Candy Jar Books: Short Story Competition 2020Bookmark and Share

Sunday, 29 March 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster
South Wales Story Competition 2020 (Credit: Candy Jar Books)Following the success of the first two Lethbridge-Stewart Short Story Competitions, Candy Jar is presenting a third competition, again open to previously unpublished writers both in and outside the UK.

Head of Publishing, Shaun Russell, said:
In these trying times, we all need something to focus on, to keep us all sane. For a lot of people that’s writing. So it’s seems the perfect time to run another competition, give people something to aim for; a chance to write something for potential publication.
Andy Frankham-Allen, editor of the Lethbridge-Stewart range, added:
This time we’re opting for a theme, something to combat the doom and gloom that threatens to overtake us all at the moment. And that theme is The Perfect Day. The challenge is, what can you do with such a theme? What kind of story does it suggest to you? How would such a story work for our characters (the Brigadier, Anne, Bill, Lucy, Hobo, etc)? And, like in the previous entries, everyone is free to use any original character from both the Lethbridge-Stewart and Lucy Wilson Mysteries ranges, plus our licenced characters. But, and I can’t stress this enough, not characters owned by the BBC or any other creator, without express permission (proof will be required).

The winning entry will receive a Kindle Fire and Lethbridge-Stewart or The Lucy Wilson Mysteries publishing deal. All shortlisted entries will be published in The Lethbridge-Stewart Short Story Collection Vol 3.

Shaun continued:
Our two previous winners are Sean Alexander and Megan Fizell, and we look forward to publishing their new Lethbridge-Stewart stories very soon (subject to world events, of course).

With the opportunity to enter the brand-new writing competition, and a much wider scope for creativity, this is an exciting opportunity for any writer or fan of the Lethbridge-Stewart world.

The entry fee is £5. Visit here to register.
Please include: Your name, age, email, address and telephone number.

Submissions can be entered from 29 March 2020 to 24 September 2020.

Submission guidelines for the Lethbridge-Stewart South Wales Short Story Competition:
  • Maximum of 3000 words.
  • You must include your name in the document, along with the title.
  • Word (or Word compatible) files only. We do not accept PDF submissions.
  • This competition is open to anybody, whether you’re a fan of Doctor Who and Lethbridge-Stewart or not. We’re looking for stories that utilise any character from the Lethbridge-Stewart and The Lucy Wilson Mysteries range of books (list of Lethbridge-Stewart characters here: http://www.lethbridge-stewart.co.uk/characters/). It is not necessary to fit within the timeline; these stories are out of the canon of the series, so feel free to let your imagination run wild!
  • A selection of free short stories will be sent to any applicant on request, should you need to see our characters in action.
  • Our license is with the Haisman Literary Estate only, therefore you CAN use any character from the Doctor Who serials The Abominable Snowmen, The Web of Fear and The Dominators, or any original character found Candy Jar Books’ Lethbridge-Stewart and The Lucy Wilson Mysteries series (except characters from Doctor Who that appeared in the ranges under express permission).
  • You can NOT use any other Doctor Who characters or monsters. (Unless you have proof of permission from the creator of the chosen monster/character.)
  • You can NOT use UNIT or any associated characters.
  • Any entries that feature a Doctor Who character not owned by the Haisman Literary Estate (and without express permission) will be instantly disqualified, with no refund.





FILTER: - Books - Candy Jar Books - Competitions

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: The Serpent’s TongueBookmark and Share

Sunday, 29 March 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Candy Jar Books have announced the latest in their The Lucy Wilson Mysteries novel range, The Serpent’s Tongue, which this time is set during the William Shakespeare Jubilee celebrations of 1769:

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: The Serpent's Tongue (Credit: Candy Jar Cooks)The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: The Serpent’s Tongue
Written by Johnathon Macho


Lucy Wilson is really getting the hang of being a hero. She’s faced alien monsters, travelled through time and saved the world more than once! So when a school trip to Stratford-upon-Avon takes a turn for the weird, throwing her and Hobo back in time hundreds of years, she’s more than ready for another adventure.

That is, until the adventure follows her home...

With alien bears on the hunt, something massive lurking in the canals and two mysterious figures watching her every move from between the curtains, Lucy needs to face up to her responsibilities and make an impossible choice.
Take your seats. The show’s about to begin.


