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    <title>33f1f761</title>
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      <title>Libraries and magazines</title>
      <link>http://www.valeriebowes.com/libraries-and-magazines</link>
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           Libraries and magazines
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      <pubDate>Tue, 17 Feb 2026 15:32:20 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Library Talk</title>
      <link>http://www.valeriebowes.com/library-talk</link>
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            Saturday 20th September
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      <pubDate>Wed, 17 Sep 2025 13:54:28 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Anthologies</title>
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           Look out for these publications
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            I was delighted to hear that two of my stories, sent in to competitions earlier in the year, have been selected for their anthologies. Shame they didn't make it into the prizes! But it's still an honour to be included in the publications.
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           Fat Woman Seen
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            will be in the Write Time anthology, to be published in the autumn, and
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           Chill Thy Nights
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            in that of Michael Terence Publishing, out mid-August. I shall look forward to reading the winning stories and I hope that, if you see mine, you will enjoy reading them. Although, in the case of
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           Fat Woman Seen
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            maybe enjoy isn't quite the right word. It's based on the poem by Frances Cornford, which is always worth a read.
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      <pubDate>Fri, 01 Aug 2025 14:33:11 GMT</pubDate>
      <author>PH694092</author>
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      <title>I'm Back!</title>
      <link>http://www.valeriebowes.com/i-m-back</link>
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           This is a subtitle for your new post
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            It's been a long time. 5 years since I last posted on the website, as the publishers of my first book,
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           Battle for Love
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            , folded and I hadn't been able to get any others interested in my historical novels. But now, thanks to Holand Press,
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            The Saga of Kali Kolsson
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           has been published and is out now in ebook and paperback. And that, too, has been a long time a-coming. I wrote it 25 years ago, so I'm very pleased it has finally made it into the big wide world. I hope you enjoy reading it.
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      <pubDate>Tue, 15 Jul 2025 14:36:37 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Competitions 2021</title>
      <link>http://www.valeriebowes.com/competitions 2021</link>
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            It's been a great year for competitions. It's a great honour to have reached the long-list for Dorothy Dunnett Society/HWA historical short story, the short-list for Wells Festival and to have been awarded first prize for Erewash Writing Competitions.
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            ﻿
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           This story, Something in Common, will be published on their website after 6pm on 20th September 2021. For the other two, I'll have to wait until October to find out if the stories got any further.
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           So, if any of you are dickering about sending a piece of your writing to one of the hundreds of competitions run by people dedicated to getting those creative juices flowing, pat it on its behind and send it out there. You never know what will tickle the judges' fancy.
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           Sep 20, 2021
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      <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2025 10:33:27 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Segora</title>
      <link>http://www.valeriebowes.com/segora</link>
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           I was thrilled to be awarded second prize in the Segora short story competition for my story Taking Care of Barry. The competition supports Medecins Sans Frontieres and I'm glad my entry has contributed to that. So if anybody out there wants to write a short story and support a very worthwhile cause, head across to 
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            and check them out.
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           Aug 12, 2021
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      <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2025 10:33:27 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Longlists</title>
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           I was very pleased to hear that my entry for the Bedford international Writing Competition had made the longlist. And truly international it was, too. There were stories sent in from all over the world. Mine didn't get any further, but being considered at all is a great boost to anyone's confidence. 
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           Jan 29, 2021
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      <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2025 10:33:27 GMT</pubDate>
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