Morgen’s Email Critique Group

April 12, 2018October 31, 20194 Comments

Hello. I know that writers, myself included, need – and appreciate – feedback on our work. By that I don’t mean “Oh yes, that’s great” – although that would be good too. We need to be told where we’re going wrong. I am a freelance editor so it’s my day job to do that but I thought I’d start this critique group so that you could also get feedback from other writers.

The idea is that you submit your writing (max. 5,000 words per submission*) – whenever you like – and I will collate them and send them on to others in the group for them to return to me within two weeks, although the sooner the better) so that I can return it to the original author.

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Last chance to get my online courses for £1 / $1-$2!!

April 2, 2016March 31, 2016Leave a comment

Hello everyone. Yes, that’s right. Udemy are stopping the cut-price discount coding and in future, discounts will be a maximum of 50% off. They will also limit the cost of a course from a minimum of $15 to a maximum of $50. This will stop some tutors offering inflated $300 courses which I think has been crazy to charge!

I have six courses available to-date via Udemy.com and Fedora (the rest following in the next few weeks) and on Udemy are just £1 or $1-2 using the codes below…

writer’s block workbook – volume 1: five weeks’ worth of beginning prompts to help create over 100 new pieces with tips to help your writing ongoing. This course is currently just £1 / $1 (normally £8 / $9) by entering the code MB-BLOG-DOLLAR (or click here). The link to the same course on Fedora is here but it is currently full price. There are however other price options on Fedora to include one-to-one support from me, the tutor. Click here for the course description.
writer’s block workbook – volume 2: five weeks’ worth of keyword prompts to help create over 100 new pieces with tips to help your writing ongoing. This course is currently just £1 / $1 (normally £8 / $9) by entering the code MB-BLOG-DOLLAR (or click here). The link to the same course on Fedora is here but it is currently full price. There are however other price options on Fedora to include one-to-one support from me, the tutor. Click here for the course description.
writing tips – part 1: 30 tips and 90+ exercises to spark your creativity. This course is currently just £1 / $1 (normally £12 / $15) by entering the code MB-BLOG-DOLLAR (or click here). The link to the same course on Fedora is here but it is currently full price. There are however other price options on Fedora to include one-to-one support from me, the tutor. Click here for the course description.
writing tips – part 2: 30 tips and 90+ exercises to enhance your writing. This course is currently just £1 / $2 (normally £12 / $15) by entering the code MB-BLOG-POUND (click here). The link to the same course on Fedora is here but it is currently full price. There are however other price options on Fedora to include one-to-one support from me, the tutor. Click here for the course description.
entering writing competitions: writing competitions from an entrant’s and judge’s viewpoint. This course is currently just £1 / $1 (normally £12 / $15) by entering the code MB-BLOG-DOLLAR (or click here). The link to the same course on Fedora is here but it is currently full price. There are however other price options on Fedora to include one-to-one support from me, the tutor. See here for the course description.
make your book pitch-ready: take your novel, non-fiction book or story / poetry collection from draft to submission and beyond. This course is currently just £1 / $2 (normally £19 / $25) by entering the code MB-BLOG-POUND (or click here). The link to the same course on Fedora is here but it is currently full price. There are however other price options on Fedora to include one-to-one support from me, the tutor. Click here for the course description.

The prices listed above are for the course only (to include help with the course itself within the discussion areas on the courses themselves). For anyone looking for feedback on their writing on the Udemy courses, take a look at my Editing and Critique page which is based upon the word count of your manuscript. Alternatively there are other pricing options on the Fedora links that offer extra assistance.

October-deadline writing competitions

September 21, 20152 Comments

The following are October-deadline writing competitions taken from this blog’s Competitions page. Do let me know if you find any are incorrect or out of date, and do let me know how you get on if you enter any of them.

Children’s: The Times/Chicken House.
Children’s: The charity the National y Trust has launched with Bloomsbury Books, The New Children’s Author Prize, set to unearth brilliant new talent in writing for children. The deadline is 31st October and the details are on http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/authorprize.
Flash Fiction: I now run a free monthly 100-word competition with the chance to win my online writing courses – details here.
Flash Fiction: Indies Unlimited hosts a weekly 250-word max. prompt competition – see Indies Unlimited. Also see ‘Short stories’ below.
Flash Fiction: Weekly challenge on theironwriter.com.
Flash fiction: The SSCHQ Crime and Mystery Flash Fiction Competition is a writing competition hosted right here at Short Story Competition HQ. Members of SSCHQ are invited to submit crime and mystery stories for the chance to win publication and promotion. Join for free here. Short stories up to 800 words maximum. Closing Date: 7 October. Free entry. Prize = publication. Details on http://www.shortstorycompetitionhq.com/sschq-crime-and-mystery-flash-fiction-competition. Their Sci-Fi competition, Fantasy competition, Horror competition, Romance competition, and Literary competition have the same rules.
Flash Fiction: Each month the Scottish Book Trust provides a prompt to get you started, but where the <50-word story goes from there is entirely up to you. Their favourite story will be published on their page and the writer will receive a lovely Novel Poster from The Literary Gift Company. You can submit your story in the body of an email or as an attachment and remember to include your full name with your entry. They also welcome entries in Gaelic or Scots.
Flash Fiction: Words with JAM‘s ‘Shorter Story’ and ‘Shortest Story‘ competitions have a deadline of end October. Details on http://jdsmith.moonfruit.com (directed from http://www.wordswithjam.co.uk/p/competitions.html)
Flash Fiction: The New Writer Annual Prose & Poetry Prizes launches every April. £2,000 in prizes. Closing date 30th November. Short stories, flash fiction and poetry.
Flash Fiction: Bare Fiction Prize welcomes entries for their inaugural Poetry, Flash Fiction & Short Story Awards. You can find more details, enter or download a postal entry form here: http://www.barefictionmagazine.co.uk/competitions.
Flash Fiction / Short Stories: The Writer’s Notebook is a monthly, free to enter short story competition. Each month has a set theme, and each writer can submit up to 2 stories per month. A new theme opens on the 1st of each month, and the deadline for entries is the 28th of each month. Future themes are available to view on our webpage. The prize is publication of the short story in our Anthology at the end of the year, and an equal share of sale profits of said Anthology. It is an experimental idea for a free to enter writing competition, relying on social media to drive sales of the Anthology and increase the prize. Stories should be 400-1500 words. A short list of three stories will be published on our blog for our readers to vote for a winner. For more information please see http://thewritersnotebookgroup.blogspot.com.
Flash fiction: An ongoing competition is the NAWG’s ‘100’ competition. The task is to write a 100-word story exactly (usually excluding the title) and when they have 100 stories in, the judge picks his / her favourite and awards £75 to the winner and £25 to the runner-up. Entry is £3 for the first story, £5.50 for two or £8 for three. Details on http://www.nawg.co.uk/3805.
Graphic novel: myriadeditions.com.
Mixed: Christian magazine Pockets has a different theme per month, Caketrain and mkweb.co.uk (poetry & shorts).
Mixed: The Prolitzer Prize for Prose writing 1st prize £130 + publication, max 2000 words fiction or non-fiction. Closing date usually 1st October. Thanks again to The New Writer magazine for the info.
Non-fiction: Vivid Scribe is about one thing – writing about popular culture in thoughtful and meaningful ways. And that’s what we want you to do. Write an essay in Vivid Scribe style and submit it to the Vivid Scribe Pop Culture Essay competition for your chance to win cash and publication. Closing date: October 1st. Essays 1200 – 3000 words on popular culture. Topics can be broad but must fit into one of the following categories: movies, TV, music, comics, books. Fee: $7.50 per essay. Prize: $50 plus publication. See http://www.vividscribe.com/vivid-scribe-pop-culture-essay-competition for details.
Novels: The Flash 500 Novel Opening Chapter & Synopsis Competition, established 2013, is an annual competition, opening for entries on 1st May and closing on 31st October. The judges for this competition will be the senior editors at Crooked Cat Publishing. Entry fee: £10. Prizes: £500 first prize, plus a runner’s up prize of £200.
Novels: http://www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk is the home of the Exeter Novel Prize, closing 31st October. The direct link is http://www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk/the-2014-exeter-novel-prize.html.
Novels: iWriteReadRate and Cornerstones Literary Consultancy (voteformyebook.com) are offering a monthly social competition to members of the community – see ‘Monthly’ towards the end of this page.
Novels: societyofauthors.org/mckitterick.
Playwriting: Almost Random Theatre is running two competitions – 1. Wellbeing Playwriting Competition: We are seeking one outstanding 20 minute play to be put on in Oxford, England. The play must be no more than 20 minutes long and require no more than three actors. Closing date: 10th October. 2. Retreats Playwriting Competition: We are seeking one outstanding 10 minute play to be put on in Oxford, England in January. The play must be no more than 10 minutes long and require no more than three actors. Closing date: 10th November. See http://www.almostrandomtheatre.co.uk/competitions. My thanks go to Margaret Taylor for the info.
Poetry: Milton Keynes Writers’ Group runs a Speakeasy poetry and short story competition with a 31st October deadline. Click here for the entry form (submissions via post only).
Poetry: The Writers’ Forum Poetry Competition is a monthly contest for poems of up to 40 lines. Closing: Monthly. Entries arriving too late (after the 15th) for one month go forward to the next. Prizes: 1st – £100. Runners-up – A Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Entry Fee: £5 each, £3 each thereafter. Includes a critique (sae required if entering by post). Comp Page: writers-forum.com/poetrycomp.html.
Poetry: The New Writer Annual Prose & Poetry Prizes launches every April. £2,000 in prizes. Closing date 30th November. Short stories, flash fiction and poetry.
Poetry: Bare Fiction Prize welcomes entries for their inaugural Poetry, Flash Fiction & Short Story Awards. You can find more details, enter or download a postal entry form here: http://www.barefictionmagazine.co.uk/competitions.
Poetry: other October-deadline poetry competitions include Balsall Writers, Hastings International, Sentinel, TRYangle, Writing Magazine (WM: subscriber-only theme: sunrise), National Poetry Competition, societyofauthors.org/eric-gregory, raggedraven.co.uk and NAWG (see below).
Screenwriting: Canada-based Wildsound run monthly screenwriting competitions.
Scriptwriting: The Channel 4/Òran Mór Comedy Drama Award carries a prize of £5000 and is open to all writers resident in the UK. Submit script in one act and no more than 50 minutes in length and using no more than 3 actors. The winning entry will be selected by a panel of judges drawn from Òran Mór and Channel 4 and will be given its stage premier in March at A Play A Pie and A Pint during the Glasgow International Comedy Festival. The winning entry will also be produced as a 2-minute viral video. Closing date usually 1st October. Thanks again to The New Writer magazine for the info.
Scriptwriting: Norwich Film Festival has a short script competition – up to 30 pages. Note that the submission fee is quite high (£25 pre June 30th, £35 pre August 31st, £45 pre October 31st) and the top prize is relatively low (£250) but high entry fee may mean less competition? http://www.norwichfilmfestival.co.uk/submit-your-film.
Short stories: Foyles runs a short story competition – full details here. Closing date usually early / mid October.
Short stories: Sammythebookworm.com has a short story contest (<5,000 words) with a deadline of October 31st. Details on http://mikecoville.wordpress.com/2013/10/11/rewarding-reads-short-story-contest-2013. Entry fee is $5 with a guaranteed $200 cash prize for first place. Contest sponsor IndieReader.com.
Short stories: The Writers’ Forum Short Story Competition is a monthly no-theme contest for stories between 1,000 and 3,000 words. Closing: Monthly. Entries arriving too late (after the 15th) for one month go forward to the next. Prizes: £350, £150, £100 and publication in Writers’ Forum magazine (and possible anthology). Entry Fee: £3 per story for subscribers, £6 each non-subscribers. £5 extra for a critique (sae required if entering by post). Comp Page: http://writers-forum.com/storycomp.html.
Short stories: Bare Fiction Prize welcomes entries for their inaugural Poetry, Flash Fiction & Short Story Awards. You can find more details, enter or download a postal entry form here: http://www.barefictionmagazine.co.uk/competitions.
Short stories: Massacre Magazine runs a quarterly horror 250-word max short story competition. Deadlines end April, July, October, January. “We will pick one winner who will receive a £15/$20 Amazon voucher and have their story published in the summer issue of Massacre Magazine. Our decision is final, any moaners will be mangled.” :
Short stories: Milton Keynes Writers’ Group runs a Speakeasy poetry and short story competition with a 31st October deadline. Click here for the entry form (submissions via post only).
Short stories: Rubery Book Award is the longest established book award based in the UK for independent and self published books and the details of their short story competition are here. The deadline is also 31st October.
Short stories: Launched in 2012, the London Magazine short story competition is now open for entries. Writers are offered the chance to win cash prizes as well as publication in the magazine and online. Short stories up to 4000 words. Flash Fiction is not allowed (so I’d say 1,000 words+). Multiple entries per author are welcome. Open to international authors. Competition opens 1st September and closes 1st October. The winning story will be published in an issue of The London Magazine, both in print and online. The 2 runners up will be featured on the website. Entry fee: £10 per story. See http://thelondonmagazine.org/tlm-competition/the-london-magazine-short-story-competition-2013 and http://www.shortstorycompetitionhq.com/the-london-magazine-short-story-competition for details.
Short stories: The SSCHQ Crime and Mystery Flash Fiction Competition is a writing competition hosted right here at Short Story Competition HQ. Members of SSCHQ are invited to submit crime and mystery stories for the chance to win publication and promotion. Join for free here. Short stories up to 800 words maximum. Closing Date: 7 October. Free entry. Prize = publication. Details on http://www.shortstorycompetitionhq.com/sschq-crime-and-mystery-flash-fiction-competition. Their Sci-Fi competition, Fantasy competition, Horror competition, Romance competition, and Literary competition have the same rules.
Short stories: Avogel, Balsall Writers, Chorleywood Literature Festival, Spilling Ink, TRYangle, Writing Magazine (WM: open to all theme: adult fairy tale / subscriber-only theme: marriage / anniversary), Rrofihe, Raspberry & Vine, A Vogel Dormeasan, Ruth Rendell, Earlyworks, Aphrodite’s Dream, fiction-garden.co.uk, societyofauthors.org/tom-gallon-trust-and-olive-cook-award, Sunpenny Open Short Story, Words with JAM.
Short stories: Hayley Sherman runs a monthly short story competition for submissions on any subject up to 2,000 words. The winners are published on the website, promoted online and receive a £10 First Writer voucher. All entrants are also considered for publication in The New Short Story Annual at the end of the year. Deadline 25th of the month. Heather Marie Schuldt runs a similar contest, although 500-750 words max., but with the same deadline.
Short stories: The H.E. Bates Short Story Competition (run by Northampton Writers Group opened in June and has a 30th November deadline and for 2015 has me as Head Judge. 🙂 Prizes: £500, £100, £50. Entry Fee: £6 for the first story, £10 for two and £5 per story thereafter. Full details on http://www.hebatescompetition.org.uk.
Short stories: Writing East Midlands / Lincolnshire Echo competition (only open to writers currently living in the East Midlands – Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Rutland, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire) with a ‘winner’ each month (submitted by 25th) with an October deadline and the overall winner wins £300. See here for more details.
Short stories: Glimmer Train (different category each month).
Short stories: The NAWG Open Writing Competitions have a closing date of 31st October. Short Stories can be any length from 500 to 2000 words. Poems can be any style, maximum 40 lines. Prizes for each category First: £250 Second: £100 Third: £50. Fourth and Fifth: A signed copy of The Writer’s Treasury of Ideas by Linda Lewis. Entry fee for each category £5 or three poems for £10. (Cheques to NAWG, or pay on the website by PayPal). But NO EMAIL entries please ALL manuscripts must be received by post. An optional critique from both Linda and James is available for a further £3. * Important Note* When requesting a critique, please enclose an s.a.e. with the correct postage. Competition rules, full details and a downloadable entry form can be found on the National Association of Writers’ Groups website: nawg.co.uk or request full details by email: pamfish@ntlworld.com or by post: NAWG Competition Administrator, Maria O’Sullivan, 14 Lagoon Lodge, Tallington Lakes Leisure Park, Barholm Road, Tallington, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 4RJ Copyright remains with the author. Closing Date: 31st October. Details from http://www.nawg.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Open-Comp-entry-form20131.pdf.
Short stories: The Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize for ages 18-25, interpret a Franklin quote in max 1500 words. 1st prize £750, closing date 31 October. See benjaminfranklinhouse.org/site/sections/news/literary_prize.html.
Short stories: Another 31st October deadline is the ‘Bloody Parchment Horror Short Story Competition. Free to enter, max 3,500 words. See http://www.shortstorycompetitionhq.com/bloody-parchment-horror-short-story-competition and http://bloodyparchment.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/2013-bloody-parchment-submission.html for details.
Short story collections: iWriteReadRate and Cornerstones Literary Consultancy (voteformyebook.com) are offering a monthly social competition to members of the community – see ‘Monthly’ towards the end of this page.
Short stories: The Bath Short Story Award opens in October for entries – see ‘March’.
Short stories: The New Writer Annual Prose & Poetry Prizes launches every April. £2,000 in prizes. Closing date 30th November. Short stories, flash fiction and poetry.
Short stories: Two October deadline short story competitions: http://www.shortstorycompetitionhq.com/aura-estrada-short-story-contest-boston-review (1st Oct @ $20 per story!) and http://www.shortstorycompetitionhq.com/vwf-short-story-competition (27th Oct @ $15 per story)