The Lucy Wilson Mysteries is a Lethbridge-Stewart spin-off adventure inspired by characters created for Doctor Who by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln.

Shaun Russell, head of publishing at Candy Jar, said:
Jonathan Macno is an exciting new talent from Cardiff. In 2014, at the age of 19, he was a runner-up in our second South Wales Short Story competition and was featured in the accompanying book Breaking the Surface. After that, in 2016, Jonathan wrote the Lethbridge-Stewart short story The Two Brigadiers. This was well-received by our fans, so I contacted him immediately and asked him to write for the Lucy Wilson series.
Jonathan, who is currently doing a Creative Writing MA at Cardiff University, continued:
When I first submitted work to the South Wales Short Story Competition back in 2014, which feels like forever ago, I had no idea all the brilliant opportunities that would follow. Telling a story in Lucy’s world is a privilege I’ve been working towards for a while and it’s thrilling to see the book, my first published novel, come together. The whole thing is surreal in the best possible way. The Serpent’s Tongue is special to me for a lot of reasons. I was given plenty of free reign and support from Shaun and everyone at Candy Jar, so I used the world of Doctor Who to give a platform to that most underrepresented of writers: William Shakespeare.

School kids can struggle with Shakespeare because of the way he’s often dropped on them without context, humour or fun, and that means they miss out on some wonderful worlds. I still remember the first Shakespeare I saw, a brilliant production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream my parents dragged me to that changed my life, no doubt about it. Lucy herself isn’t the Bard’s biggest fan, so this book is me trying to get her on board, and hopefully some of the readers too.

The novel is available for pre-order from the Candy Jar Books website.




Throughout the coronavirus isolation Candy Jar will be giving away free books on Kindle each Friday (and for 5 days afterwards). The first is The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: Avatars of the Intelligence. To download visit Amazon Kindle.




FILTER: - Books - Candy Jar Books

#DoctorWhoLockdown: Vincent and the DoctorBookmark and Share

Sunday, 29 March 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster
#TheUltimateGinger Vincent and The Doctor watchathon 30 Mar 2020 (Credit: Emily Cook/Stuart Crouch)The third in the global 'watchathon' events organised by Doctor Who Magazine's Emily Cook - now entitled The Doctor Who Lockdown - will be eleventh Doctor tale Vincent and the Doctor, taking place on the titular Vincent Van Gogh's birthday, 30th March.

As with previous events, the writer for the story, Richard Curtis will be commenting live on Twitter, but this time Emily and her fellow co-organiser for this viewing, the story's script editor Emma Freud, have also announced the Doctor himself, Matt Smith, will be joining Twitter to participate in the discussion, along with his trusty companion's real-life counterpart Karen Gillan, and the actor who brought Vincent to life in this episode, Tony Curran. Not only that, but the uncredited curator of the Musée d'Orsay, Bill Nighy, will also be joining in!

To join in, simply pop in your DVD or Bluray disc, or access a streaming service such as BBC iPlayer, Amazon Video, iTunes, Google Play or Netflix, and then hit play at 7:00pm BST/2:00pm EDT/5:00am AEDT/7:00am NZDT and share your viewing experience!




There is a new YouTube channel for these event, Doctor Who Lockdown, which features videos relating to all the events so far, and more to come!





FILTER: - Broadcasting - Doctor Who - International Broadcasting - Karen Gillan - Matt Smith - Series 5/31 - Special Events

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: The Serpent’s TongueBookmark and Share

Sunday, 29 March 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Candy Jar Books have announced the latest in their The Lucy Wilson Mysteries novel range, The Serpent’s Tongue, which this time is set during the William Shakespeare Jubilee celebrations of 1769:

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: The Serpent's Tongue (Credit: Candy Jar Cooks)The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: The Serpent’s Tongue
Written by Johnathon Macho


Lucy Wilson is really getting the hang of being a hero. She’s faced alien monsters, travelled through time and saved the world more than once! So when a school trip to Stratford-upon-Avon takes a turn for the weird, throwing her and Hobo back in time hundreds of years, she’s more than ready for another adventure.

That is, until the adventure follows her home...

