At the end of September, I sent the manuscript for Climbing High: Speculative Stories of Female Ambition to Flame Tree’s editorial team.
It’s the culmination of several months of work so far. The creative high point of a year in which other projects were delayed.
And it’s a collaborative project, my first time editing an anthology of stories for a publisher. Several writers have contributed short stories (and, in one case, an introduction) to the project.
Reading through the copyedits feels like looking down from the top of a hill.
View from the Pnyx in Athens. Note to self: editing an anthology called Climbing High apparently makes you more likely to climb hills…
There are further steps to go through before this book is out in the world, but I’m proud of the form the collection is taking and the work we’ve all put into it.
How do you feel when you finish something? Do you take time to recognize the effort, to let yourself breathe and your nervous system sense “this is done”?
Events I’ve Enjoyed This Month
Between my own work toward a finish line, I’ve enjoyed seeing others’ events come to fruition recently.
My friend Rachael Twumasi-Corson gave a talk at the TEDx Bromley event at the beginning of the month. The theme was Defying Expectations, and the talks covered everything from the power of rebels to the importance of patient self-advocacy to the transferable leadership skills that mothers bring to the workplace. These powerful talks will be online soon, and I’d encourage you to check them out.
I went to local author and presenter David Bramwell’s monthly event, the Catalyst Club, where speakers give engaging talks about their passions, no matter how niche. There’s also a bit of cabaret-style performance. This month’s topics included a “museum of unfinished projects” (relatable!), a birthday poem, and the stories of people who made penpal connections through old music magazines.
Some of you might remember my work on Joan: The Musical in the Brighton Fringe last year. Our lead actress’s daughter, Faradena Afifi, is one of the founders of the Noisy Women multi-disciplinary creative group. I attended their performance at the Rotunda Cafe, which was a fun, chaotic blend of music, improvisation, poetry, movement, and more. Well worth seeing, and lots of fun!
Lastly, the Coast Is Queer, the UK’s biggest LGBTQ+ literary festival, just finished up yesterday with a brilliant conversation between Sarah Waters and Julia Armfield (pictured below). I always come back from this festival’s talks with more insights, not to mention more books, than I’d expected!
I appreciate bringing projects over the finish line, and witnessing others’ work can afford the perspective needed to get them done. I’m nourished by community and inspired by what others can do.
What do you find helpful for reaching that final stretch of creative work?
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 busy month in Brighton, with both the Fringe and Art Open Houses going on. I’ve been to some comedy and theatre performances at the Fringe, and every weekend I’ve walked around and popped in to a few of the open houses.
My favourite Fringe performance had to be Comedy for the Curious, with Robyn Perkins. Robyn explored the topic of motivation—what it is, and what causes it—along with a psychologist and a comedian who played off each other in entertaining ways. How so? Well, the comedian found out he had ADHD onstage! “Fun fact,” said the psychologist, “most Fringe performers have ADHD. They’re out-of-the-box thinkers.” A quiz, and revelations, ensued.
With warm weather, and a recent heat wave, the Fringe’s outdoor spaces have been great. Two of the parks turn into performance spaces, with decorations, free outdoor performances, and family activities to enjoy, including circus toys that I saw some kids playing with. An artsy, creative, communal spirit shines. I watched free aerial arts, listened to an outdoor DJ, and heard someone perform his great-grandfather’s poetry.
As for the art open houses? Sometimes, seeing the display spaces and homes is just as exciting as seeing the art. Look at those beautiful details!
Some of the open houses include gardens, shed studio spaces, and cake and tea you can buy and eat in those gardens. Did I have some? Do you even have to ask?
I saw such a variety of work, everything from fabric crafts to pottery to photography to paintings to sound art. As a creative, it’s encouraging to see that there’s room for such a range, and to appreciate this variety. Someday, I hope to have a little home art studio and make time to play in it. My own illustrations feature in my poetry collection The Heart Decided to Move, which came out last year. It’s a start!
My favourite work was Frances Doherty’s giant floral ceramic sculptures. Recently, she’s made some “chimaeras” combining different plants together in unlikely, yet visibly intriguing combinations.
Finally, I saw the “soft machines” sculptures along the Hove Promenade before they were taken down. A public art installation designed by Ivan Morison, with collaborator Heather Peak, “it explores the bodies that make a city, and the plurality of love, intimacy and desire between them.” There’s more information about this Brighton Festival commission here. The sculptures reminded me of fluffy monsters.
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.