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July-deadline writing competitions

June 22, 2015June 30, 2015Leave a comment

On my blog’s Competitions page is a list of some writing competitions by closing date (month by month) then by regularity, followed by competition websites.

If you would like your competition listed please email me the details as per the format below (i.e. one line per competition) ensuring that it starts with the type of competition it is and highlighting the month it closes. Thank you.

As we’re over halfway through June already, below are the July deadlines (by format). If you find any information out of date, please do let me know (or leave a comment below). Thank you.

JULY

Children’s: Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Undiscovered Voices is a competition for unpublished and un-agented writers and illustrators living in the EU. The anthology will include twelve fiction extracts – from early readers up through young adult novels – and twelve black-and-white illustrations. The anthology will be published the following February and sent free of charge to editors, art directors and agents whose focus is children’s literature. Open for entries from 1 July to 15 August.
Children’s: Small but Mighty Writers runs free-to-enter writing competitions for authors aged 7-11 and 12-15, as well as being a ‘creative writing community for young writers’. Competitions currently close 1st July.
Flash Fiction: Indies Unlimited hosts a weekly 250-word max. prompt competition – see Indies Unlimited. Also see ‘Short stories’ below.
Flash Fiction: Weekly challenge on theironwriter.com.
Flash Fiction: The New Writer Annual Prose & Poetry Prizes launches every April. £2,000 in prizes. Closing date 30th November. Short stories, flash fiction and poetry.
Flash Fiction: Each month the Scottish Book Trust provides a prompt to get you started, but where the <50-word story goes from there is entirely up to you. Their favourite story will be published on their page and the writer will receive a lovely Novel Poster from The Literary Gift Company. You can submit your story in the body of an email or as an attachment and remember to include your full name with your entry. They also welcome entries in Gaelic or Scots.
Flash Fiction: Tethered by Letters’ Fall Flash Fiction Contest is “currently accepting flash fiction submissions of 55, 250, or 500 words in length. The flash fiction contest winner will be published as the featured flash fiction in the Fall Quarterly Journal. Three finalists will be considered for subsequent quarterly journal publications or a TBL monthly feature. Each finalist will also receive free professional edits on their submission. International submissions welcome.” Deadline: July 15. Prize: $50 and publication in the quarterly journal. Entry Fee: $4 per entry OR $10 for three entries URL: http://tetheredbyletters.com/submissions/contest-submission.
Flash Fiction / Short Stories: The Writer’s Notebook is a monthly, free to enter short story competition. Each month has a set theme, and each writer can submit up to 2 stories per month. A new theme opens on the 1st of each month, and the deadline for entries is the 28th of each month. Future themes are available to view on our webpage. The prize is publication of the short story in our Anthology at the end of the year, and an equal share of sale profits of said Anthology. It is an experimental idea for a free to enter writing competition, relying on social media to drive sales of the Anthology and increase the prize. Stories should be 400-1500 words. A short list of three stories will be published on our blog for our readers to vote for a winner. For more information please see http://thewritersnotebookgroup.blogspot.com.
Flash fiction: An ongoing competition is the NAWG’s ‘100’ competition. The task is to write a 100-word story exactly (usually excluding the title) and when they have 100 stories in, the judge picks his / her favourite and awards £75 to the winner and £25 to the runner-up. Entry is £3 for the first story, £5.50 for two or £8 for three. Details on http://www.nawg.co.uk/3805.
Mixed: Submission to the non-fiction and fiction Shirley You Jest Book Awards opens 20th May 2015 (closes 22nd July 2015). I’m one of the sponsors!
Mixed: Christian magazine Pockets has a different theme per month, Matrix Magazine (poetry & fiction), Tenby Arts Festival (shorts & poetry), Arthritis Care (shorts & poetry), Wasafiri (poetry, fiction, life writing), Poundbury Voices (shorts & poetry with Dorset connection), Leaf Books (book reviews), Wells Lit Fest (novels, poetry, short stories), Slingink (shorts & poetry), Dream Questone.
Mixed (novels & short story collections): iWriteReadRate and Cornerstones Literary Consultancy (voteformyebook.com) are offering a monthly social competition to members of the community – see ‘Monthly’ towards the end of this page.
Mixed: globalfeelgoodcompany.com/competition (opens May, closes 30th September – see ‘September’ for full details).
Non-fiction: another non-fiction competition is Sportswriters.org.
Novels: First Chapter Writing Competition: Prizes: £250, £200, £150, £100, £75. Closing date: 12th July. £4 per submission. Professional feedback is available for an additional £5.00 per submission. This competition is perfect if you have an unpublished novel and would like to enter the first chapter into our fantastic new competition. You can also have your submissions evaluated professionally for an additional £5.00 each. All we ask is that your first chapter has a maximum of 6000 words and that you are the author. Full details online.
Novels: The Flash 500 Novel Opening Chapter & Synopsis Competition, established 2013, is an annual competition, opening for entries on 1st May and closing on 31st October. The judges for this competition will be the senior editors at Crooked Cat Publishing. Entry fee: £10. Prizes: £500 first prize, plus a runner’s up prize of £200.
Novels: Legend Press, the leading independent publisher in the UK has an annual bursary prize for writers called the Luke Bitmead Bursary. “The prize was set up in honour of Luke Bitmead. His debut novel was the first novel Legend Press published but sadly, after struggling with depression, Luke committed suicide. The award has been set up by his mother in partnership with us to support and encourage the work of struggling writers, and is the UK’s biggest prize for unpublished authors. This is an award that we are very proud to run and I am emailing you today to let you know about it in case any of your writers would be interested in entering. Submissions must be adult fiction, and only completed novels will be considered. Full guidelines can be found on our website. Closing: Submissions open 1st May until 1st August. Prizes: A publishing contract with Legend Press and a £2,500 cash bursary. Entry Fee: Free to enter.”
Novels: Novel Rocket runs an annual Launch Pad Contest: Boosting You Out of the Slush Pile. Entries will be accepted in all genres beginning mid-January. The deadline for submission is different for genre categories according to the following schedule. In each case, entries must be received by 11:59 PM EST on the 10th day of the month (April to September) listed on novelrocket.com/p/launch-pad-contest.html. They also post a new writing-related article seven days a week, from author interviews to marketing discussions to articles about the craft of writing. NB. The entry fee is $45 so give this very careful consideration.
Novels: Wells Lit Fest (novels, poetry, short stories) – Poetry and Short Story: First Prize £500, Second Prize £200, Third Prize £100. In addition there is the Wyvern Prize of £100 for entrants living in the BA, BS, and TA postcodes. Crime Novel: The winning entry will be read by a major publisher and by a leading agent. In addition there will be a cash prize of £100. The judge may also arrange for an exceptional runner-up entry to be read by an agent or a publisher. Entry fees: Poetry and Short Story: £5 for each entry, Crime Novel: £10 for each entry. For an additional fee of £20, entrants may request comments from the judge. Deadline 31st July. For full rules see wellslitfest.org.uk/competitionrules.php.
Novels: other July deadline competitions include The Greenhouse Funny Prize (in association with The University of York’s Writers’ Workshop Festival of Writing), Aurora Metro‘s The Virginia Prize.
Plays: Sussex Playwrights.
Plays: The 1st Liverpool International Open Short Story, Poetry and Playwriting Competition – see ‘Mixed’ above.
Poetry: Ledbury Poetry Festival Poetry Competition has a closing date of: 9th July.  First Prize: £1000 and a residential writing course at Tŷ Newydd  . Ledbury Poetry Festival Poetry Competitions opens March with a great first prize of £1000 cash and a residential course at  Tŷ Newydd.   Adults: First Prize £1000 and a week at Tŷ Newyd  Second Prize £500 . Third Prize £250.   See website poetry-festival.co.uk for details of Young People and Children’s competition section.   Winners have the opportunity to read their poems at next year’s Ledbury Poetry Festival.  Go to poetry-festival.co.uk for further details of our poetry competition and to download an entry form, or telephone 0845 458 1743 and we will put a leaflet in the post for you. Entry fees: first poem £5, for each subsequent poem £3.  Children and Young People enter free for first poem.   Ledbury Poetry Festival runs early July. If you wish to join our email list and receive a programme in May email: boxoffice@poetry-festival.co.uk.
Poetry: www.manechancesanctuary.org/writing has a poetry and short story competition, both with a 10 July closing date. Proceeds go to the horse sanctuary so you’re supporting a good cause, even if you don’t win.
Poetry: Liberated Words Poetry Film Festival Competitions. Deadline: 30 July. Videopoetry or digital moving poetry amongst other names is, according to Tom Konyves: the poetic juxtaposition of images with text and sound. See poetrycan.co.uk for details.
Poetry: The Portico Prizes. Deadline: 31 July. Manchester’s famous Portico Library is accepting poems on the theme of letters. Your poem could mention letters, be about sending letters, an extract of a letter, or actually about letters. There are two categories: One for under 18s (free to enter, judged by young writers James Mullard and Richy Campbell) and over 16s (£5 per entry plus £2.50 per extra) judged by published poets Mandy Coe and Sarah McLennan). See theportico.org.uk for details.
Poetry: The 1st Liverpool International Open Short Story, Poetry and Playwriting Competition – see ‘Mixed’ above.
Poetry: Tethered by Letters’ Fall Poetry Contest. We are currently accepting poetry submissions of all genres and styles—from traditional form to free verse. Length requirements are no more than three pages per poem, single spaced with double spacing between stanzas. The poetry contest winner will be published as the featured poem in the Fall Quarterly Journal. Three finalists will be considered for subsequent quarterly journal publications or a TBL monthly poetry feature. Each finalist will also receive free professional edits on their submission. International submissions welcome. Deadline: July 15. Prize: $100 and publication in the quarterly journal. Entry Fee: $5 per entry OR $12 for three entries. URL: http://tetheredbyletters.com/submissions/contest-submission.
Poetry: The Writers’ Forum Poetry Competition is a monthly contest for poems of up to 40 lines. Closing: Monthly. Entries arriving too late (after the 15th) for one month go forward to the next. Prizes: 1st – £100. Runners-up – A Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Entry Fee: £5 each, £3 each thereafter. Includes a critique (sae required if entering by post). Comp Page: writers-forum.com/poetrycomp.html.
Poetry: The Mere Literary Festival’s Biennial Open Poetry Competition has a deadline of July 12th. See merelitfest.co.uk or send an sae to MLF, Lawrences, Old Hollow, Mere, Wilts. BA12 6EG. Proceeds to Mere & District Linkscheme (Re.Charity No: 1062328)
Poetry: Wells Lit Fest (novels, poetry, short stories) – Poetry and Short Story: First Prize £500, Second Prize £200, Third Prize £100. In addition there is the Wyvern Prize of £100 for entrants living in the BA, BS, and TA postcodes. Crime Novel: The winning entry will be read by a major publisher and by a leading agent. In addition there will be a cash prize of £100. The judge may also arrange for an exceptional runner-up entry to be read by an agent or a publisher. Entry fees: Poetry and Short Story: £5 for each entry, Crime Novel: £10 for each entry. For an additional fee of £20, entrants may request comments from the judge. Deadline 31st July. For full rules see wellslitfest.org.uk/competitionrules.php.
Poetry: The New Writer Annual Prose & Poetry Prizes launches every April. £2,000 in prizes. Closing date 30th November. Short stories, flash fiction and poetry.
Poetry: other poetry competitions include Aldeburgh First Collection Prize, Buzzwords, LIPP, Tenby Arts Fest, Thynks Postcard, Vallum Mag, Writers Bureau, Writing Magazine (monthly), Essex Poetry Festival, Mslexia, Buzzwords Open Poetry Competition, Foyle Young Poets.
Science-fiction: Literary science magazine Cosmos is looking for short stories by end July.
Screenwriting: Canada-based Wildsound run monthly screenwriting competitions.
Scriptwriting: The First Liverpool Writers Poetry, Script and Short Story Competition has a deadline of 31st July. See liverpoolwriters.wix.com/liverpool-writers#!competition/c1vm7 for details.
Short stories: www.manechancesanctuary.org/writing has a poetry and short story competition, both with a 10 July closing date. Proceeds go to the horse sanctuary so you’re supporting a good cause, even if you don’t win.
Short stories: The Doris Gooderson Short Story Competition from Wrekin Writers – maximum 1200 words, 1st prize £150, entry fee £3 per story, all profit (Entry Fees less Prize Money) to Severn Hospice, closing date 15th July. See sites.google.com/site/wrekinwriters/Home/competitions-1/doris-gooderson-2013-competition.
Short stories: Tethered by Letters’ Fall Literary Contests. We are currently accepting submissions for our short story contest (1,000 to 7,500 words, open genre). TBL strives to publish writers with engaging stories, vivid characters, and fresh writing styles. All winners will be published in Tethered by Letters’ Quarterly Journal. All finalists will receive free professional edits on their submission and be considered for later publication. The prize is $250 (USDA) for the short story winner. Winner announced publicly on August 1st. Multiple entries accepted. International submissions welcome. Good luck to all our authors! Deadline: July 15th. Fee: $10 per story. URL: http://tetheredbyletters.com/submissions/contest-submission.
Short stories: The Writers’ Forum Short Story Competition is a monthly no-theme contest for stories between 1,000 and 3,000 words. Closing: Monthly. Entries arriving too late (after the 15th) for one month go forward to the next. Prizes: £350, £150, £100 and publication in Writers’ Forum magazine (and possible anthology). Entry Fee: £3 per story for subscribers, £6 each non-subscribers. £5 extra for a critique (sae required if entering by post). Comp Page: http://writers-forum.com/storycomp.html.
Short stories: H G Wells Festival Short Story Anthology. Stories must be between 1500 and 5000 words long. Entry fees are free for entrants aged 25 or under, and £5 per story for entrants aged 26 or older. Shortlisted stories will be published in the Anthology, at the judges’ discretion, and extracts may also be used online to publicise the competition. Closing date 20th July.
Short stories: Hayley Sherman runs a monthly short story competition for submissions on any subject up to 2,000 words. The winners are published on the website, promoted online and receive a £10 First Writer voucher. All entrants are also considered for publication in The New Short Story Annual at the end of the year. Deadline 25th of the month. Heather Marie Schuldt runs a similar contest, although 500-750 words max., but with the same deadline.
Short stories: The H.E. Bates Short Story Competition (run by Northampton Writers Group opened in June and has a 30th November deadline and for 2015 has me as Head Judge. 🙂 Prizes: £500, £100, £50. Entry Fee: £6 for the first story, £10 for two and £5 per story thereafter. Full details on http://www.hebatescompetition.org.uk.
Short stories: Scotland’s International Crime Festival Bloody Scotland (which runs mid-September) has a short story competition opens 19th June, closes 28th July.
Short stories: 3-into-1 story competition has a 3,000 word limit, £1,000 top prize (then £500, £300, £200 and top 20 stories will be published in an anthology. Fee £7. Judges Michael Dobbs and Adèle Geras. No genre limit but you have to include a black queen chess piece, bunch of fresh flowers and a £10 note in the story. 🙂 A portion of the entry proceeds goes to The Arthrogryposis Group charity and the deadline is 31st July.
Short stories: The Sean O Faolain Short Story Competition is run by the Munster Literature Center and is offering writers the chance to win cash, publication and a writer’s residency.Stories up to 3000 words. All themes and genres. Writers of any age and any nationality are welcome. Multiple entries are welcome. All stories to be original and unpublished. Closing date: July 31st. Entry fee: €15, US $20 or £15. See http://www.munsterlit.ie/SOF%20Page.html for details.
Short stories: Another 31st July deadline is The Carmel Bird Short Fiction Award, a short story competition run by Spineless Wonders. In this writing competition, authors have the chance to win cash and publication in anthology. Short stories up to 4000 words. Entry fee: AS$10. 1st Prize – $500. Winning and shortlisted stories will be published in the Spineless Wonders annual anthology along with stories by invited authors. See http://shortaustralianstories.com.au/submissions/the-carmel-bird-award for details.
Short Stories: The First Liverpool Writers Poetry, Script and Short Story Competition has a deadline of 31st July. See liverpoolwriters.wix.com/liverpool-writers#!competition/c1vm7 for details.
Short stories: Massacre Magazine runs a quarterly horror 250-word max short story competition. Deadlines end April, July, October, January. “We will pick one winner who will receive a £15/$20 Amazon voucher and have their story published in the summer issue of Massacre Magazine. Our decision is final, any moaners will be mangled.” 🙂
Short stories: Wells Lit Fest (novels, poetry, short stories) – Poetry and Short Story: First Prize £500, Second Prize £200, Third Prize £100. In addition there is the Wyvern Prize of £100 for entrants living in the BA, BS, and TA postcodes. Crime Novel: The winning entry will be read by a major publisher and by a leading agent. In addition there will be a cash prize of £100. The judge may also arrange for an exceptional runner-up entry to be read by an agent or a publisher. Entry fees: Poetry and Short Story: £5 for each entry, Crime Novel: £10 for each entry. For an additional fee of £20, entrants may request comments from the judge. Deadline 31st July. For full rules see wellslitfest.org.uk/competitionrules.php.
Short stories: The New Writer Annual Prose & Poetry Prizes launches every April. £2,000 in prizes. Closing date 30th November. Short stories, flash fiction and poetry.
Short stories: Other July deadline competitions include Glimmer Train (different category each month), HISSAC, Laurel House, Monologue With A Twist, Tenby Arts Fest, Writing Magazine, Wrekin Writers, Literature Wales, Hay Short Story, Munster, Narrative Magazine, Helene James, Writers of the Future (<17,000 words), Writers’ Clinic, Laurel House Creative Workshops, Alibi.
Soundtracks: Mini Operas soundtrack competition opens 4th June closes late July.
NB. Don’t forget to check out the ongoing competition websites listed at the end of the competitions page.

