bandit.

by Greg Forrester

It’s been a while now since we last dropped by and gave you, our truly wonderful community, a little update of how things are looking Bandit-side, but now is as good a time as any; because, as Bob Dylan might say, the times, they are a-changin’, and we want to let you know what this means for you as writers, as readers, and as loyal supporters of everything we do.

A new direction

Over the five plus years of our existence, we’ve worked hard to offer a place for new and experienced writers to submit their prose, poetry, and narrative non-fiction. Sadly, this will no longer be the case. The submissions we have in our inbox currently will be the last of their ilk, as we’re no longer in a position to operate as we once did.

There’s many reasons why this is the case, but first and foremost, at least for myself, it simply comes down to time. The life I had five years ago when Bandit was formed isn’t the one I have now, and the free time I have to dedicate isn’t what it once was either. I no longer have the time to support the company, our incredible volunteers, and our amazing community in the way they deserve, which means that, in the coming months I’ll be stepping down as Managing Director.

With this change will come a change of direction for Bandit. Any new MD should, I believe, have the freedom to shape the venture in whichever way thy see fit, and my successor, our current Editor-in-Chief Alisdair Hodgson, has designs to do just that, re-launching Bandit to provide something fresh.

Instigating this kind of substantial change isn’t easy, and so right now we’re setting no definitive deadlines. Our current focus is on working through the remaining submissions we have in our inbox and publishing our favourites of those we read. Whatever free time we can find, that’s dedicated towards planning for the future.

What this means

As Bandit Fiction moves in this new direction, we’re also reticent to leave behind the amazing things we’ve achieved, produced, and published so far. Because of this, all previously published works, as mentioned before, will still have a home and a clear presence on the website.

For those who support us on Patreon, we’ll be ending that support prior to your next donation – we’d love you to continue to support us as we move forward into our new life, but we want that to be your decision, rather than just rolling over your support.

For those who wish to volunteer with us, I’m afraid we’re no longer recruiting volunteers in the ways we have previously. It may be, as the new-look Bandit evolves, that opportunities become available, but that’s not something we can guarantee at this time.

One last thing

We’d like to end this post by saying a huge and heartfelt thank you – to everyone who has been part of the Bandit journey so far. Bandit was founded with the idea of giving more opportunities to new and emerging writers, and in the five years of our life so far we’ve published hundreds of writers, many for the first time, offered countless pieces of free feedback, and given many the chance to work and gain experience within the indie publishing industry. It’s been a pleasure to do what we do, to have done what we’ve done, and if the next five years is anything like the previous five, I think everyone who stays with us on this journey is in for a treat.

If you have any questions, by all means get in touch.