The Yellow Room Magazine and Competition

LitPig chats with writer Jo Derrick (photo left)  about The Yellow Room Magazine and Short Story Competition.

Q: How long has The Yellow Room Magazine been running? Initially what were your aims for setting up the magazine? Do you think these have been achieved?

I started The Yellow Room in 2008, simply because I was missing editing a short fiction magazine since QWF was sold in 2006. My aim was to bring new female writing talent to light and to support burgeoning female writers. Yes, I do think I have achieved my original aims.

Q: What has been the most satisfying aspect of publishing your own magazine?

When a writer emails or writes to say how delighted they are to see their story in print and when I receive positive feedback from the readers.

Q: What sort of problems have you encountered in publishing The Yellow Room? What plans for the future do you have?

The main problems are financial ones. It is so difficult to keep a small press print magazine afloat these days, for several reasons. Print costs continue to increase as does the price of postage. It is getting more difficult to compete with e-zines. If only every writer who sent in a story for consideration would buy just one copy of the magazine first! As far as the future is concerned, I'd love to continue to publish The Yellow Room and keep it as a print magazine, but, if I'm being realistic, I  will have to resign myself to the fact that an electronic version is the only way to go. I still have plenty of copies of Issue 8 to sell at £5.75 each (they can be purchased online at: www.theyellowroom-magazine.co.uk) and until these have all been sold, I won't have the funds to publish Issue 9.

Q: Can you also tell us about the latest Yellow Room competition?

The competition is for stories up to 1,000 words and closes on 31st March. I'm hoping to publish the winning entries either in the magazine or on the website. Prizes are £100/£30 and £20. The entry fee is £4, but subscribers can enter more stories for their money. I'm looking for original stories with unusual settings and characters. The word limit is tight, so there's no room for flabby writing! Every word must count.

Details of the latest competition can be found here.

Q: I was impressed to see Man-Booker shortlistee, Alison Moore, win the Autumn Yellow Room short story competition. How did you feel about attracting such a writer to enter your competition?

I was delighted and surprised. I judge the entries anonymously and didn't realise it was Alison at first, as she had entered under a pseudonym. We exchanged several emails following the announcement of the results and I'm pleased to report that she purchased a subscription to The Yellow Room.

You can read Alison Moore’s winning story and other winners here.

If you can then please support this excellent magazine, it is always packed with terrific writing. And why not enter the competition...