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June-deadline writing competitions

May 19, 2015Leave a comment

On my blog’s Competitions page is a list of some writing competitions by closing date (month by month) then by regularity, followed by competition websites.

As we’re over halfway through May already, below are the June deadlines (by format). If you find any information out of date, please do let me know (or leave a comment below). Thank you.

JUNE

Children’s: The Commonword Diversity Writing for Children Prize has a 30th June deadline. See ihaveadream.org.uk and / or email w4c@cultureword.org.uk or phone +44 161 832 3777.
Flash Fiction: Weekly challenge on theironwriter.com.
Flash Fiction: The Flash 500 Fiction Competition, established 2009, is a quarterly open-themed competition for fiction up to 500 words has closing dates of 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December. Entry fee: £5 for one story, £8 for two stories. Prizes: £300 plus publication in Words with JAM, £100 and £50.
Flash Fiction: Each month the Scottish Book Trust provides a prompt to get you started, but where the <50-word story goes from there is entirely up to you. Their favourite story will be published on their page and the writer will receive a lovely Novel Poster from The Literary Gift Company. You can submit your story in the body of an email or as an attachment and remember to include your full name with your entry. They also welcome entries in Gaelic or Scots.
Flash Fiction: Northampton Literature Group usually runs a yearly poetry competition with a mid-May deadline but it is currently on hold and the group is running a flash fiction competition instead! The deadline is 30th June (midnight, UK time) and their Head Judge is… me! 🙂
Flash Fiction: Indies Unlimited hosts a weekly 250-word max. prompt competition – see Indies Unlimited. Also see ‘Short stories’ below.
Flash Fiction: Lightship Publishing runs eight competitions; flash fiction, first chapter, one-page, memoir, poetry, poetry book, first act, short stories, all with a 30th June deadline. See lightshippublishing.co.uk and/or email admin@lightshippublishing.co.uk for more information.
Flash Fiction: The New Writer Annual Prose & Poetry Prizes launches every April. £2,000 in prizes. Closing date 30th November. Short stories, flash fiction and poetry.
Flash Fiction / Short Stories: The Writer’s Notebook is a monthly, free to enter short story competition. Each month has a set theme, and each writer can submit up to 2 stories per month. A new theme opens on the 1st of each month, and the deadline for entries is the 28th of each month. Future themes are available to view on our webpage. The prize is publication of the short story in our Anthology at the end of the year, and an equal share of sale profits of said Anthology. It is an experimental idea for a free to enter writing competition, relying on social media to drive sales of the Anthology and increase the prize. Stories should be 400-1500 words. A short list of three stories will be published on our blog for our readers to vote for a winner. For more information please see http://thewritersnotebookgroup.blogspot.com.
Flash fiction: An ongoing competition is the NAWG’s ‘100’ competition. The task is to write a 100-word story exactly (usually excluding the title) and when they have 100 stories in, the judge picks his / her favourite and awards £75 to the winner and £25 to the runner-up. Entry is £3 for the first story, £5.50 for two or £8 for three. Details on http://www.nawg.co.uk/3805.
Memoir: Commonword Memoir Writing Competition. Deadline: 30th June. The search is on to find the best budding memoir or autobiography writer in the North of England in our latest competition for writers. Win £150 & have your fledgling Memoir or Autobiography ‘hothoused’ by Crocus Books. See cultureword.org.uk/commonword-memoir-writing-competition.
Mixed: 7 Day Creative Writing Challenge: Prizes: £250, £200, £100, £75, £50. Closing date: 5th July. £5 for one entry, or £7.50 including feedback. If you would like a chance of winning £250, all you have to do is to sign up for our 7 Day Creative Writing Challenge which goes live on the 5th July.
Mixed: Submission to the non-fiction and fiction Shirley You Jest Book Awards opens 20th May 2015 (closes 22nd July 2015). I’m one of the sponsors!
Mixed: Segora International Writing Competitions. Vignette Competition, max 300 words. Short Story Competition, from 1,500 to 3,000 words. Poetry Competition, max 40 lines. Deadline for all competitions 8 June. Prizes: Short Story and Poetry £150, £50 and £30; Vignette £30 and £10 for commended or equivalent prize money in euro.
Mixed: The Creative Future Literary Awards showcasing the work of marginalised and disabled writers, theme The Spark in Flash Fiction (maximum 300 words) or Poetry (maximum 200 words), closing date 16th June. Entry fee: £5 per piece, £15 if critique required.
Mixed: Marple (shorts & poetry), Christian magazine Pockets has a different theme per month, Cinnamon Press Writing Awards (for novellas, poetry and short stories).
Mixed: The Cowley Literary Award is a global short story competition, fiction and non-fiction, $5,000AUD prizes, max 4000 words, closing date 30th June. See australianartsales.com.au/cowley-award.
Mixed (novels & short story collections): iWriteReadRate and Cornerstones Literary Consultancy (voteformyebook.com) are offering a monthly social competition to members of the community – see ‘Monthly’ towards the end of this page.
Mixed: Lightship Publishing runs eight competitions; flash fiction, first chapter, one-page, memoir, poetry, poetry book, first act, short stories, all with a 30th June deadline. See lightshippublishing.co.uk and/or email admin@lightshippublishing.co.uk for more information.
Mixed: globalfeelgoodcompany.com/competition (opens May, closes 30th September – see ‘September’ for full details).
Non-fiction: another non-fiction competition is greberwritingaward.com/submissions.htm
Novels: The Flash 500 Novel Opening Chapter & Synopsis Competition, established 2013, is an annual competition, opening for entries on 1st May and closing on 31st October. The judges for this competition will be the senior editors at Crooked Cat Publishing. Entry fee: £10. Prizes: £500 first prize, plus a runner’s up prize of £200.
Novels: Submission to the non-fiction and fiction Shirley You Jest Book Awards opens 20th May 2015 (closes 22nd July 2015). I’m one of the sponsors!
Novels: Lightship Publishing runs eight competitions; flash fiction, first chapter, one-page, memoir, poetry, poetry book, first act, short stories, all with a 30th June deadline. See lightshippublishing.co.uk and/or email admin@lightshippublishing.co.uk for more information.
Novels: Legend Press, the leading independent publisher in the UK has an annual bursary prize for writers called the Luke Bitmead Bursary. “The prize was set up in honour of Luke Bitmead. His debut novel was the first novel Legend Press published but sadly, after struggling with depression, Luke committed suicide. The award has been set up by his mother in partnership with us to support and encourage the work of struggling writers, and is the UK’s biggest prize for unpublished authors. This is an award that we are very proud to run and I am emailing you today to let you know about it in case any of your writers would be interested in entering. Submissions must be adult fiction, and only completed novels will be considered. Full guidelines can be found on our website. Closing: Submissions open 1st May until 1st August. Prizes: A publishing contract with Legend Press and a £2,500 cash bursary. Entry Fee: Free to enter.”
Novels: Novel Rocket runs an annual Launch Pad Contest: Boosting You Out of the Slush Pile. Entries will be accepted in all genres beginning mid-January. The deadline for submission is different for genre categories according to the following schedule. In each case, entries must be received by 11:59 PM EST on the 10th day of the month (April to September) listed on novelrocket.com/p/launch-pad-contest.html. They also post a new writing-related article seven days a week, from author interviews to marketing discussions to articles about the craft of writing. NB. The entry fee is $45 so give this very careful consideration.
Novels: Opportunity for non-published mystery / suspense writers aged 50+. http://www.greatstorieswithheart.com/the-write-time. The Write Time: a unique writing competition for previously unpublished authors aged 50+. If you have always dreamed of being a published author, here is an opportunity that you won’t want to miss. We have launched a writing competition for the over 50s, exclusively for Mature Times readers. “The Write Time” competition offers the winner a two-year digital publishing contract, with full editorial and marketing support, and a generous royalty on all sales. We are looking for compelling fiction for adults from a previously unpublished author. “Previously unpublished” is defined as a writer who has never had a publishing contract for a short story collection, novella or full-length novel, which offered royalties and did not require any payment from the writer. So, even if you have self-published your writing, you are still eligible to enter. Here at Corazon Books, our motto is “great stories with heart”, so we are looking for writing with engaging characters and an involving plot. We know that there is a wealth of talent out there, particularly among the over 50s. If you have written a novel and are seeking a publishing contract, now is “the write time” to submit your work! Work can be submitted in the genres of family saga, historical, medical, mystery and suspense, and romance (contemporary or historical). Entries should not contain descriptions of excessive violence or erotica/graphic sex scenes. The accepted word-length for entries is novellas of 20,000 – 50,000 words and novels of 50,000 to 100,000 words. For the first round of the competition, entrants should send a 200-500 word synopsis and the first three chapters of their novel/novella. Entrants who pass this first round of submissions will be asked to send the complete novel in September this year. The winner will be announced in November. Andrew Young, editor of Mature Times, says: “We know many of our readers are budding writers, as we’ve had some excellent pieces submitted for publication in Mature Times. This is a great opportunity to become a published author in your own right.”
Novels: other June deadline competitions include Impress Prize, and Lightship International First Chapter.
Plays: Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting has a 1st prize of £16,000. Open to anyone resident in the UK and Ireland. The play must an original, unperformed and unproduced piece of work, an hour long or more in playing time. Closing date 3rd June. See writeaplay.co.uk/about.
Plays: Adrienne Benham Award: £2,000 prize now accepting applications: Theatre Centre offers the Adrienne Benham Award, a £2,000 seed commission, to support the work of a promising playwright interested in exploring the Theatre for Young Audiences sector, but who has little experience in the field. The award is intended to steer gifted writers towards young audiences by giving them a seed commission and attachment to Theatre Centre as they develop an original idea for young audiences. Prize: £2,000 seed commission and attachment. Deadline: 7 June at 12 noon. Further information (including the full criteria and application form) available from the Theatre Centre website.
Plays: Write Lines: New Writing for Young Audiences Conference: Do you write plays for young audiences, or do you want to? Celebrating 60 years of working with writers to produce outstanding theatre for young audiences, Theatre Centre hosts a day-long conference for writers and theatre professionals on 20th June. The keynote speech will be delivered by playwright Bryony Lavery. Other guest speakers include playwrights Amanda Dalton, Rob Evans, Philip Osment and Evan Placey; and industry professionals Anthony Banks (NT), Jonathan Lloyd (Polka Theatre) and Purni Morell (Unicorn Theatre). Reserve your place today!
Plays: Ace Drama have a Beatles-themed ‘Ticket to Write’ contest ending 25th June.
Plays: angletheatre.co.uk/discovered.html.
Plays: Lightship Publishing runs eight competitions; flash fiction, first chapter, one-page, memoir, poetry, poetry book, first act, short stories, all with a 30th June deadline. See lightshippublishing.co.uk and/or email admin@lightshippublishing.co.uk for more information.
