Image by Jon Tyson

Dear writers, readers and friends,

The August edition is alive, one day late this month due to travel commitments. We hope the extra day has simply given you time to build your enthusiasm.

For some reason all three of our lead writers have names beginning with ‘S’ this month. Maybe it’s because we’re based in the northern hemisphere and the summer is going to our heads. Or maybe it’s a nod to a strange and sublime image, meant to literally swirl your creativity into ever more intricate formations and bamboozle the words out of you. This captivating visual is courtesy of Jon Tyson whose fabulously gritty photographic work you will find here (https://unsplash.com/@jontyson) .

Our lead writer is Sam Guglani (https://twitter.com/@samirguglani) , a writer and Consultant Oncologist in Cheltenham who specialises in the management of lung and brain tumours. He has Masters degrees in Ethics (Keele, 2009) and Creative Writing (Oxford, 2014). He writes poetry, a column for The Lancet titled The Notes, and his novel Histories is published by riverrun (Quercus Books, 2017). He is Director of Medicine Unboxed, a project that engages health professionals and the public in conversation around medicine, illuminated by the arts, and his piece is intergalactically good.

Next up we have Samuel Fisher (https://twitter.com/@fishersamuk) , author of one of our debut novels of the year, The Chameleon. He also wears many hats – running Burley Fisher books in East London, where many, many writers find a warm welcome, support for their events and an excellent selection of books. And, he is also a publisher – of the recently minted Peninsula Press, bringing you thought-provoking essays in beautiful book form – a true example of the issues and objects of our times. His piece, to hint at its inspiration, is a thing of beauty.

Finally we are very excited to bring you a piece by Sarvat Hasin (https://twitter.com/@sarvathasin) . She was born in London and grew up in Karachi. She is the author of the novel This Wide Night (Penguin India, 2017) which was longlisted for the DSC prize for South Asian literature and the short story collection You Can’t Go Home Again (Penguin India, 2018). She is the fiction editor of the Stockholm Review.

So, dear writers, standards are high. Multitasking is the new job for life and we are here to remind you to write for love not glory – although we want that for you too.

And we are now looking forward to reading you! (Don’t forget the RULES: 50-500 words, written in response to the image in the space of an hour. Get it to us by 15 August, and we will publish the best 100 pieces.) The image is the starting point, the text is up to you.

Preti, Lucie and Kristen