The highlight of this month was the UK release of Writers of the Future Volume 41 (WOTF41), which features my story, “The Stench of Freedom”. It’s been an exciting and busy month! And, as it’s book release month, get ready for an avalanche of WOTF41 related news and shameless plugging. I know what you’re thinking and, come on, cut me some slack, I’ve got to try and sell my book!

WOTF has crossed the pond

You may have seen my announcement that Writers of the Future Volume 41 was released in the UK (and internationally) on 18 June 2025. Well, if not, you have now! I think where it is physically stocked in the UK will be down to local demand but it is certainly available online in all the usual places.

WOTF41 wins its first award

Shortly after the UK release came the news that WOTF41 won its first award! 🥳🤩 What great timing! I had noted in my book release blog post that it seemed as though it was doing well in North America (it was an Amazon bestseller and it received lots of nice reviews), and this award proves it. It’s such a great feeling to have a story in an award-winning anthology. Go team #41!

Interviews and podcasts

To help publicise the UK release, I was back on the marketing campaign this month. First off, I appeared on the Writers of the Future contest’s podcast. This was recorded on our final night in Hollywood, so listening back to it was kind of emotional. It was the end of an incredible week, a truly unforgettable experience, and something I am so proud to have been a part of it.

Next up was my first radio interview, with Geoff Carter of UK Talk Radio. I’m not going to lie, I was a bit nervous for this one but Geoff made me feel very relaxed and we talked about my story, my writing inspirations and aspirations. I think it went well and i’ve copied the link below in case you wanted to listen.

Rejectomancy

The noble art of analysing a rejection and deciphering how close you were to (or not) to an acceptance.

To give you an idea of what level of rejection a (not very successful) writer faces, I’m sharing the running total of my submissions.

This month I submitted 5 stories and received 3 rejections, two of which were personal, which was a silver lining as it suggests my stories were given closer attention before rejection rather than the more industry standard form rejection (and that’s rejectomancy in action right there).

Book of the month

You can probably guess which book I’m going to recommend this month, can’t you?

To coincide with the UK launch of Writers of the Future Volume 41, I am recommending you read…

Drum roll please…

Writers of the Future Volume 41! Yes, this is more shameless book promotion activity, but the stories in this anthology are awesome, the illustrations will blow your mind, and I think you should definitely read it. The reviews have been excellent, it has won an award (as you will have seen) and it is an Amazon best selling anthology. Objectively, I think that confirms how awesome it is.

Disclosure: To cover some of my running costs, I have incorporated affiliate links from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops. If you buy books linked to my site or newsletter, I may earn a commission.

What’s got me hooked this month?

What I’ve been watching: Me and my wife are kind of obsessed with RuPaul’s Drag Race, so much so that we have a subscription to the streaming service ‘WoW - World of Wonder’, which allows us to watch the global editions of the programme as well. Just in case you were wondering, we have watched all the seasons in the British, Canadian, French, and Spanish versions, and a few others too (Sweden, Mexico, Philippines) as well as all of the ‘All-Star’ series and international spin offs of that. In fact, for a few years, our only date night each year was going to watch the RuPaul’s Drag Race UK tour in the Swansea Arena. Where was I going with this? Oh yes, this month we watched the latest season (season 17). And it was awesome! The drag queens are all so talented and the challenges they face are so varied it’s quite incredible what they are expected to do (dancing, costume design, acting, stand-up comedy, drag make overs of their parent, lip-synch battles, celebrity impersonations and so much more). But beyond their performances on stage, watching the show over the years has shone a light on the really difficult lives and challenges faced by people in the LGBTQIA+ community. There’s been too many tragic, heart wrenching stories and it’s just inspiring to see people overcome that and be their best selves. And the banter between them is always hilarious!

What I’ve been reading: I am currently reading Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, which was a Christmas gift from my wife. It’s about an historian who travels back in time to better study medieval England but winds up landing during the Black Death instead. Meanwhile, back in the modern Oxford she left behind, a strange virus starts killing people. I’m really enjoying it and Connie Willis’ writing is excellent (no surprise as she is a multiple Hugo award winner) and she clearly did lots of research, the detail and historical references have certainly convinced me.

Memetime

Cleaning when you have young children is almost pointless. As soon as you are done, they stroll back in and trash the place. It is an endless war on crumbs that parents never win. Knowing this does not make it any easier though…

Until next time, keep dreaming.

Joel