Writing Competitions With a Closing Date in April

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black cats, Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize, Cheshire Novel Prize, Desperate Literature Prize, The 2023 Bristol Short Story Prize, The Sitcom Mission

Gizzie’s writing competition suggestions for April….and remember, black cats are lucky!

The Cheshire Novel Prize has a deadline of 1st April and is open to unpublished or self-published, unrepresented novelists of every genre including YA. Submit the first 5,000 words of your novel followed by a 500 word synopsis. The winner will receive £1,500 and one highly commended writer £500. They and all shortlisted authors will be invited to a lunch in Cheshire on 1st August. Entry is £27. Details: entry@cheshirenovelprize.com

The 2023 Bristol Short Story Prize is looking for unpublished stories up to 4,000 words. The first prize is £1,000 and there are second and third prizes of £500 and £250. Seventeen further shortlisted writers will each win £100. All twenty shortlisted entries will be published in Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology volume 16. Entry is £9 per story and the closing date is 26 April. Details: http://www.bristolprize.co.uk

The Desperate Literature Prize wants submissions of unpublished short fiction up to 2,000 words. The winner will receive 1,500 Euros, a week’s writing residency at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, a consultation with literary agent Charlotte Seymour from Johnson & Alcock, and a manuscript assessment with an editor from The Literary Consultancy. Two runners up will each receive 750 Euros and all shortlisted writers will be published in a Desperate Literature anthology and in one of Desperate Literature’s partner journals. They will also be invited to take part in a Desperate Literature Salon in Madrid, London or Edinburgh. One shortlisted writer will be invited to read at the Tbilisi International Festival of Literature, including a seven-day residency at The Writers’ House of Georgia and a travel stipend. The entry fee is 20 euros for the first story and 10 Euros for each additional story. Closing date: 16 April. Details: https://desperateliterature.com/prize/

The Bath Short Story Award has a maximum 2,200 word count and prizes of £1,200 for the winner, £300 for the second prize and £100 for the third prize. There is also a £100 Acorn Award for an unpublished writer. Entry is £9 and the deadline 24 April. Details: http://www.bathshortstoryaward.org/

Sitcom Mission is inviting original 15-minute sitcom comedy scripts with the potential to be made into a series of a minimum of six episodes and preferably a number of series. Scripts need exciting, relatable charcters who, along with their dialogue, should be the focus of the sitcom. Episodes should also have ‘an inciting incident’ central to the episode that sets the story rolling. A long list of scripts will be announced in June and the writers will receive feedback and be given two weeks to rewrite their script. Four scripts will then receive a live rehearsed reading at a showcase in June/July 2023 where industry professionals will decide the winner. Entry: £15 per script. Closing date: 30 April. Details: https://www.comedy.co.uk/sitcom_mission/info.

Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize has a deadline of 3rd April and is seeking short fiction between 1,000 and 5,000 words. The winner will receive £1,000, with further cash prizes for 2nd and 3rd places, and 12 shortlisted entries will be published in the latest anthology released later in the yea. Entry is £10 per submission and there are 50 free entries for writers on a low income on a first-come, first-served basis. Details: https://bricklanebookshop.org

Remember to check all details before entry. Gizzie wishes you the very best of luck!

Dr Samuel Johnson on Writing

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1, A thousand words a day?, Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, Dr Samuel Johnson, Procrastination, Writing Targets

“A man may write at any time, if he will set himself doggedly to it.”

Dr Samuel Johnson, March 1750

Struggling to write those 1,000 words a day? Or even half a dozen sentences? Dr Samuel Johnson has a lesson for us all, on the days when we are tempted to make excuses for writing nothing at all.

Literary: First Chapters

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Getting Published, literary novels, Literary: First Chapters, Simon Trewin

Not to be out-done by the literary Skipper, the lovely Snowy (in her dashing winter jacket) thinks you should also be entering a new competition promoted by Simon Trewin who has been a literary agent for the last thirty years and launched the careers of many internationally published novelists.

“I am looking for the author who makes me forget I am reading a book. The author who innovates, not imitates. The author who takes me to strange lands.”

What Simon requires are the first 5,000 pages of a Literary novel, plus a one-page 300-word plot synopsis. The first prize is £1,500; second prize is £300; third prize is £100. Entry is £20. Deadline: 31 March. Details: theplazaprizes.com/competition/literary-first-chapters/

Snowy insists you must be dogged about those writing ambitions of yours.

