Category: Zone

Read widely in 2023 with Briefly Write

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Our Reading Challenge 2023 goes back and forth, back and forth…

Books on a swing
Photo by Karolina Grabowska

Every year, readers are inundated with new books. Every year, readers are inundated with new “must-read” lists. And, every year, trillions of words go unread.

Accepting that you cannot read every page under the sun is the half the battle… not constructing a TBR pile that stretches to the moon is the other half.

Find your reading rhythm

The Briefly Write Reading Challenge 2023 is a guide to help you make the most of your encounters with books.

We encourage you to make the challenge your own. Chop and change – and choose which categories to ignore. Read as many books by as many different authors from as many different publishing houses… or read just one book or one author or one publisher.

The choice is yours! Whatever you decide, the fourth annual Briefly Write Reading Challenge is here to help you along the way.

Back and forth

Reading is both linear and cyclical. Linear because most readers of English read from left to right from top to bottom from beginning to end.

And cyclical because many will re-read at least one book in their life; or read a book they feel like they’ve read before; or read a different version of a story they have read before; or a translation of a book they’ve read in the original language; or a book that is stylistically resonant of another book; or a book that is thematically similar to another book; or a book that was first a play; or a book that recounts a historical moment; or a book that captures the essence of something they’ve seen or said or done; or a second-hand book someone else read before them…

This challenge aims to help you think about reading and re-reading in new (and old) ways in 2023.

Briefly Write Reading Challenge 2023

So here it is. Twelve categories to help structure your reading in 2023. Choose one category per month or read at random; the challenge (and the choice) is yours.

BACK

1. Read a book in one sitting

2. Re-read a book you read long ago

3. Read a retelling of a classic story

& FORTH

4. Read two books at once

5. Read a genre you normally avoid

6. Read a book from an independent press

& BACK

7. Read a book in translation

8. Read a book recommended by a friend

9. Read a prize-winning book you missed

& FORTH

10. Read a book about activism

11. Read a second-hand book

12. Read a poetry book

Briefly Read

Throughout the year, we’ll publish features on all twelve categories to guide and inspire your selections. Please do get in touch below or on Twitter (@BrieflyWrite) to let us know what you think.

Briefly Read is also home to Briefly Reviews. We write thoughtful reviews of the books we are reading, mostly poetry collections and short fiction anthologies from small presses.

We hope you have a wonderful book-filled 2023!

Briefly Feedback

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Donate on Ko-fi then email your words to contact@brieflywrite.com with 'Feedback' in the subject line. We will respond as quickly as possible and always within two weeks. Thank you for supporting our little literary space!

We currently offer two levels of feedback:

(1) Another Pair of Eyes

Have a poem or story that’s not quite working? Or one you think could be working better? We can help!

With Another Pair of Eyes, our editors will get to the heart of your poem or story. We will provide an overview of your work, with tailored comments on form, structure and impact. We’ll also ask questions that invite you to take the poem or story further.

This is not a proofreading or line-by-line editing service.

What you’ll get:

  1. Personalised response to ONE poem or story
  2. Tailored feedback on style, impact and technique
  3. Questions and prompts to stimulate further thoughts

The price of Another Pair of Eyes is £6 per poem (up to 30 lines) or story (up to 1,000 words). For longer pieces, get in touch (contact@brieflywrite.com) for a quote.

SPECIAL OFFER ~ 3 poems or stories for £15!

(2) Dig a Little Deeper

Do you want a detailed exploration of your poem or story?

With Dig a Little Deeper, we will unpick exactly what’s going on in every line, every word, every syllable… and make sure everything is working towards your end goal.

What you’ll get:

  1. Personalised response to ONE poem or story
  2. Overview of style, impact and technique
  3. Tailored feedback on everything from word choice to layout
  4. Questions and prompts to stimulate further thought
  5. Opportunity to send revisions and discuss the work further

The price of Dig a Little Deeper is £15 per poem (up to 30 lines) or story (up to 1,000 words). For longer pieces, get in touch (contact@brieflywrite.com) for a quote.

SPECIAL OFFER ~ 3 poems or stories for £33!

How do I get my feedback?

1. Make your donation for the level and quantity of feedback you wish to receive on our Ko-Fi page. Leave a note in the comments box stating the feedback you are paying for.

2. Email your work to contact [at] brieflywrite [dot] com in a word doc or in the body of the email. Please make sure your name matches the name you used to donate (or tell us if they don’t!) so we can cross-check.

3. Sit back (and keep writing!) for up to two weeks while we read, review and write our responses to your work. We’ll return it as quickly as possible without compromising on quality. And we will, of course, keep you updated if there are any delays.

**PLEASE NOTE: Writing sent through Briefly Feedback is ineligible for publication in Briefly Zine. We can, however, recommend other journals or publishers we think might be a good fit for the piece.**

Thank you for supporting our little literary space!