Poetry: Wirral Festival of Firsts Open Poetry Competition has a closing date of 1st June. First Prize: £200, Second Prize: £75, 3 runner-up prizes of £25. For poems on any subject, of no more than 40 lines. Submissions can be made online or by post. Postal submissions should include a separate sheet with the entrant’s name, address and the titles of the poem(s) and a cheque or postal order for £3 per poem or £10 for 4 poems payable to: “Festival of Firsts”. Postal submissions to: FOF Poetry Competition, 71 Alderley Road, Hoylake, Wirral CH47 2AU. See website festivaloffirsts.com for all the competition rules and online entries.
Poetry: Canterbury Festival Poet of the Year Competition. International, max 60 lines. Closing date 14th June. The festival itself runs mid-October to early-November.
Poetry: Sticky Bun Writers Poetry Competition. First prize £50. Two other cash prizes. Prize-giving in Sheffield. Judge: Helen Mort. Closing date June 15th. Poems up to 40 lines without name on. No entry form but include cover sheet with name, address, email or phone no. and poem titles. £3 a poem or 4 for £10. Cheques, made out to Sticky Bun Writers, to The Competition Organiser, 84 Knowle Lane, Sheffield S11 9SJ
Poetry: Mslexia (for women poets – sorry, guys): Poetry Competition and Pamphlet Competition.
The deadline for both competitions is mid-June. Full details of how to enter both competitions are on our website at mslexia.co.uk/poetrycompetition and mslexia.co.uk/pamphletcompetition respectively.
Poetry and Short Stories: WildWords runs two competitions a year to a theme and a maximum of 1,000 words (poetry and prose). The deadlines are 21st June and 21st December.
Poetry: Second Light Poetry Competition for Long and Short Poems by Women is judged by Moniza Alvi, £300 first prize, closes 25th June. See secondlightlive.co.uk/news.shtml#Comp13.
Poetry: The sixth Battered Moons Poetry Competition will be open from 16th March 2015 to all UK residents aged 18 or over and accepts poems on any topic and style of up to 40 lines. Guest judge Pascale Petit and Cristina Navazo-Eguía Newton will both read all the poems. The 3 winners and 4 commended poets will be invited to read their poems at the Poetry Swindon Festival on Saturday 3rd October 2015, when Pascale Petit will present the prizes and read from her own work. Winning and commended poems will appear in the Battered Moons pamphlet and website. First prize, £700; second, £200; third, £100, plus four commendations of £25 each. Entry fee: £5 for the first poem and £3.5 thereafter. Closing date for entries is 30th June 2015. On-line and postal entries accepted. For further information and to enter online, visit http://batteredmoons.com. Part of Poetry Swindon Festival. Supported by Arts Council England.
Poetry: The Flash 500 Humour Verse Competition, established in 2010, welcomes any form of humour verse will be accepted, from a limerick to a poem of 32 lines. This is also a quarterly competition with closing dates of 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December. Entry fee: £3 for the first poem, £2.50 for each poem thereafter. Prizes: £150 plus publication in Words with JAM, £100 and £50.
Poetry: Poetry Space Competition. Max 40 lines. 1st prize £250 + anthology, closing date 30th June. See poetryspace.co.uk/2013/01/poetry-space-competition-2013.
Poetry: Lightship Publishing runs eight competitions; flash fiction, first chapter, one-page, memoir, poetry, poetry book, first act, short stories, all with a 30th June deadline. See lightshippublishing.co.uk and/or email admin@lightshippublishing.co.uk for more information.
Poetry: The Keats-Shelley Prize for Essays and Poems on Romantic Themes – open to all. Prize Chair: acclaimed novelist Salley Vickers. £3,000 prize money. Winning poems and essays will be published in The Keats-Shelley Review. Essays are invited on any aspect of the work and lives of the Romantics and their circle. Closing date 30th June.
Poetry: The Writers’ Forum Poetry Competition is a monthly contest for poems of up to 40 lines. Closing: Monthly. Entries arriving too late (after the 15th) for one month go forward to the next. Prizes: 1st – £100. Runners-up – A Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Entry Fee: £5 each, £3 each thereafter. Includes a critique (sae required if entering by post). Comp Page: writers-forum.com/poetrycomp.html.
Poetry: The New Writer Annual Prose & Poetry Prizes launches every April. £2,000 in prizes. Closing date 30th November. Short stories, flash fiction and poetry.
Poetry: Other poetry competitions include: Creative Competitor, Earth Words, Edwin Morgan, Keats-Shelley Prize, Margaret Reid, Ted Walters, United Press, Writing Magazine.
Screenwriting: Canada-based Wildsound run monthly screenwriting competitions.
Scriptwriting: Lightship Publishing runs eight competitions; flash fiction, first chapter, one-page, memoir, poetry, poetry book, first act, short stories, all with a 30th June deadline. See lightshippublishing.co.uk and/or email admin@lightshippublishing.co.uk for more information.
Scriptwriting: Ted Walters.
Scriptwriting: The 10th Annual Screenwriting Challenge is a competition open to screenwriters around the world. There are 3 rounds of competition. In the 1st Round (June), writers are placed randomly in heats and are assigned a genre, subject, and character assignment (see examples of past assignments here). Writers have 8 days to write an original short screenplay no longer than 12 pages. The judges choose a top 5 in each heat to advance to the 2nd Round (July) where writers receive new assignments, only this time they have just 3 days to write an 8 page (maximum) short screenplay. Judges choose a top 25 from the 2nd Round to advance to the 3rd and final round of the competition where writers are challenged to write a 5 page (maximum) screenplay in just 24 hours (August). It’s easy to register. First, download and read the Official Rules and Participation Agreement. Once you have read, understood, and agree to the terms, you are ready to register by clicking here. The entry fee is USD $39* until the Early Entry Deadline of May 16th and USD $49* until the Final Entry Deadlline of June 13th.
Scriptwriting: Norwich Film Festival has a short script competition – up to 30 pages. Note that the submission fee is quite high (£25 pre June 30th, £35 pre August 31st, £45 pre October 31st) and the top prize is relatively low (£250) but high entry fee may mean less competition? http://www.norwichfilmfestival.co.uk/submit-your-film.
Short Stories and Poetry: WildWords runs two competitions a year to a theme and a maximum of 1,000 words (prose and poetry). The deadlines are 21st June and 21st December.
Short stories: Fall Writing Contest: Dream of getting published but just can’t get your foot in the door? This contest is for you. Metamorphose is preparing for the Fall 2015 first issue, and your story could be published in it! How? Just enter the writing contest in the appropriate category. We are currently accepting submissions for our short story contest (3,001 to 7,500 words, fantasy / science fiction), and flash fiction contest (500-3000 words). We are looking for engaging stories, vivid characters, and fresh writing styles. The top 5 entries in each category will be published in the Fall 2015 first issue. All finalists will receive free professional edits on their submission. Winners will be announced publicly after August 1st. One entry per category. Eligible for one win only. Judging is anonymous. International submissions welcome. Good luck to all authors! Deadline: June 30, 2015. Prize: $25 per category (short fiction fantasy, short science fiction, flash fiction fantasy, flash science fiction). Entry Fee: Free. URL: http://metamorphoselit.com/writing-contest. Contact Info: Tammy Davies, metamorphosesubmissions@gmail.com.
Short stories: The V.S. Pritchett Memorial Prize for best unpublished short story of the year. The winning author will be awarded a prize of £1,000, and the short story will be published in Prospect online and in our annual magazine, the RSL Review. The closing date for entries is 13th June, and all submissions should be posted with the £5 administrative fee to: V.S. Pritchett Memorial Prize, Royal Society of Literature, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA For further information, please email Molly Rosenberg (molly@rslit.org) and / or see website rslit.org/v-s-pritchett. Stories must be 2,000 to 5,000 words long, printed on one side of an A4 in double-spaces and sent to the London address above.
Short stories: The Writers’ Forum Short Story Competition is a monthly no-theme contest for stories between 1,000 and 3,000 words. Closing: Monthly. Entries arriving too late (after the 15th) for one month go forward to the next. Prizes: £350, £150, £100 and publication in Writers’ Forum magazine (and possible anthology). Entry Fee: £3 per story for subscribers, £6 each non-subscribers. £5 extra for a critique (sae required if entering by post). Comp Page: http://writers-forum.com/storycomp.html.
Short stories: Hayley Sherman runs a monthly short story competition for submissions on any subject up to 2,000 words. The winners are published on the website, promoted online and receive a £10 First Writer voucher. All entrants are also considered for publication in The New Short Story Annual at the end of the year. Deadline 25th of the month. Heather Marie Schuldt runs a similar contest, although 500-750 words max., but with the same deadline.
Short stories: Scotland’s International Crime Festival Bloody Scotland (which runs mid-September) has a short story competition opens 19th June, closes 28th July.
Short stories: Fantasy Faction have a fantasy short story competition which ends June 30th. Thanks to Sophie E Tallis for that one! 🙂
Short stories: Lightship Publishing runs eight competitions; flash fiction, first chapter, one-page, memoir, poetry, poetry book, first act, short stories, all with a 30th June deadline. See lightshippublishing.co.uk and/or email admin@lightshippublishing.co.uk for more information.
Short stories: Writers’ Village runs a quarterly short story competition which attracts entrants worldwide. Click here for the rules… and every entrant receives invaluable critique! Their summer deadline is 30th June.
Short stories: Words Magazine runs two Short Story Competitions a year which are free to enter, open to writers internationally, and have closing dates of 30th June and 31st December. See wordsmag.com/compcal14.htm. (this will probably change to …15 in 2015)
Short stories: British Fantasy Society Short Story Competition. 5000 words max, 1st prize £100 + year’s BFS membership + publication. Judge Allen Ashley, closing date 30th June.
Short stories: Five Stop Story runs a quarterly short story competition (end March / June / September / December). Membership to the site is £25 but you get to enter up to five stories in each competition. Further details at fivestopstory.com/write.
Short stories: GKBC (Giving Kudos to Brilliant Content) is running a free crime-writing competition with a deadline of 30th June. See gkbcinc.com/the-gkbcinc-short-story-competition.
Short stories: The Booktown Writers’ Annual Short Story Competition invites 1000-3000 words, cash prizes + anthology. Closes 30th June. See booktownwriters.co.uk/competition.html.
Short stories: The Writers Reign Short Story Competition is hosted by the Writers Reign website and offers authors the chance to win cash prizes as well as online publication. Stories in this competition are in response to a theme. All writers must respond to the theme “I have a dream.” This cannot be used as the story title. Stories to be between 1000 – 1500 words. Stories to have a positive ending. No strong sex, violence or swearing. Open to all writers. Stories must be original and not previously published. Closing date: June 30th. Prizes: £100, £50, £25 and 3 x £10. Fees: £3.50 one entry, £6 two entries. See http://www.shortstorycompetitionhq.com/writers-reign-short-story-competition or http://www.writersreign.co.uk/WritersReign-Competition-2013.html for details.
Short stories: The New Writer Annual Prose & Poetry Prizes launches every April. £2,000 in prizes. Closing date 30th November. Short stories, flash fiction and poetry.
Short stories: Other June deadline competitions include Aeon Award (quarterly), Countryside Tales, Creative Competitor, Cwrtnewydd Scribblers, Earlyworks, Erewash, Glimmer Train (different category each month), Lightship Publishing, sandralit, Ted Walters, Words Magazine, Writing Magazine (WM: open to all theme: writing for children – dog tales / subscriber-only theme: passport, glove, tuba), Writers Bureau, and Calderdale.
Soundtracks: Mini Operas soundtrack competition opens early June closes late July.
NB. Don’t forget to check out the ongoing competition websites listed at the end of this page.