Another Opportunity to Get your Novel Noticed

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Joanna Swainsone, The Fiction Factory First Chapter Competition

With a deadline of 31st March, there is still time to enter your novel into the Fiction Factory First Chapter Competition. They require a maximum of 5,000 words of your First Chapter, plus a one-page synopsis. Prizes: the winning entry will be read by agent Joanna Swainson of Hardman & Swainson Agency and will receive £500 plus an appraisal. All shortlisted entries will receive a free appraisal. Entry is £18, or £38 including an optional assessment. Details: words@fiction-factory.biz

This is an opportunity to get your novel seen by a top agent, so well worth considering. Skipper, who is something of an expert on these matters, says two weeks is plenty of time to polish those 5,000 words.

Words of Wisdom from Sir David Attenborough

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Advice on Writing from Sir David Attenborough

We are all aware of how talented Sir David Attenborough is, but an article in last week’s Telegraph Magazine described his attention to detail where the written word is concerned. Two weeks before filming begins, he is sent the finished scripts – which he then rewrites.

“I’m not unknown to have spent a whole afternoon at least on the first 30 seconds of a script, because you have to get it right” he told Alastair Fothergill, his long-time collaborator. “I enjoy polishing words.”

So there you have it. Advice from a master. A whole afternoon is not too long to spend polishing thirty seconds of script.

Writing Competitions with Closing Dates in March

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Casablanca Imprint, Evesham Festival of Words Short Story Competition, Fowey Festival Short Story Competition 2023, Henshaw Short Story Competition 2023, I Am Writing Festival Competitions, The 2023 Bristol Short Story Prize, The BBC National Short Story Award 2023, The DRF Writers Award 2023

Creating something from nothing is an art, whether you use words, oils, water colours, embroidered quilts or molten metal – so use your imagination to conjure up a story for one of the following competitions. It may not be a long list this month, but you only need one to win…

Searchlight Writing for Children Award for illustrated picture book texts. Prizes: £500, agent/publisher pitch book publication. Entry fee: £9. Closing date: 1 March. Details: http://www.searchlightawards.co.uk/

Evesham Festival of Words Short Story Competition for stories up to 2,200 words. Prizes: £200, £100, £75. Entry fee: £5. Closing date: 10 March. Details: http://eveshamfestivalofwords.org

Fowey Festival Short Story Competition 2023 has the theme of: ‘I’ll Never be Young Again‘, which is the title of Daphne Du Maurier’s second novel, published in 1932. There are prizes of £250 and £100. Enter original, unpublished short stories of up to 1,500 words. The entry fee is £10. The closing date is 5 March. Details: http://www.foweyfestival.com

The DRF Writers Award 2023 for first-time prose writers has a £10,000 prize and is for writers within the British Commonwealth and Eire. Submissions should be of 15,000-20,000 words of a work in progress, which may be fiction or nonfiction, by debut authors. To be eligible, writers must not previously have published or self-published a full-length prose book, and must not be agented or under contract to a publisher. Entrants may have published a poetry collection. The winner will receive £10,000 and each runner up will receive £1,000. Include a synopsis and brief biuographical note with each entry. Closing date 31 March. Website: http://www.deborahrogersfoundation.org/writers-award.

BBC National Short Story Award 2023 is inviting entries for stories up to 8,000 words with a £15,000 first prize. A further four shortlisted entrants will each receive £600 and the five winning stories will be published in an anthology. To enter, submit original fiction no longer than 8,000 words. Writers must have a previous record of publication of creative writing in the UK. Entry is free. Each writer may enter only one story. Closing date is 13 March. Details: https://writ.rs/bbcnssa23

I Am Writing Competitions: I Am Writing Crime/Thriller Competition for the first 3,500 words of any type of adult, MG or YA crime/thriller novel, judged on commercial appeal plus a one page synopsis. Prizes: £100 plus 30 minute on-line consultation with Kate Nash Literary Agency; £50 plus 500 word written feedback; £25 plus 500 words of written feedback. I Am Writing Historical Competition for the first 3,500 words of any type of historical novel for adults. A one-page synopsis is also required. Prizes: £100 plus 30 minute on-line consultation with Clare Coombes from The Liverpool Literary Agency; £50 plus 500 words of written feedback; £25, plus 500 words of written feedback. I Am Writing Romance Competition for the first 3,500 words of any type of romance novel for adults. A one page synopsis is also required. Prizes: £100 plus a 30 minute on-line consultation with Clare Coombes from The Liverpool Literary Agency; £30 plus 500 words of written feedback; £25 plus 500 words of written feedback. I Am Writing Picture Books Competition for up to two texts of no more than 600 words each, in prose or verse, for sharing with children aged 3-6. Please do not include illustration notes in your entry. Prizes: £200, a one-to-one Zoom editorial consultation with the Little Tiger editorial team plus a £50 book token; £30 book token plus written editorial feedback; £20 book token plus written editorial feedback. Entry fee in each case: £11. Closing date for all competitions: 31 March. Details: http://www.iaminprint.co.uk “Reasons to Enter: last year representation was offered to multiple writers as a result of entering. There is no shortlist or longlist, so winners aren’t kept waiting and other entrants don’t feel the blow twice.”

