It’s Christmas – so give yourself the gift of writing and turn your attention to being a winning writer in the new issue of Writing Magazine! In the first of a new two-part series on how to win writing competitions, experienced judge Esther Chilton offers tip on how to make your entries stand out for all the right reasons

This month we’re also taking a deep dive into one of the year’s biggest gamechangers for creatives - the impact of AI on writing. There’s also a wonderful, thoughtful piece on the importance of the act of writing, an interview with the great Philippa Gregory on reframing women’s history, joyful articles on writing queer and Christmas romances and a wonderful advent calendar of festive writing prompts to keep your writer’s brain ticking over until your next issue of WM!