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Writing competitions – May 2015 deadlines

April 21, 2015April 20, 20152 Comments

On my blog’s Competitions page is a list of some writing competitions by closing date (month by month) then by regularity, followed by competition websites.

As we’re over halfway through April already, below are the May deadlines (by format). If you find any information out of date, please do let me know (or leave a comment below). Thank you.

MAY

Children’s: bookweek.ca/information-artists
Flash Fiction: Indies Unlimited hosts a weekly 250-word max. prompt competition – also see Indies Unlimited and ‘Short stories’ below.
Flash Fiction: Weekly challenge on theironwriter.com.
Flash Fiction: Each month the Scottish Book Trust provides a prompt to get you started, but where the <50-word story goes from there is entirely up to you. Their favourite story will be published on their page and the writer will receive a lovely Novel Poster from The Literary Gift Company. You can submit your story in the body of an email or as an attachment and remember to include your full name with your entry. They also welcome entries in Gaelic or Scots.
Flash Fiction: 16th May is National Flash Fiction day and you can find some competitions (various dates) on nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/competitions.html.
Flash Fiction: The Writing Competition is a short story competition hosted by Jeni Durlston-Powell. This writing contest offers writers the chance to win cash and publication, and is currently run quarterly (late Feb, late May, late Aug, late Nov). Short Stories up to 500 words. Titles to be limited to 10 words. Open theme and genre. Entry fee: £4. Prizes: £100, £75, £50. See http://www.writingcompetition.org.uk and http://www.shortstorycompetitionhq.com/the-writing-competition-writing-competition for details.
Flash Fiction: The Bridport Prize. Poems 42 lines max, short stories 5,000 words max, flash 250 words max. £15,000+ prize fund, closing date 31 May. See bridportprize.org.uk.
Flash Fiction: Erewash has a 1,000 words maximum with free mini-crit feedback for all entrants. First Prize £50, Second Prize £25. Closing date: 2nd May.
Flash Fiction: The NLG Flash Fiction Competition (that I am Head Judge of) is open – see ‘June’ for full details.
Flash Fiction: The New Writer Annual Prose & Poetry Prizes launches every April. £2,000 in prizes. Closing date 30th November. Short stories, flash fiction and poetry.
Flash Fiction: Tethered by Letters’ Spring 2015 Flash Fiction Contest is “currently accepting flash fiction submissions of 55, 250, or 500 words in length. The flash fiction contest winner will be published in F(r)iction. Three finalists will be considered for subsequent quarterly journal publications or a TBL online monthly feature. Each finalist will also receive free professional edits on their submission. International submissions welcome.” Deadline: May 31, 2015. Prize: $150 and publication in the quarterly journal. Entry Fee: $7 per entry OR $15 for three entries. URL: http://tetheredbyletters.com/submissions/contest-submission. Contact Info: Joe Reinis, jreinis@tetheredbyletters.com.
Flash Fiction / Short Stories: The Writer’s Notebook is a monthly, free to enter short story competition. Each month has a set theme, and each writer can submit up to 2 stories per month. A new theme opens on the 1st of each month, and the deadline for entries is the 28th of each month. Future themes are available to view on our webpage. The prize is publication of the short story in our Anthology at the end of the year, and an equal share of sale profits of said Anthology. It is an experimental idea for a free to enter writing competition, relying on social media to drive sales of the Anthology and increase the prize. Stories should be 400-1500 words. A short list of three stories will be published on our blog for our readers to vote for a winner. For more information please see http://thewritersnotebookgroup.blogspot.com.
Memoir: Lightship Short Memoir Contest. Tell your own story, or an episode of it. 1st prize £1,000, judge Rachel Cusk. Closing date 1 May. lightshippublishing.co.uk/competition/the_lightship_short_memoir_contest.
Mixed: Submission to the non-fiction and fiction Shirley You Jest Book Awards opens 20th May 2015 (closes 22nd July 2015). I’m one of the sponsors!
Mixed: Winchester Writers’ Conference has opened their mixed writing competitions (deadline 24th May). Details in their competitions brochure. £7 per entry if attending, £9 if not.
Mixed: The International Yeovil Literary Prize has a closing date of 31st May and there are three categories: THE NOVEL – Please send the synopsis with opening chapters (up to 15,000 words in total) : Prizes: 1st = £1,000; 2nd = £250; 3rd = £100. Fee £11. THE SHORT STORY – Up to a maximum of 2,000 words. Prizes: 1st = £500; 2nd = £200; 3rd = £100. Fee £6. POETRY – A poem with a maximum of 40 lines. Prizes: 1st = £500; 2nd = £200; 3rd = £100. Fee £6, two for £9, three for £11. The Yeovil Literary Prize can be entered online or by post. The judges are all professional writers and publishers. For details see the website (yeovilprize.co.uk) or write to: Yeovil Literary Prize, The Octagon Theatre, Hendford, Yeovil, BA20 1UX.
Mixed: globalfeelgoodcompany.com/competition (opens May, closes 30th September – see ‘September’ for full details).
Mixed: Christian magazine Pockets has a different theme per month.
Mixed (novels & short story collections): iWriteReadRate and Cornerstones Literary Consultancy (voteformyebook.com) are offering a monthly social competition to members of the community – see ‘Monthly’ towards the end of this page.
Non-fiction: another non-fiction competition is FBFT Sports Writing.
Novels: The Flash 500 Novel Opening Chapter & Synopsis Competition, established 2013, is an annual competition, opening for entries on 1st May and closing on 31st October. The judges for this competition will be the senior editors at Crooked Cat Publishing. Entry fee: £10. Prizes: £500 first prize, plus a runner’s up prize of £200.
Novels: Novel Rocket runs an annual Launch Pad Contest: Boosting You Out of the Slush Pile. Entries will be accepted in all genres beginning mid-January. The deadline for submission is different for genre categories according to the following schedule. In each case, entries must be received by 11:59 PM EST on the 10th day of the month (April to September) listed on novelrocket.com/p/launch-pad-contest.html. They also post a new writing-related article seven days a week, from author interviews to marketing discussions to articles about the craft of writing. NB. The entry fee is $45 so give this very careful consideration.
Novels: Words With JAM is running a ‘First Page Competition’ where you can enter the first page of a finished novel, work in progress or page specifically written for the competition. Closing date 31st May. Prizes £500 / £100 / £50 with fee of £6 first entry, £4 per entry thereafter. See wordswithjam.co.uk/#/first-page-competition-2013/4573741026 for details.
Playwriting: RealDeal Theatre is looking for 10-15 minute scripts for its new event, Popcorn Saturday!, short plays inspired by the movies, to be held late June to be held at Westminster Reference Library, off London’s Leicester Square. Entries to scripts@realdealtheatre.org.uk. A link straight to the entry details realdealtheatre.webs.com/scripts.htm.
Playwriting: Lightship First Act Competition. Judges: Micheline Steinberg, Dave Whybrow, Anthony McCarten. Maximum 6,000 words, closing date 31 May. See lightshippublishing.co.uk/competition/lightship_first_act_competition.
Playwriting: Pint-sized Plays. Scripts should be capable of being staged in a pub with a running time of 5-10 mins, closing date 31 May. See pintsizedplays.org.uk.
Poetry: Email received from The Pen Company.co.uk: With the start of Spring fast approaching, The Pen Company have launched a competition to win a Graf von Faber-Castell Guilloche Fountain Pen in the colour of your choice. All the details to enter the competition can be found here: thepencompany.com/blog/competitions/spring-poetry-competition (deadline 1st May). We look forward to seeing your entry. Take care, Anna, Marketing Assistant, The Pen Company.
Poetry: The Poetry London Competition is in its 14th year. Judge Pascale Petit. 1st Prize £1000, max 80 lines. Closing date 1 May. See poetrylondon.co.uk/competition.
The Poetry Box International Dark & Horror Poetry Silver Cup Trophy Award – Poetry Competition – Deadline: 1 May: The Poem/s Must Be Dark, Horror, Gothic, Gothic-Horror, Fantasy or Satire-Themed. Prizes: First Prize Winner – the elegant, generously-sized and engraved ‘The Poetry Box International Dark & Horror Poetry Silver Cup Trophy’ and the decorative ‘Winner’ Award-Winning Certificate. 2nd and 3rd Place Finalists – will receive decorative Award-Winning Certificates and Prize Cheques of £50.00 and £30.00 each respectively. The ‘Judge’s Special Commendation Award’ winning Entries will receive decorative ‘Judge’s Special Commendation Award’ Certificates and ‘Highly Commended Award’ winning Entries will receive decorative ‘Highly Commended Award’ Certificates. ALL Prize Winners and Finalists will receive a copy of the Special ‘Winners & Finalists’ Edition of ’The Poetry Box Dark & Horror Poetry Magazine Monthly’ which will include their published Winning Entry/ies. Entry Fees: GBP £5.00 for 1 Poem – GBP £10.00 for 3 Poems – GBP £14.00 for 4 Poems, up to a maximum of 4 Poems per Entrant. Entry Fees are Payable By Personal Cheque Drawn Against a British Bank Only to: LK Robinson – or – via Paypal to Account: NLKROBINS@aol.com. Entry Form available via The Poetry Box website ThePoetryBox.co.uk. Postal Entries, Entry Forms and Enquiries to The Poetry Box Magazine and Studio Address: The Poetry Box, ‘Ramshackles’ 2 Downview, Nyewood, Petersfield, Hampshire GU31 5JA, England. Tel: 01730 821030 Email: FairyTaleRhymes@aol.com.
Poetry: Templar Poetry Pamphlet & Collection Awards closes for submissions on 7th May.
Poetry: Northampton Literature Group usually runs a yearly poetry competition with a mid-May deadline but it’s currently on hold and the group is running a flash fiction competition instead!
Poetry: The Montreal International Poetry Prize has a top prize $20,000 CDN, single poem, max 40 lines. Closing date 15th May. See montrealprize.com.
Poetry: The Welsh Poetry Competition. £4 entry per poem. Prizes: £400, £200, £100. The deadline is 26th May. Poems in English, 50 lines, unpublished. See welshpoetry.co.uk for entry forms and rules.
Poetry: The second ‘Poems Please Me’ Poetry Competition has a deadline of 31st May. Entry is by subscription to the site and the example given is a ‘single’ at £12 which entitles you to three entries to the competition. See poemsplease.me/?page_id=118 for more details.
Poetry: The fourth Battered Moons Poetry Competition is now open to all UK residents aged 18 or over and accepts poems on any topic and style of up to 40 lines. Main judge Alice Oswald and Cristina Newton will read all the poems. The 3 winners and 4 commended poets will be invited to read their poems at the Swindon Festival of Poetry early October. Winning and commended poems will appear in the Battered Moons pamphlet and website. First prize, £300; second, £150; third, £75. Entry fee: £3 each poem or £10 for 4. Closing date for entries is 31st May. Online and postal entries accepted. For further information and to enter, visit batteredmoons.com. Queries to Cristina Newton on cristina.ne.newton@gmail.com. Supported by Swindon Artswords, the Swindon Festival of Poetry, and Arts Council England.
Poetry: David Burland International Poetry Prize – in either French or English – closing date 31st May, 1st prize £200 + website publication. See davidburlandpoetryprize.com.
Poetry: The Bridport Prize. Poems 42 lines max, short stories 5,000 words max, flash 250 words max. £15,000+ prize fund, closing date 31st May. See bridportprize.org.uk.
Poetry: The Frogmore Poetry Prize has been annual since 1987. You can win 200 guineas and 2-year sub to The Frogmore Papers. Max 40 lines, closing date 31st May. See frogmorepress.co.uk.
Poetry: Tethered by Letters’ Spring 2015 Poetry Contest is “currently accepting poetry submissions of all genres and styles—from traditional form to free verse. Length requirements are no more than three pages per poem, single-spaced with double spacing between stanzas. The poetry contest winner will be published in F(r)iction. Three finalists will be considered for subsequent quarterly journal publications or a TBL online monthly poetry feature. Each finalist will also receive free professional edits on their submission. International submissions welcome.” Deadline: May 31, 2015. Prize: $150 and publication in the quarterly journal. Entry Fee: $7 per entry OR $15 for three entries. URL: http://tetheredbyletters.com/submissions/contest-submission. Contact Info: Joe Reinis, jreinis@tetheredbyletters.com.
Poetry: Another 31st May deadline is Wigtown Poetry Competition. First Prize: Main Prize £2000. Runner-up £400. Gaelic Prize £250. Scots Prize £250. Eight additional prizes of £25 each. The first poem submitted costs £7.00. Multiple entries: the first three poems cost a total of £19.00. Each subsequent entry after the first three costs £5 or a total of £14 for every additional block of 3, ie: 1 poem £7; 2 poems £14; 3 poems £19; 4 poems £24; 5 poems £29; 6 poems £33; 7 poems £38; 8 poems £43; 9 poems £47; 10 poems £52; 11 poems £57; 12 poems £61 etc. Main Prize Judge: Robin Robertson, Gaelic Prize Judge: Meg Bateman, Scots Prize Judge: Liz Niven. Winners will be invited to read their poems at the Wigtown Book Festival (late September to early October). Winning poems will be published on the Festival website. For further details, rules and entry form, visit: wigtownbookfestival.com/poetrycomp.
Poetry: The Writers’ Forum Poetry Competition is a monthly contest for poems of up to 40 lines. Closing: Monthly. Entries arriving too late (after the 15th) for one month go forward to the next. Prizes: 1st – £100. Runners-up – A Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Entry Fee: £5 each, £3 each thereafter. Includes a critique (sae required if entering by post). Comp Page: writers-forum.com/poetrycomp.html.
Poetry: The New Writer Annual Prose & Poetry Prizes launches every April. £2,000 in prizes. Closing date 30th November. Short stories, flash fiction and poetry.
Poetry: Other poetry competitions include Bridport Prize (also shorts / flash), Northampton Literature Group (on hold for 2013 but flash fiction instead), Partners, Templar Poetry Pamphlet & Collection Awards, Writing Magazine (WM: subscriber-only theme: poetry for children), Stephen Spender.
Screenwriting: Canada-based Wildsound run monthly screenwriting competitions.
Scriptwriting: Mini Operas scriptwriting competition opens March closes May.
Scriptwriting: The 10th Annual Screenwriting Challenge is a competition open to screenwriters around the world. There are 3 rounds of competition. In the 1st Round (June), writers are placed randomly in heats and are assigned a genre, subject, and character assignment (see examples of past assignments here). Writers have 8 days to write an original short screenplay no longer than 12 pages. The judges choose a top 5 in each heat to advance to the 2nd Round (July) where writers receive new assignments, only this time they have just 3 days to write an 8 page (maximum) short screenplay. Judges choose a top 25 from the 2nd Round to advance to the 3rd and final round of the competition where writers are challenged to write a 5 page (maximum) screenplay in just 24 hours (August). It’s easy to register. First, download and read the Official Rules and Participation Agreement. Once you have read, understood, and agree to the terms, you are ready to register by clicking here. The entry fee is USD $39* until the Early Entry Deadline of mid-May and USD $49* until the Final Entry Deadlline of mid-June.
Short Stories: Tethered by Letters’ Spring 2015 Short Story Contest is “currently accepting short stories of any genre ranging from 1,000 to 7,500 words. The short story contest winner will be published in F(r)iction. Five finalists will be considered for subsequent journal publications or a TBL online monthly feature. Each finalist will also receive free professional edits on their submission. International submissions welcome.” Deadline: May 31, 2015. Prize: $500 and publication in the quarterly journal. Entry Fee: $15 per entry. URL: http://tetheredbyletters.com/submissions/contest-submission. Contact Info: Joe Reinis, jreinis@tetheredbyletters.com.
Short stories: The Writers’ Forum Short Story Competition is a monthly no-theme contest for stories between 1,000 and 3,000 words. Closing: Monthly. Entries arriving too late (after the 15th) for one month go forward to the next. Prizes: £350, £150, £100 and publication in Writers’ Forum magazine (and possible anthology). Entry Fee: £3 per story for subscribers, £6 each non-subscribers. £5 extra for a critique (sae required if entering by post). Comp Page: http://writers-forum.com/storycomp.html.
Short stories: Curry Mallet History Festival Short Story Competition judge is novelist Amelia Carr, max 2500 words with the title The Reunion or The Journey or The Letter, 1st prize £100, closing date 17 May. See currymallet.org/short-story-competition.
Short stories: The Bridport Prize. Poems 42 lines max, short stories 5,000 words max, flash 250 words max. £15,000+ prize fund, closing date 31 May. See bridportprize.org.uk.
Short stories: The Fiction Desk Ghost Story Competition welcomes ghost stories from 2,000 – 5,000 words. Closing date: 31st May. (Annual competition). Prizes: First prize £500, second prize £100. Entry fee: £6 for one story; £9 for two stories submitted together. For more details, see: thefictiondesk.com/submissions/ghost-story-competition.php.
Short stories: Glimmer Train (different category each month), The Lorian Hemingway, Writing Magazine, Biscuit Publishing.
Short stories: Hayley Sherman also runs a monthly short story competition for submissions on any subject up to 2,000 words. The winners are published on the website, promoted online and receive a £10 First Writer voucher. All entrants are also considered for publication in The New Short Story Annual at the end of the year. Deadline 25th of the month. Heather Marie Schuldt runs a similar contest, although 500-750 words max., but with the same deadline.
Short stories: Saga is running a ghost short story competition. Max 3,000 words. Deadline: 31st May.
Short stories: The New Writer Annual Prose & Poetry Prizes launches every April. £2,000 in prizes. Closing date 30th November. Short stories, flash fiction and poetry.
NB. Don’t forget to check out the ongoing competition websites listed at the end of this blog’s Competitions page.