With alien bears on the hunt, something massive lurking in the canals and two mysterious figures watching her every move from between the curtains, Lucy needs to face up to her responsibilities and make an impossible choice.
Take your seats. The show’s about to begin.


The Lucy Wilson Mysteries is a Lethbridge-Stewart spin-off adventure inspired by characters created for Doctor Who by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln.

Shaun Russell, head of publishing at Candy Jar, said:
Jonathan Macno is an exciting new talent from Cardiff. In 2014, at the age of 19, he was a runner-up in our second South Wales Short Story competition and was featured in the accompanying book Breaking the Surface. After that, in 2016, Jonathan wrote the Lethbridge-Stewart short story The Two Brigadiers. This was well-received by our fans, so I contacted him immediately and asked him to write for the Lucy Wilson series.
Jonathan, who is currently doing a Creative Writing MA at Cardiff University, continued:
When I first submitted work to the South Wales Short Story Competition back in 2014, which feels like forever ago, I had no idea all the brilliant opportunities that would follow. Telling a story in Lucy’s world is a privilege I’ve been working towards for a while and it’s thrilling to see the book, my first published novel, come together. The whole thing is surreal in the best possible way. The Serpent’s Tongue is special to me for a lot of reasons. I was given plenty of free reign and support from Shaun and everyone at Candy Jar, so I used the world of Doctor Who to give a platform to that most underrepresented of writers: William Shakespeare.

School kids can struggle with Shakespeare because of the way he’s often dropped on them without context, humour or fun, and that means they miss out on some wonderful worlds. I still remember the first Shakespeare I saw, a brilliant production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream my parents dragged me to that changed my life, no doubt about it. Lucy herself isn’t the Bard’s biggest fan, so this book is me trying to get her on board, and hopefully some of the readers too.

The novel is available for pre-order from the Candy Jar Books website.




Throughout the coronavirus isolation Candy Jar will be giving away free books on Kindle each Friday (and for 5 days afterwards). The first is The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: Avatars of the Intelligence. To download visit Amazon Kindle.




FILTER: - Books - Candy Jar Books

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: The Serpent’s TongueBookmark and Share

Sunday, 29 March 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Candy Jar Books have announced the latest in their The Lucy Wilson Mysteries novel range, The Serpent’s Tongue, which this time is set during the William Shakespeare Jubilee celebrations of 1769:

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: The Serpent's Tongue (Credit: Candy Jar Cooks)The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: The Serpent’s Tongue
Written by Johnathon Macho


Lucy Wilson is really getting the hang of being a hero. She’s faced alien monsters, travelled through time and saved the world more than once! So when a school trip to Stratford-upon-Avon takes a turn for the weird, throwing her and Hobo back in time hundreds of years, she’s more than ready for another adventure.

That is, until the adventure follows her home...

With alien bears on the hunt, something massive lurking in the canals and two mysterious figures watching her every move from between the curtains, Lucy needs to face up to her responsibilities and make an impossible choice.
Take your seats. The show’s about to begin.


The Lucy Wilson Mysteries is a Lethbridge-Stewart spin-off adventure inspired by characters created for Doctor Who by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln.

Shaun Russell, head of publishing at Candy Jar, said:
Jonathan Macno is an exciting new talent from Cardiff. In 2014, at the age of 19, he was a runner-up in our second South Wales Short Story competition and was featured in the accompanying book Breaking the Surface. After that, in 2016, Jonathan wrote the Lethbridge-Stewart short story The Two Brigadiers. This was well-received by our fans, so I contacted him immediately and asked him to write for the Lucy Wilson series.
Jonathan, who is currently doing a Creative Writing MA at Cardiff University, continued:
When I first submitted work to the South Wales Short Story Competition back in 2014, which feels like forever ago, I had no idea all the brilliant opportunities that would follow. Telling a story in Lucy’s world is a privilege I’ve been working towards for a while and it’s thrilling to see the book, my first published novel, come together. The whole thing is surreal in the best possible way. The Serpent’s Tongue is special to me for a lot of reasons. I was given plenty of free reign and support from Shaun and everyone at Candy Jar, so I used the world of Doctor Who to give a platform to that most underrepresented of writers: William Shakespeare.

