Writers looking for practical advice could visit the writers' area of bloomsbury magazine. Alternatively, the society of authors has been serving the interests of professional wordsmiths for over a century. The online directory writewords is packed with information and the literary consultancy offers manuscript assessment and editorial advice as well as having good links with accredited agents and publishers. For book trade news and views check out book2book.
A haven from our work-and-money-obsessed culture, the idler can encourage your thoughts to fly free towards relaxed reverie. Or for those yearning to escape the constraints of daily life, indulge in some armchair travel courtesy of Lesley Blanch. For some of the best new writing online, try scarecrow or dogmatika. 3AM magazine features a vibrant mix of fiction, culture and music - 'mind porn for the chattering classes' while spike 'picks the brains of popular culture' with features, big-name interviews, book reviews and a new writing area. Upbeat litzine bookmunch has reviews, features and interviews and bookslut is a weblog of book-related content for those who love to read. Mediabistro and the deliciously wicked Madame Arcati are good for book news and gossip. Flavorpill LONDON is an email magazine covering a hand-picked selection of music, art and cultural events. For insights into more mainstream tastes, keep tabs on book tribes, library thing and book crossing.
For an international flavour read the barcelona review which specialises in contemporary fiction and has catalan, spanish, french, american, english and scottish contributors. The paris review is essential reading for francophiles and english-speaking parisians. Banipal magazine publishes poems, short stories or excerpts of novels by contemporary authors and poets from the arab world in english translation. Ligali challenges media misrepresentations of African people in the UK. The first post is a free and independent daily online news magazine with contributions from writers who know what they are on about, and Truthout gets the real news behind the headlines, 'changing things for the better through information'.
Words without borders opens doors to international exchange through translation of the world's best writing whilst english PEN's writers in translation programme awards funds to support new books being published for the first time in english (which have a clear link to the PEN charter). The british centre for literary translation based at the university of east anglia (supported by arts council england) works to raise the profile of literary translation in the UK. French book news provides information about recent translations and new publications in french.
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