How we came to publish this one
This was our annual 2023 anthology. The call always goes out at our celebration event, usually the first Saturday in December. We always choose a vaguely Christmassy theme but hope that our writers will subvert it somewhat.
The title
Yes, gifts are to do with Christmas but the word here can be interpreted as talented. Quite a few of our writers interpreted the theme that way but there were also some stories built on the idea of gifting something.
Some notes about the process
We allowed people to submit until 28 February and then two of us awarded points for story, interpretation of the theme, writing and professionalism. We published the twenty-four stories that scored the most.
The cover
We used a stock image for this, available copyright free and free from pixabay.com. It represents a more literal interpretation of the theme; it is obviously a nicely wrapped gift!
Some notes about style
Our stories are never too much like those that would appear in a women’s magazine. They tend toward the literary but not too much so.
Who we think the reader is
Obviously we now have a few fans and followers and each person who has contributed a story to the collection will have friends, family, fans and followers.
What else
As ever, and this brings us a great deal of joy, we have a mixture of old friends and new writers.
Review copies
It’s always great if you can buy the book and give us a review. Just click on the link to be taken to our bookshop. If you would like to review and you are strapped for cash, just get in touch for a free PDF.