School kids can struggle with Shakespeare because of the way he’s often dropped on them without context, humour or fun, and that means they miss out on some wonderful worlds. I still remember the first Shakespeare I saw, a brilliant production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream my parents dragged me to that changed my life, no doubt about it. Lucy herself isn’t the Bard’s biggest fan, so this book is me trying to get her on board, and hopefully some of the readers too.

The novel is available for pre-order from the Candy Jar Books website.




Throughout the coronavirus isolation Candy Jar will be giving away free books on Kindle each Friday (and for 5 days afterwards). The first is The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: Avatars of the Intelligence. To download visit Amazon Kindle.




FILTER: - Books - Candy Jar Books

Rose: The SequelBookmark and Share

Thursday, 26 March 2020 - Reported by Marcus
A sequel to Doctor Who: Rose, written by Russell T Davies, has now been released, celebrating 15 years since the transmission of the episode.

DOCTOR WHO: Revenge of the Nestene




FILTER: - Russell T Davies - Series 1/27

Rose #TripOfALifetimeBookmark and Share

Thursday, 26 March 2020 - Reported by Marcus
Rose #TripofaLifetime (Credit: BBC Studios)Fans around the world will be marking fifteen years since the original transmission of Rose at 7pm UK time today.

The episode was the first Doctor Who adventure for the Ninth Doctor and the first written by Russell T Davies. It was originally shown at 7pm on Saturday 26th March 2005.

The idea comes from Emily Cook of Doctor Who Magazine and follows a similar project where fans watched The Day of the Doctor last weekend.

Former show runner Russell T Davies will be live Tweeting the episode, and has written a prequel, available on the BBC Doctor Who Website. A sequel will be revealed at 7.45pm.

Viewers in the UK can watch on : And in the US on Or watch along on your DVD/Blu-ray and follow the #TripOfALifetime

Doctor Who rewatch- Rose introduction, 2020




FILTER: - Ninth Doctor - Russell T Davies - Series 1/27

Read the first thoughts of the Thirteenth DoctorBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 25 March 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Doctor, as played by Jodie Whittaker (Credit: BBC)The BBC will be releasing a number of items related to Doctor Who over the coming weeks, with today seeing a new short story featuring the thirteenth Doctor written by showrunner Chris Chibnall.

The writer said:
Hello! We’re living through some strange times right now.

With people staying home, and families stuck together, I thought maybe a few little presents from Doctor Who might help. Something to read, together or alone. New treats, from the people who make Doctor Who.

We’ll try and post things here once or twice a week. Tomorrow, we’ll have a never-before-published piece written by Russell T Davies.

To start us off, I’ve written a few words about what went through the Thirteenth Doctor’s head, immediately after she regenerated and was thrown out her TARDIS.

Stay safe.
Chris x

You can read the short story via the official BBC Doctor Who website.





FILTER: - Chris Chibnall - Doctor Who - Online

A message from the DoctorBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 25 March 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster





FILTER: - Doctor Who - Online

Time Space Visualiser: a free worldwide online eventBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 24 March 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Time Space Visualiser, by Fantom Events (2020) (Credit: Fantom Events)Fantom Events are planning a special event to take place online this coming Saturday, 28th March from 2:00pm. Time Space Visualiser will be streamed over the Internet for free, enabling any fan around the world to join in. Company Director Dexter O'Neill explains:
The show must go on... Unfortunately, due to the social distancing measures advised by the government we have had to postpone a couple of events, however the moment has been prepared for!

It is important to stay together and socialise as a community – and this platform will allow us to come together and experience rarely seen and new material, interacting with each other through live hosted segments.

Activities will include a mixture of pre-recorded and live interviews, plus some specially commissioned and performed short stories, a dip into the Fantom archive for some convention panels, and a couple of surprises too! Guests participating include Sophie Aldred, Bonnie Langford, Nicola Bryant, Mark Strickson, Katy Manning, Annette Badland, Ian Hallard and Mark Gatiss - with a few still to be revealed.

You can follow the event via the Fantom Events website on Saturday, and further news about the event can be found on social media using #timespacevisualiser and #tsv, or by joining their mailing list.




FILTER: - Conventions - Fantom - Special Events