Melanie Bell

Category: Writing

  • A Canadian’s First Impression of 10 Scottish Foods

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    “9 years ago today,” Google Photos reminded me, showing a carousel of pictures from Scotland. It’s been almost a decade since I arrived in the UK. What a roller coaster it’s been! I wrote about my experiences moving “across the pond” in my poetry book, The Heart Decided to Move. I wrote other pieces about the…

  • Not Now, Maybe Later

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    Why I’m collecting rejections in a spreadsheet I have a lot of good things going on. I’m writing this from the Royal Court Theatre in London where, as a Writers’ Card member, I have free use of their writing space. While I don’t have a garden/yard of my own, my downstairs neighbours said yes to…

  • End of Pride Month Round-Up

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    Events, Reading Recs, and Author News As the end of Pride Month rolls around, let’s remember that Pride began not as a celebration but as a protest. A fight for visibility and equality. Let’s remember that both of these are under threat in many parts of the world. And let’s celebrate the queer people and…

  • Art, Art, Everywhere!

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    Commissioned stories have been trickling in for the anthology I’m editing for Flame Tree, Climbing High: Speculative Stories of Female Ambition. It’s an exciting time! I can’t wait to see how everyone’s work fits together, including stories from the open submission call once I get to look through the shortlist as well. May is a…

  • New SFF Anthology and Tea Event

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    Happy Spring! I have two pieces of news this month. First (I finally get to announce this), I’m editing an anthology for Flame Tree’s Beyond & Within series. Those are beautiful books with shiny covers and exciting new stories. You may remember me sharing some pictures of them earlier. The call for submissions is here, and…

  • Notes From a British Fantasy Society Writing Retreat

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    With cute animal pictures Hi all! I recently spent time traveling around northern England, ending my trip in Chester for a writing retreat with the British Fantasy Society (or BFS). I’ve been on a couple of longer writing retreats previously, in France and Kenya. Were they an excuse to go cool places? Maybe… This one…

  • The Shadow of My Dead Sister

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    Personal essay previously published on xoJane Sometimes I share work here that’s gone out of print (or, as in this case, offline). Losing a parent last year has made me reflect on my earliest experience with family grief, for a sister I never knew. Below is a personal essay I wrote about her for xoJane,…

  • New Year, New Ewe

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    New Year story and bonus Christmas story From Substack, January 5, 2026 Happy 2026! I wrote a New Year story to share with you all, set in the world of my cozy fantasy novel (soon to be in the editing stage before submissions). I also had a holiday story called “Forest Creatures” published online on…

  • Year’s End, Looking Back and Forward

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    A book, a musical, and the loss of a parent From Substack, December 1, 2025 My year’s end posts are often celebratory. This one is bittersweet. I made significant professional strides in 2025, both in my writing career and in my day job. Personally, a lot of things have gone well. I also lost my dad this…

  • Notes From the World Fantasy Convention

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    Plus a mini-story From Substack, Nov 3, 2025 Whew – that was quite a weekend! I spent the last four days at the World Fantasy Convention, which took place this year (most conveniently) in my current home city of Brighton. It combined two events in one – an international fantasy convention and a British one.…