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. The links are on the right-hand vertical strip.

For anyone looking for an editor, do take a look at Editing and Critique.

Writing competitions – April 2015 deadlines

March 19, 20153 Comments

On my blog’s Competitions page is a list of some writing competitions by closing date (month by month) then by regularity, followed by competition websites.

As we’re halfway through March already, below are the April deadlines. If you find any information out of date, please do let me know. Thank you.

APRIL

Children’s: puffindigitalprize.co.uk.
Flash Fiction: Indies Unlimited hosts a weekly 250-word max. prompt competition – see Indies Unlimited. Also see ‘Short stories’ below.
Flash Fiction: Weekly challenge on theironwriter.com.
Flash Fiction: Each month the Scottish Book Trust provides a prompt to get you started, but where the <50-word story goes from there is entirely up to you. Their favourite story will be published on their page and the writer will receive a lovely Novel Poster from The Literary Gift Company. You can submit your story in the body of an email or as an attachment and remember to include your full name with your entry. They also welcome entries in Gaelic or Scots.
Flash Fiction: The NLG Flash Fiction Competition (that I am Head Judge of) is now open – see ‘June’ for full details.
Flash Fiction: The New Writer Annual Prose & Poetry Prizes launches every April. £2,000 in prizes. Closing date 30th November. Short stories, flash fiction and poetry.
Flash Fiction / Short Stories: The Writer’s Notebook is a monthly, free to enter short story competition. Each month has a set theme, and each writer can submit up to 2 stories per month. A new theme opens on the 1st of each month, and the deadline for entries is the 28th of each month. Future themes are available to view on our webpage. The prize is publication of the short story in our Anthology at the end of the year, and an equal share of sale profits of said Anthology. It is an experimental idea for a free to enter writing competition, relying on social media to drive sales of the Anthology and increase the prize. Stories should be 400-1500 words. A short list of three stories will be published on our blog for our readers to vote for a winner. For more information please see http://thewritersnotebookgroup.blogspot.com.
Mixed: Winchester Writers’ Conference has opened their mixed writing competitions (deadline late May). Details in their competitions brochure. £7 per entry if attending, £9 if not.
Mixed: Christian magazine Pockets has a different theme per month.
Mixed (novels & short story collections): iWriteReadRate and Cornerstones Literary Consultancy (voteformyebook.com) are offering a monthly social competition to members of the community – see ‘Monthly’ towards the end of this page.
Novels: Novel Rocket runs an annual Launch Pad Contest: Boosting You Out of the Slush Pile. Entries will be accepted in all genres beginning mid-January. The deadline for submission is different for genre categories according to the following schedule. In each case, entries must be received by 11:59 PM EST on the 10th day of the month (April to September) listed on novelrocket.com/p/launch-pad-contest.html. They also post a new writing-related article seven days a week, from author interviews to marketing discussions to articles about the craft of writing. NB. The entry fee is $45 so give this very careful consideration.
Novels / Non-Fiction: Rubery Book Award First Prize is £1,000 (approx US$1,590 / €1,277) and the winning book is guaranteed to be read by a top London literary agent, plus a minimum of the three category winners each winning £100 (approx $159 / €127). Entry fee details and entry form all on the website: www.ruberybookaward.com. Deadline 30th April.
Playwriting: The King’s Cross Award For New Writing. Up to two full-length plays may be entered per writer, unpublished and unperformed scripts only. £5,000 prize. Closing date 30 April. thecourtyard.org.uk/content/25/writers-group.
Poetry: Poetry-Next-The-Sea Open Competition. Judge Heidi Williamson, max 40 lines, £100 first prize, closing date 6 April. poetry-next-the-sea.com/index.html.
Poetry: UK’S First Bug Poetry Competition marking Buglife’s tenth year as the only conservation charity in Europe devoted to the conservation of all invertebrates, closing date 8 April.
Poetry: Buxton Poetry Competition History and Heritage theme, all ages, judge Philip Wells, 40 lines max, closing date 8 April. derby.ac.uk/buxtonpoetrycompetition.
Poetry: The Writers’ Forum Poetry Competition is a monthly contest for poems of up to 40 lines. Closing: Monthly. Entries arriving too late (after the 15th) for one month go forward to the next. Prizes: 1st – £100. Runners-up – A Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Entry Fee: £5 each, £3 each thereafter. Includes a critique (sae required if entering by post). Comp Page: writers-forum.com/poetrycomp.html.
Poetry: other poetry competitions include Nonsense Poetry & Flash Fiction, Ver, Writing Magazine (WM: open to all theme: horror), poetrypf.co.uk, swconline.co.uk.
Poetry & Short stories: Deddington Writers’ Group Open Writing Competition Short Story or Poem. Competition information and entry forms available from website end January or send SAE to: 7, The Daedings, Deddington, OX15 ORT. 1st prize: £100, 2nd: £50, 3rd: £25, awarded in both categories. Closing date 13 April. See deddington.org.uk/community/arts/writing or deddingtonfestival.org.uk.
Poetry: The Royal Berkshire Poetry Competition open to all, 40 lines max, 1st prize £200, closing date 14 April. glowmagazine.me/poetry-competition.
Poetry: Poetry on the Lake International Poetry Competition has a theme of ‘metal’. Top prizes of €200, judges include Anne-Marie Fyfe, closing date 22 April. See poetryonthelake.org.
Poetry: Ver Poets Open Competition. 1st prize £600. 30 lines max, closing date 30 April. See verpoets.org.uk/news/competitions.
Poetry: Ware Poets Open Poetry Competition. Prizes: £600, £250, £100. £100: The Ware Sonnet Prize. Anthology publication for winners and shortlisted poets (£3.50 pre-ordered). Closing date 30 April. Informal prize-giving ceremony at Ware Arts Centre in July. Fee: £4; 4 poems for £12, then £3 per poem (in the same submission). Length: up to 50 lines. Sole judge: Susan Utting. Include contact sheet with usual details. Download flyer from website, or send SAE: The Competition Secretary, Ware Poets Competition, 21 Trinity Road, Ware, Herts. SG12 7DB or email: warepoets_competition@hotmail.co.uk and see poetrypf.co.uk/images/compware13.pdf.
Poetry: Southport Writers’ Circle International Poetry Competition. First Prize £150, Second Prize £75, Third Prize £25 A maximum of 40 lines per poem is allowed. Closing date 30 April. See swconline.co.uk/n1/?cat=5.
Poetry: The New Writer Annual Prose & Poetry Prizes launches every April. £2,000 in prizes. Closing date 30th November. Short stories, flash fiction and poetry.
Screenwriting: Canada-based Wildsound run monthly screenwriting competitions.
Screenwriting: oscars.org/awards/nicholl/apply.html is a screenwriting competition with a late Aprildeadline.
Script: The Ticket to Write Beatles-themed Festival playwriting contest is now open for entries for the fourth year. We are currently exploring several venues and slots in Liverpool to perform the selected plays.
As usual the plays can be about the people, stories inspired by songs and song-titles or any genuine connection with The Beatles. The script should be 40 – 45 minutes long and able to be performed by a maximum of four actors. More characters are allowed if it is practical to multi-role. The winner gets a tasty £150 and it costs only £10 to enter. Entries must be in by April 7, 2015. All plays will be assessed anonymously by a theatre professional and three will go forward to be performed. Professional judges and the audience vote will count towards the final result. All entries will receive a considered written critique from the assessor who will receive all of the £10 entry fee. A windfall has enabled us to fund the prize money.
Full details are under ‘How To Enter’ on our website acedrama.co.uk.
Scriptwriting: The Nick Darke Award is open to all writers – stage play screenplay or radio play – prize fund £6,000. Closing date 29 April. falmouth.ac.uk/nickdarkeaward.
Short stories: William Trevor / Elizabeth Bowen International Short Story Competition 1st prize €3,000, closing date 5 April. mitchelstownlit.com/index.html.
Short stories & Poetry: Deddington Writers’ Group Open Writing Competition, Short Story or Poem. Competition information and entry forms available from website end January or send SAE to: 7, The Daedings, Deddington, OX15 ORT. 1st prize: £100, 2nd: £50, 3rd: £25, awarded in both categories. Closing date 13 April. See deddington.org.uk/community/arts/writing or deddingtonfestival.org.uk.
Short stories: The Writers’ Forum Short Story Competition is a monthly no-theme contest for stories between 1,000 and 3,000 words. Closing: Monthly. Entries arriving too late (after the 15th) for one month go forward to the next. Prizes: £350, £150, £100 and publication in Writers’ Forum magazine (and possible anthology). Entry Fee: £3 per story for subscribers, £6 each non-subscribers. £5 extra for a critique (sae required if entering by post). Comp Page: http://writers-forum.com/storycomp.html.
Short stories: The Fowey Festival of Words and Music (formerly the Daphne du Maurier Festival) has announced the launch of the Short Story Competition. First Prize is £100 and Runner-up £75. Entry is £6.00 and entry form and full details at foweyfestival.com/the-du-maurier-festival-society-short-story-competition. The closing date is 19th April.
Short stories: Glimmer Train (different category each month), The Moth-Altun Short Story Prize, Nonsense Poetry & Flash Fiction, Nottingham Writing Magazine (WM: open to all theme: horror / subscriber-only theme: food), francobritishcouncil.org.uk, west-linton.org.uk/content/pentlands-writers-group. Also see Deddington in ‘Poetry…’ above.
Short stories: Hayley Sherman runs a monthly short story competition for submissions on any subject up to 2,000 words. The winners are published on the website, promoted online and receive a £10 First Writer voucher. All entrants are also considered for publication in The New Short Story Annual at the end of the year. Deadline 25th of the month. Heather Marie Schuldt runs a similar contest, although 500-750 words max., but with the same deadline.
Short stories: Young Writers’ Competition. The annual Young Writers’ Competition at Jane Austen’s House Museum is entering its fourth year and is now open for entries. Annalie Talent, Education Officer said ‘Next year is the 200th anniversary of publication of Pride and Prejudice and so we have made the theme of the competition First Impressions which was the original title of Jane’s best-loved novel.’ Entries should be short stories of 300-400 words and entrants can interpret the theme in any way they want. Entry is open to all UK school pupils in school years 7-11. There are two categories: years 7 and 8 and years 9, 10 & 11. The competition will be judged by Professor Kathryn Sutherland of St Anne’s College Oxford and the Museum’s previous Writer-in-Residence, Rebecca Smith. Closing date 26 April. See jane-austens-house-museum.org.uk for details.
Short stories: first Annual Sara Park Memorial Short Story Competition. Theme Journeying, max 2000 words, closing date 30 April. redsquirrelpress.com/SquirrelCOMP.html.
Short stories: The James Plunkett Short Story Award for new and emerging writing talent, open to all writing in English who have not had a short story collection published. 1st prize €2,000, max 3000 words. Next closing date 30 April. See ireland-writers.com/index.htm.
Short stories: The Bristol Short Story Prize is open to all writers internationally over 16 years of age. Stories can be on any theme or subject and entry can be made online via the website or by post. Entries must be previously unpublished with a maximum length of 4,000 words (There is no minimum). Entry fee £8 per story. Closing date 30 April. 1st prize £1,000 plus £150 Waterstone’s gift card. 20 shortlisted writers will have their stories published in the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology. See bristolprize.co.uk.
Short stories: Massacre Magazine runs a quarterly horror 250-word max short story competition. Deadlines end April, July, October, January. “We will pick one winner who will receive a £15/$20 Amazon voucher and have their story published in the summer issue of Massacre Magazine. Our decision is final, any moaners will be mangled.” 🙂
Short stories: The New Writer Annual Prose & Poetry Prizes launches every April. £2,000 in prizes. Closing date 30th November. Short stories, flash fiction and poetry.
NB. Don’t forget to check out the ongoing competition websites listed at the end of the Competitions page.