Women’s ambition is not always welcomed, let alone encouraged. Speculative fiction is a context that offers other possibilities (and worlds), where writers and readers imagine what could be. Climbing High: Speculative Stories of Female Ambition will feature stories exploring contexts where female ambition is treated differently, aspiration and achievement in the face of adversity, and ambitions that extend beyond what’s possible in our contemporary world. This anthology takes an empowering stance of embracing ambition while being unafraid to explore the costs and consequences that characters may face in doing so and the impacts of ambitions pursued or fulfilled.
Stories may engage with the question of navigating disparate values and commitments (the often-asked and often-sexist question of “How do you balance x and y?”), or they may abandon all that, with characters who prioritise their desires above all else. Whether characters are reshaping the world(s), themselves, or aiming to brew the best cup of tea, their drives are the driving force of their stories. Contributors may feel free to question assumptions or norms related to women or gender while they’re at it. Authors are encouraged to explore spaces between representation and aspiration and be as bold as they like in imagining what could be.
This will be a fascinating new anthology for our Beyond & Within series. We’re looking for around four stories to join the selection curated by Melanie Bell!
Melanie Bell is a Canadian writer living in the UK. Her books include a poetry collection, The Heart Decided to Move; a YA novel, Chasing Harmony; a short story collection, Dream Signs; and a nonfiction book, The Modern Enneagram, co-authored with Kacie Berghoef. Her novella The Cliffman was included in the literary horror collection Hard for Hope to Flourish, and one of her stories is featured in the Whispers in the Earth illustrated anthology of world folklore.
Melanie and Hannah Doyle co-wrote Joan: The Musical which was performed in the Brighton Fringe in May 2025. Her short plays have appeared onstage at the Tower Theatre and Barons Court Theatre in London, on Morley College Radio, and in Liverpool’s 24 Hour Play Fest. She loves art, music, wondering and wandering.
Multiple submissions are fine but must be in separate emails.
Simultaneous submissions are fine but you must have the right to license your story in an anthology.
Stories that used AI for planning, editing, modifying or generating text will not be accepted. Please declare in your submission email if you have used AI in any way.
For accepted stories we pay Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) rates of 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories.
We will aim to read each story and confirm its status within 4 months of the submission deadline.
Payment for the chosen stories will be made within 30 days of the final advertised publication date (see our website flametreepublishing.com for details), although some may be paid earlier than that.
Submission does not imply the right to publication. Each story will be read and assessed by the selection panel.
Please only submit unpublished/original/new stories for consideration. Reprints will not be accepted for consideration through this submissions route.
We’re always looking for better ways of working so we’ve tweaked our submission process to allow us to read more stories, and spend more time assessing the balance of our books.
Submissions must use the dedicated email address.
The subject line of the email must be the story title.
The file with the story must be attached to the email (.docx, .doc or .rtf format).
The name of the file must match the name in the subject line.
If submitting more than one story, please submit one story per email.
Other useful tips for a more successful submission:
The file name of the submission must be the story name only.
Please just use spaces between words in the title (not _ or – ).
If the story name starts with A or The, please use it at the beginning of the file name.
Story length is most likely to be successful at 2000–4000 words, but we will still read stories slightly outside this range.
If submitting a story that has recently been submitted to us for consideration to another anthology, please state this in the submission email.
Deadline for submissions is 3rd May 2026.
This is what the anthologies look like!
Literary Tea Salon With Bird & Blend Tea Co.
Here’s another collab I’m excited for! Bird & Blend Tea Co. is my favourite local tea shop. Their products are high quality and delicious. If you’re based in the UK, their shops offer free tastings and are well worth a visit, and they sell online as well.
So, while sampling some tea at the shop, I suggested a literary event, and the Bird & Blend team was interested in hosting one this spring. Here are the details for our Literary Tea Salon on May 11:
Join local author Melanie Bell and Bird & Blend Tea Co. for writing exercises, an author reading, and a book-themed tea tasting.
Monday, May 11 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Literary Tea Salon
Join us for a cosy, bookish evening blending two good things – writing and tea!
Local author Melanie Bell will lead participants in some creative exercises, read from her work, and answer questions about the writing process, while the Bird & Blend team will offer a selection of their literary-themed teas to taste.
Location
Bird & Blend Tea Co.
41 Gardner Street Brighton and Hove BN1 1UN
Hosted in Bird & Blend’s flagship Brighton store, come along alone, with a loved one or in a group…all are welcome!
The store is fully accessible to customers in wheelchairs with NCP parking nearby. Please note there is no customer toilet on site but there is a wheelchair accessible toilet available in a nearby venue. We can tailor our experience to most disabilities – just let us know when booking.
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