Follow recommendations:

  • This month I’m reading… The Gospel of the Eels by Patrik Svensson. I’m loving the mix of memoir, history of science and culture about these fascinating and mysterious fish.
  • Hey Twitter Users…  I’d recommend following my pal Jen Jones, soil scientist, fab nature writer & shiny new Guardian Country Diarist.

This month’s Nature-writing tips and prompts:

Feature article submission tip… Do you have a favourite nature or nature/place book which is having an anniversary? That’s a great starting point for a pitch to a magazine.

Stuck for nature-writing inspiration? Seeing as I’ve recommended following a soil scientist on Twitter, how about exploring a little pile of soil with a hand lens…

Add to your knowledge of the nature around you… find out about a group of invertebrates about which you currently know nothing. I came across a snake fly for the first time a couple of days ago – which incidentally is not a fly but related to a lacewing and has a very long neck.

And… please send me anything you’d like to be included in my next newsletter.

Recordings of writing workshops I’ve led can be found here on my YouTube channel and you can read anthologies from my nature-writing residency partnered with the London Wildlife Trust here on their blog. I host Goldcrest Nature Writers, a nature-writing forum. And finally my proudly self-published activity book Thumbnail Nature Journal is available to buy here…