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Writing competitions – March 2015 deadlines

February 16, 2015Leave a comment

On my blog’s Competitions page is a list of some writing competitions by closing date (month by month) then by regularity, followed by competition websites.

If you would like your competition listed please email me the details as per the format below (one line per competition) ensuring that it starts with the type of competition it is and highlighting the month it closes. Thank you.

As we’re halfway through February already, below are the March deadlines. If you find any information out of date, please do let me know. Thank you.

MARCH

Children’s: Academy of Children’s Writers, Crystal Magazine.
Flash Fiction: Indies Unlimited hosts a weekly 250-word max. prompt competition – see Indies Unlimited. Also see ‘Short stories’ below.
Flash Fiction: Weekly challenge on theironwriter.com.
Flash Fiction: Each month the Scottish Book Trust provides a prompt to get you started, but where the <50-word story goes from there is entirely up to you. Their favourite story will be published on their page and the writer will receive a lovely Novel Poster from The Literary Gift Company. You can submit your story in the body of an email or as an attachment and remember to include your full name with your entry. They also welcome entries in Gaelic or Scots.
Flash Fiction: Flashbang is now open to entries: flashbangcontest.wordpress.com. Sponsored by CrimeFest. £2 entry fee. 150 words maximum. Deadline 1st March. First prize is two passes to CrimeFest. Shortlisted and winning stories published online. Full details are here.
Flash Fiction: Erewash has a free flash fiction competition. Deadline noon (UK time) 21st March. Full details here.
Flash Fiction: The Berkhampstead Writing Competition has a 31st March deadline.
Flash Fiction: The Flash 500 Fiction Competition, established 2009, is a quarterly open-themed competition for fiction up to 500 words has closing dates of 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December. Entry fee: £5 for one story, £8 for two stories. Prizes: £300 plus publication in Words with JAM, £100 and £50.
Flash Fiction: The NLG Flash Fiction Competition (that I am Head Judge of) is now open – see ‘June’ for full details.
Flash Fiction / Short Stories: The Writer’s Notebook is a monthly, free to enter short story competition. Each month has a set theme, and each writer can submit up to 2 stories per month. A new theme opens on the 1st of each month, and the deadline for entries is the 28th of each month. Future themes are available to view on our webpage. The prize is publication of the short story in our Anthology at the end of the year, and an equal share of sale profits of said Anthology. It is an experimental idea for a free to enter writing competition, relying on social media to drive sales of the Anthology and increase the prize. Stories should be 400-1500 words. A short list of three stories will be published on our blog for our readers to vote for a winner. For more information please see http://thewritersnotebookgroup.blogspot.com.
Mixed: Winchester Writers’ Conference has opened their 17(!) mixed writing competitions (deadline 24th May). Details in their competitions brochure. £7 per entry if attending, £9 if not.
Mixed: Words for the Wounded (W4W) is a new charity that raises money via writing prizes and donations for the rehabilitation of wounded servicemen and women. All proceeds will be passed to projects such as Battle Back, funded by Help for Heroes, which uses sports rehabilitation to help wounded service personnel gain independence and confidence. W4W launches its writing prizes on Armistice Day, November 11, and is calling for all non-writers, aspiring, and experienced writers to enter. Entries can be up to 400 words, written in poetry or prose, fiction or life story tale. Winners will receive a small cash prize and their entries will be published in the monthly writers’ magazine Writers’ Forum (writers-forum/com). Entry costs £4.50 and the deadline is March 11, winners will be announced on 6 June (D Day). They are also running an Independent Author Book Award for fiction or memoir over 45,000 words. For more information on these awards, see wordsforthewounded.co.uk or follow them on Twitter @Words_4_Wounded.
Mixed: Christian magazine ‘Pockets‘ has a different theme per month.
Mixed: helenwhittaker.net/phpBB2 (shorts & poetry).
Mixed (novels & short story collections): iWriteReadRate and Cornerstones Literary Consultancy (voteformyebook.com) are offering a monthly social competition to members of the community – see ‘Monthly’ towards the end of this page.
Novels: Novel Rocket runs an annual Launch Pad Contest: Boosting You Out of the Slush Pile. Entries will be accepted in all genres beginning mid-January. The deadline for submission is different for genre categories according to the following schedule. In each case, entries must be received by 11:59 PM EST on the 10th day of the month (April to September) listed on novelrocket.com/p/launch-pad-contest.html. They also post a new writing-related article seven days a week, from author interviews to marketing discussions to articles about the craft of writing. NB. The entry fee is $45 so give this very careful consideration.
Novels: other March-deadline competitions include Dundee International Book Prize and The Next Big Author.
Playwriting: Windsor Fringe Kenneth Branagh Award for New Drama. and sohotheatre.com (Verity Bargate Award).
Playwriting: Cambridge Theatre Challenge: Would you like to write a one act play for the stage and enter it in a competition where short listed plays are given full performance, judged by the audience, considered for publication and given a written assessment by a publishing company? The winning playwright will also receive a cash prize of £200. Every play will be read in its entirety by a minimum of two judges and entrants will receive two lots of feedback on request, at no extra charge! A shortlist of up to ten plays will be drawn up and posted on the Sky Blue website. Local actors and a production team will be assembled by professional directors to rehearse the plays for performance at the Junction Theatre in Cambridge early July where the audience will vote for the winner. Closing date for submissions is 30th March. Plays must be submitted on line and full details can be found on our website skybluetheatre.com/newplaywriting.php.
Poetry: The Writers’ Forum Poetry Competition is a monthly contest for poems of up to 40 lines. Closing: Monthly. Entries arriving too late (after the 15th) for one month go forward to the next. Prizes: 1st: £100. Runners-up: A Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Entry Fee: £5 each, £3 each thereafter. Includes a critique (sae required if entering by post). Comp Page: writers-forum.com/poetrycomp.html.
Poetry: The Flash 500 Humour Verse Competition, established in 2010, welcomes any form of humour verse will be accepted, from a limerick to a poem of 32 lines. This is also a quarterly competition with closing dates of 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December. Entry fee: £3 for the first poem, £2.50 for each poem thereafter. Prizes: £150 plus publication in Words with JAM, £100 and £50.
Poetry: The 13th Neil Gunn Writing Competition is now open for entries until 02 March 2015. There are two sections open to writers worldwide – short story and poetry. This year there is a choice of three themes, all of which are quotes from Neil Gunn’s writing: · “For love is the creator and cruelty is that which destroys” · “The secret loveliness and laughter in things” · “The extra magic of distance” Full details of the competition including the entry rules and forms can be found at www.highlifehighland.com/neilgunn.
Poetry: other poetry competitions include Cardiff International, Fish Prize for Poetry, Literature Wales, MAG, Michael Marks (pamphlets), Northern Writers’ Awards, Writing Magazine (WM: open to all theme: creative acrostic mini), davidburlandpoetryprize.com, treehousepress.co.uk (Three-in-One), towerpoetry.org.uk, firebirdpoetry.com, scottishbooktrust.com/familylegends.
Screenwriting: Canada-based Wildsound run monthly screenwriting competitions.
Scripts: euroscript.co.uk.
Short stories: The 13th Neil Gunn Writing Competition is now open for entries until 02 March 2015. There are two sections open to writers worldwide – short story and poetry. This year there is a choice of three themes, all of which are quotes from Neil Gunn’s writing: · “For love is the creator and cruelty is that which destroys” · “The secret loveliness and laughter in things” · “The extra magic of distance” Full details of the competition including the entry rules and forms can be found at www.highlifehighland.com/neilgunn.
Short stories: The Writers’ Forum Short Story Competition is a monthly no-theme contest for stories between 1,000 and 3,000 words. Closing: Monthly. Entries arriving too late (after the 15th) for one month go forward to the next. Prizes: £350, £150, £100 and publication in Writers’ Forum magazine (and possible anthology). Entry Fee: £3 per story for subscribers, £6 each non-subscribers. £5 extra for a critique (sae required if entering by post). Comp Page: http://writers-forum.com/storycomp.html.
Short stories: Mslexia Women’s Short Story Competition. 1st prize £2,000. Closing date 18th March. mslexia.co.uk/whatson/msbusiness/scomp_active.php.
Short stories: Graffiti Magazine Short Story Competition Rules: *For crime stories* 1. Closing date March 16th; 2. Entries must be in English and be the writer’s own unpublished work. They must not be on offer for publication or entered in any other current competition; 3. Maximum length 1,500 words; 4. Each piece of work, with its title, must be in clear type on one side of A4 sheet(s). Details of the writer must not appear on this sheet; 5. The name and address of the writer and the titles of all entries should be typed on a separate sheet of A4 paper; 6. The prize-winner will be notified by post, if SAE provided, or by email if email address is provided; 7. Entries are only accepted by post. Please keep a copy of your work, as entries will not be returned; 8. The fee is £3 per story. Cheques / Postal Orders in sterling only, should be made payable to ‘Catchword Writing Group’; 9. All entries that arrive on time will be considered by the adjudicator, whose decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into concerning the result; 10. Competitors wishing to be informed of the results should enclose an SAE marked ‘Results’ or provide an email address. Send entries to: Graffiti Magazine Writing Competition, c/o 33 Sandford Leaze, Avening, Glos. GL8 8PB (UK). Prize: £25 The winning entry and up to five of the short listed stories will be published in Graffiti. For more information: graffiti.magazine@yahoo.co.uk.
Short stories: Hayley Sherman runs a monthly short story competition for submissions on any subject up to 2,000 words. The winners are published on the website, promoted online and receive a £10 First Writer voucher. All entrants are also considered for publication in The New Short Story Annual at the end of the year. Deadline 25th of the month. Heather Marie Schuldt runs a similar contest, although 500-750 words max., but with the same deadline.
Short stories: Thresholds International Short Story Forum Feature Writing Competition. Free to enter, international, max 1500 words, 1st prize £500, closing date 27 March.
Short stories: The Bath Short Story Award opened for entries in October. This new international competition welcomes stories of up to 2,200 words on any theme or subject from published or unpublished writers. Prizes are as follows: 1st £500, 2nd £100, 3rd £50, and a local prize of £50. The competition closes March 30th. For further details see bathshortstoryaward.co.uk.
Short stories: Writers’ Village runs a quarterly short story competition which attracts entrants worldwide. Click here for the rules… and every entrant receives invaluable critique! Their spring deadline is 31st March.
Short stories: The Yellow Room Spring Short Story Competition has a max 1,000 words, any theme, first prize £100, closing date 31 March.
Short stories: Stringybark Erotic Short Fiction Award. International, max 1800 words. Closing date 31 March. Find out more about the award here.
Short stories: Lightship One-page Short Story Competition. Max 300 words. Closing date 31 March.
Short stories: Exeter Writers Short Story Competition. The first prize is £500, 2nd and 3rd are £250 and £100. There is also an additional prize of £100 for a writer living in Devon. Stories can be in any genre except for children, they can be up to 3,000 words and the entry fee is £5 per story. The closing date is 31st March. Rules/entry form: exeterwriters.org.uk or you can send a stamped self-addressed envelope (SAE) to Competition, 4 Albion Place, Exeter EX4 6LH.
Short stories: Short Fiction, The Visual Literary Journal. Annual Short Story Competition 1st prize £500 plus publication, max 5,000 words. Closing date 31 March.
Short stories: The Moth Magazine Short Story Prize. Judge Martina Evans, 1st prize €1,000 + publication, closing date 31 March.
Short stories: One of the UK’s largest and oldest writing groups, West Sussex Writers, is running its second national short story competition. With an open theme, generous word count and final judge, Pam Weaver. West Sussex Writers hopes to attract the cream of the UK’s short story writers. Max 3000 words. Closing date 31 March. 1st prize £200; 2nd prize £75; 3rd prize £50.
Short stories: Five Stop Story runs a quarterly short story competition (end March / June / September / December). Membership to the site is £25 but you get to enter up to five stories in each competition. Further details at fivestopstory.com/write.
Short stories: Other March short story competitions include Calderdale, Chapter One Romantic, Dark Tales, Exeter Writers, Fish Prize for Flash Fiction, Glimmer Train (different category each month), Meridian Writing, Mslexia, Northern Writers’ Awards, Rider Haggard, Writing Magazine (WM: open to all open: 750-words max / subscriber-only theme: last line ‘Out she walked with a spring in her step.’), and Wyvern.
NB. Don’t forget to check out the ongoing competition websites listed at the end of the Competitions page.

