It’s not just Halloween to be getting excited about next week! Last month, Write Queer announced the chosen writers to be featured in their third grassroots zine collection, Haunting. Next Friday brings a celebratory launch event of the new issue, local creatives, and LGBTQ+ voices together at Nottingham Central Library.
Originally established in 2022, Write Queer is a dedicated writing collective that provides a supportive platform for LGBTQ+ writers and allies to share their work. The group holds monthly sessions at Nottingham Central Library, where writers can work on their poetry, scripts, stories, and personal writing projects in an encouraging environment.
Instead of relying on traditional publishing, Write Queer has adopted a brilliant DIY work ethic when creating each of their zines, as their writers and organisers come together to produce, publish, and perform their own work, celebrating every resourceful win in the process.
Write Queer’s leading organiser, Richard Gidlow, explained how important it was that the DIY approach became a crucial part of Write Queer’s identity: “The group's first collection was crowdfunded to cover printing costs, while the second issue expanded submissions beyond regular Write Queer members, including contributions from outside the UK.”
Issue 3 continues that approach, providing another platform for queer writers to share their work and bringing their writing together in a physical publication. Any profits from sales of Issue 3 will be put straight back into curating the next zine collection, helping the project continue to grow and support the wider Write Queer organisation and the LGBTQ+ community. Since its creation, Write Queer has collaborated with organisations and creative projects across Nottingham, including Writing East Midlands, Nottingham Pride, Nottingham Queer Arts Collective, Central Library, and Greebo Zine.
The submission call-out for Haunting was announced in mid-June this year. Submissions were then judged blind with a set criteria; assessing which piece of writing is the most suitable for this year’s literary horror theme and what best reflects Write Queer’s unique collective. This third zine collection explores the idea of “being haunted” and how this concept can be interpreted or manifested in our past or present lives - being haunted by old relationships, our past selves, (or the creepier side) by something a bit more supernatural, all through word-counted poetry, short stories, or flash fiction.
74 days later, Write Queer notified their chosen writers and posted their names and featured writing pieces via Instagram on 1st September 2026. 31 writers have been selected in the Haunting zine (a very fitting number for this season’s collection) Including, Alexander Owczarek, Dan Webber, Kate MacAlister, Sophie Lavender, Zeno Gaertner, and many more talented writers.
The launch for Write Queer’s Issue 3 will take place on Friday, 30th October, in the Atrium of Nottingham Central Library. The event will feature performances from Write Queer contributors, offer opportunities to network and socialise with local creatives, and include the chance to purchase a physical copy of the new collection - with profits supporting next year’s zine issue. It will be a festive (and spooky) celebration of the writers behind Haunting and of the LGBTQ+ community and allies who have shaped Nottingham’s Write Queer.
The launch will take place at Nottingham Central Library on Friday 30th October from 6:30pm-8:30pm in the Atrium. Book tickets via Eventbrite.
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