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Short story opportunities

November 18, 2014Leave a comment

I’ve been emailed two opportunities for short story writers:

Saltimbanque Books is accepting submissions for an anthology of science fiction, fantasy, and/or horror stories in which the villain is a child (or children). Feel free to stretch the definitions of “villain” or “child”–be creative!

Deadline is December 31st, 2014. Reprints are fine with us. Payment is two contributor’s copies. Go to www.saltimbanquebooks.com for info about how to submit, or send the submission directly to saltimbanquebooks@gmail.com.

Submissions should be pasted into the body of an email–no attachments.

Greenacre Writers November Short Story Competition

Closing Date: Thursday 20 November 2014 (midnight GMT)
Word Count: Maximum 1000 words on any subject.
Prizes: First Place – £45; Second Place – £20; Third Place – £10
Entry fee: £4.00

Entry Information:
Story length – maximum 1000 words.
The story can be written on any theme or in any genre.
Stories must be written in English.
Please write it in an easily read font such as Ariel 12pt.
Send your story by email, as an attachment, to greenacrewriters@gmail.com. Put ‘Story Competition’ in the subject line of the email. Please include your name and story title in the email (not in the story) and add your PayPal receipt number as well. (If you are unable to pay by PayPal and post your entry to: Greenacre Writers, 25 Chislehurst Avenue, London N12 0HU)

Click here for entry page: http://greenacrewriters.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html

And don’t forget, I welcome 6-word and <500-word stories for 6-word FFFs and Flash Fiction Fridays respectively. Feel free to send me stories that have been submitted elsewhere and / or use them elsewhere thereafter. The internet’s a big place, I never ask for exclusivity.

November-deadline writing competitions

October 30, 2014October 31, 20144 Comments

Below is a list of some writing competitions with November closing dates. The full list can be found on . If you would like your competition listed please email me the details as per the format below (one line per competition) ensuring that it starts with the type of competition it is and highlighting the month it closes. Thank you.

NOVEMBER

Auto/biography: The New England Book Festival Competition – see below.
Children’s: The New England Book Festival Competition – see below.
Flash Fiction: Weekly challenge on theironwriter.com.
Flash Fiction: Each month the Scottish Book Trust provides a prompt to get you started, but where the <50-word story goes from there is entirely up to you. Their favourite story will be published on their page and the writer will receive a lovely Novel Poster from The Literary Gift Company. You can submit your story in the body of an email or as an attachment and remember to include your full name with your entry. They also welcome entries in Gaelic or Scots.
Flash Fiction: The New Writer Annual Prose & Poetry Prizes launches every April. £2,000 in prizes. Closing date 30th November. Short stories, flash fiction and poetry.
Flash Fiction: Indies Unlimited hosts a weekly 250-word max. prompt competition – see Indies Unlimited. Also see ‘Short stories’ below.
Flash Fiction: Empirical Magazine started a monthly flash fiction (<1000-word) competition.
Flash Fiction: The Writing Competition is a short story competition hosted by Jeni Durlston-Powell. This writing contest offers writers the chance to win cash and publication, and is currently run quarterly (late Feb, late May, late Aug, late Nov). Short Stories up to 500 words. Titles to be limited to 10 words. Open theme and genre. Entry fee: £4. Prizes: £100, £75, £50. See http://www.writingcompetition.org.uk and http://www.shortstorycompetitionhq.com/the-writing-competition-writing-competition for details.
Mixed (novels & short story collections): iWriteReadRate and Cornerstones Literary Consultancy (voteformyebook.com) are offering a monthly social competition to members of the community – see ‘Monthly’ towards the end of this page.
Mixed: Words for the Wounded (W4W) launching its first writing prize on Armistice Day, November 11, with a March deadline – see below.
Mixed: The New England Book Festival Competition – see below.
Mixed: Christian magazine Pockets has a different theme per month.
Mixed: hud.ac.uk/mh/english/grist/competitions/index.htm (shorts & poetry).
Mixed: The annual The New Writer Prose & Poetry Prizes: Short Story / MicroFiction / Non-Fiction / Single Poem / Poetry Collection. Closing date 30th November. You can enter at: thenewwriter.com/entryform.htm.
Non-fiction: New Welsh Writing Awards 2015 People, Place & Planet: WWF Cymru Prize for Writing on Nature and the Environment. Presented by New Welsh Review in association with WWF Cymru and the CADCentre, we are looking for a brand new works of non-fiction between 8,000 and 30,000 words on the theme of nature and the environment. The closing date is 1 November 2014 and the judges are New Welsh Review Editor Gwen Davies and the environmental activist and award-winning author Mark Cocker. First Prize: £1,000 cash; e-publication of the work; a critique of the work by leading literary agent at WME, Cathryn Summerhayes, as well as lunch with her in London and a weekend stay at Gladstone’s Library, Flintshire. Second Prize: A week-long residential course at Tŷ Newydd Writers’ Centre in Gwynedd. Both winners with also receive a year’s subscription to New Welsh Review. Entry is open to those over 18 years of age, and residents of the UK & Ireland, and also those residing worldwide who have been educated wholly or partially in Wales for a minimum of six months. All work must be the sole, original, unpublished work of the entrant. For more information regarding the competition, and full terms and conditions, visit www.newwelshwritingawards.com or contact admin@newwelshreview.com. You can also find out more by using the Twitter hashtags #newwelshawards and #welshwish. For information for this listing, please contact sales@newwelshreview.com.
Non-fiction: The New England Book Festival Competition – see below.
Novels: societyofauthors.org/betty-trask.
Novels: Woman magazine is running a competition for 2014, details here.
Novels: The New England Book Festival has issued a call for entries to its annual program honoring the best books of the holiday season. The competition is currently accepting entries in the following categories: non-fiction, fiction, biography / autobiography, children’s books, young adult, how-to, cookbooks, science fiction, photography / art, poetry, spiritual works, compilations / anthologies, gay, unpublished stories and wild card (for books that don’t neatly fit elsewhere). All entries must be in English. Books published on or after January 1, 2010 are eligible. Deadline submissions in each category must be received by 25th November.
Playwriting: livetheatre.com.au/html/cms/35/one-act-playwriting-competition-noosa has an AS$6,000 prize pot and a mid-November deadline.
Playwriting: Almost Random Theatre is running two competitions – 1. Wellbeing Playwriting Competition: We are seeking one outstanding 20 minute play to be put on in Oxford, England in January 2014. The play must be no more than 20 minutes long and require no more than three actors. Closing date: 10th October . 2. Retreats Playwriting Competition: We are seeking one outstanding 10 minute play to be put on in Oxford, England in January. The play must be no more than 10 minutes long and require no more than three actors. Closing date: 10th November. See http://www.almostrandomtheatre.co.uk/competitions. My thanks go to Margaret Taylor for the info.
Poetry: The Writers’ Forum Poetry Competition is a monthly contest for poems of up to 40 lines. Closing: Monthly. Entries arriving too late (after the 15th) for one month go forward to the next. Prizes: 1st – £100. Runners-up – A Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Entry Fee: £5 each, £3 each thereafter. Includes a critique (sae required if entering by post). Comp Page: writers-forum.com/poetrycomp.html.
Poetry: The Magic Oxygen Literary short story and poetry competition closes 30th November. Prizes are £1,000, £300, £100 and £50 with an entry fee of just £5. In addition “we will be planting a tree in Kenya for each entry, so every entrant is a winner!”
Poetry: The New Writer Annual Prose & Poetry Prizes launches every April. £2,000 in prizes. Closing date 30th November. Short stories, flash fiction and poetry.
Poetry: other November deadline poetry competitions include Cafe Writers, Countryside Tales, Cinnamon Press Writing Awards, The New Writer, Writing Magazine (WM: open to all theme: nostalgia), theploughprize.co.uk.
Science-fiction: Aeon Award (quarterly), Writing Magazine.
Screenwriting: Canada-based Wildsound run monthly screenwriting competitions.
Short stories: The Erewash Writers’ Group competition website is running two free entry competitions and these close early November. Enquiries to erewashwriterscomps@hotmail.co.uk.
Short stories: The Writers’ Forum Short Story Competition is a monthly no-theme contest for stories between 1,000 and 3,000 words. Closing: Monthly. Entries arriving too late (after the 15th) for one month go forward to the next. Prizes: £350, £150, £100 and publication in Writers’ Forum magazine (and possible anthology). Entry Fee: £3 per story for subscribers, £6 each non-subscribers. £5 extra for a critique (sae required if entering by post). Comp Page: http://writers-forum.com/storycomp.html.
Short stories: The Green Lady Award for Fiction, an annual competition. Short story up to 3,000 words on the theme of ‘Resistance’ for 2014. Looking for innovative interpretations. (“We prefer shorter, highly compact stories.) All genres. The work must be your own, and previously unpublished in print or online. First prize £50. Second prize £25. Selected entries will be published in an anthology. The entry fee is £5 – maximum of 3 stories may be submitted – and the deadline is 30th November. Details from http://www.greenladypress.com/#!competition/c18g4.
Short stories: The Magic Oxygen Literary short story and poetry competition closes 30th November. Prizes are £1,000, £300, £100 and £50 with an entry fee of just £5. In addition “we will be planting a tree in Kenya for each entry, so every entrant is a winner!”
Short stories: The New Writer Annual Prose & Poetry Prizes launches every April. £2,000 in prizes. Closing date 30th November. Short stories, flash fiction and poetry.
Short stories: Short Sentences is a free-to-enter 1,000-word max competition run by Bloomsbury and has a different theme every two months (deadlines 30th September then 30th November) . See http://www.shortstorycompetitionhq.com/short-sentences-crime-fiction-short-story-competition and http://shortsentencecompetition.wordpress.com/rules-and-submissions for details.
Short stories: Hayley Sherman runs a monthly short story competition for submissions on any subject up to 2,000 words. The winners are published on the website, promoted online and receive a £10 First Writer voucher. All entrants are also considered for publication in The New Short Story Annual at the end of the year. Deadline 25th of the month. Heather Marie Schuldt runs a similar contest, although 500-750 words max., but with the same deadline.
Short stories: The Roy B Giv competition seeks 2,000-4,000 words on a colour. 🙂
Short stories: The FREE Commonwealth Short Story Prize is being run by Commonwealth Writers, a cultural initiative from the Commonwealth Foundation. Cash prizes are on offer for the winning writers, and prizes for translation are also available. Short stories 2,000-5,000 words. Genre, theme and setting is open. Writers must be citizens of a Commonwealth country. Writers do not need to currently reside in that country. Entries must be original and unpublished with the exception of personal blogs and personal websites. English entires only. Translations of short stories written in languages other than English are eligible if submitted by the writer (not the translator) and provided the translator is a citizen of a Commonwealth country. One entry per writer. Opens 1 October, closes 30 November. Free entry. One winner is chosen from each regional category – 1. Africa, 2. Asia, 3. Canada and Europe, 4. Caribbean and 5. Pacific. One regional winner will be selected as the overall winner with four runners up from remaining regions. Overall winner will receive £5,000. Remaining four regional winners £2,500. If the winning short story is a translation into English, the translator will receive additional prize money: £2,000 for the overall winning story and £1,000 for a regional winning story. Details on: http://www.commonwealthwriters.org/prizes/commonwealth-short-story-prize/entry-rules.
Short stories: other competitions include Ashby Writers Club (Mary Gornell Memorial), Bridgehouse Publishing, Emerald Flash Fiction, Glimmer Train (different category each month), The New Writer, Park Publications, Writing Magazine (WM: open to all theme: flash fiction <500 words / subscribers only).

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