The Henshaw Short Story Competition 2023 for stories up to 2,000 words. Prizes: £200, £100, £50, with winners published on the Henshawpress website and in their next anthology.Entry: £6 by Paypal or by cheque to G. Jennings. Optional Critiques a further £14. Profits since 2019 have gone to Medcins sans Frontiers, so entering is contributing to the best of causes. Details: https://www.henshawpress.co.uk. (Note – this is worth entering. One of ninevoices won their first prize several years back and was published in their anthology!)

THIS IS NOT A COMPETITION:

Now for something a bit different from our usual list of competitions. Casablanca is an imprint of Source Books and wants submissions from writers with ‘something fresh to offer in the genre of romance’. All subgenres are welcome, including contemporary, romantic suspense, erotic, historical romance prior to 1900 and the paranormal. They are looking for a protaganist the reader can connect with emotionally and a love interest the reader can fall in love with. Submissions should be a completed manuscript of 85,000-100,000 words They need a 2-3 page synopsis and a 2-3 sentence hook. Full details can be found on their website: https://read.sourcebooks.com/submissions-casablanca.html

As always, we urge you to double check that the competition is still available and all entry details before committing yourself.

Good Luck.

In It for the Long Haul

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Alberto Mozziconacci, fine art prints, French artists, Persistence, She Magazine, step-parenting

Long, long ago, I held in my trembling hand the very first payment I received for something I had written. It was not a work of fiction – being a light-hearted article about becoming a step-parent for the long-defunct women’s magazine SHE – but it made me think I could perhaps call myself a writer.

Instead of purchasing a yacht (the cheque was for a modest £80) I marked the occasion by buying a limited edition print by the French artist Alberto Mozziconacci which sits, to this day, on the wall of our dining room.

Years have passed. Decades. And I am still awaiting fame and fortune. Yet if I am ever feeling downhearted about my ambitions I only have to look at La Soupière to remind myself that as long as I am still writing I can call myself a writer.

Jennifer Moore

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Agents, British Czech and Slovak Writing Competition, HQ Digital, Jennifer Moore, Jenny Moore, Maverick Arts Publishing, Mslexia, The Wilderness Retreat, The woman Before, Writing for Children

It has been said that the difference between a professional writer and an amateur is that the professional never gives up. This inspirational guest piece by the talented – and persistent – Jennifer Moore is proof of how true this is.

I’ve been following Ninevoices since winning the British Czech & Slovak Writing Competition back in 2016, so it’s lovely to be invited to contribute a guest post. Thank you, Maggie!

I often describe myself as ‘a writer of two halves’, writing psychological thrillers as Jennifer Moore and funny children’s books as Jenny Moore. In truth, it’s not quite such a neat divide as that on a day-to-day basis, with ongoing projects in both camps, and it’s even harder to separate the two when it comes to explaining how my thrillers began life…

2017 started well for me, with not just one but two offers from agents for one of my children’s books. After much careful deliberation, I chose to sign with the agent who also represented adult books and promptly set about writing one – a creepy story about a grieving, pregnant woman who moves into a new house on Crenellation Lane with her husband, hoping that a fresh start will help her get over her twin sister’s death. She’s plunged, instead, into a nightmarish double mystery, with someone targeting the house from the outside and increasingly spooky goings-on within it. The novel was named after the street she lives on, Crenellation Lane, a name that popped into my head seemingly at random and refused to leave.

My agent was encouraging, offering helpful suggestions after reading the first few chapters and synopsis, and I threw myself into the project. It proved to be the perfect distraction from the waiting game while my children’s book was out on submission… a children’s book which didn’t, in the end, find a home, despite some great feedback from publishers.

By the autumn of that year, Crenellation Lane was approaching completion. Winning a Mslexia writing competition, with a first prize of a complete manuscript assessment from Daniel Goldsmith, proved to be the perfect impetus for getting it over the finish line. The prize was only valid for a month, so I pushed onto the end of the book and gave it a quick polish before sending it off. The feedback was really encouraging – the editor described it as a ‘well-structured and gripping mystery underpinned by strong themes of love, loss, life and death’. He wrote, ‘an emotional and action-packed roller-coaster, the novel is highly entertaining, humorous and fast paced,’ pointing out a few final points where the tension could be heightened even more. I thought I was onto a winner…

Fast-forward to early 2018, however, and my agent and I were no longer together. I was gutted. A tough six months or so followed, when nothing seemed to go right on the writing front, before I found my wonderful children’s publisher, Maverick Arts Publishing.
Crenellation Lane was left on the back burner while I concentrated on my middle grade books. But every now and then I’d spot a call for submissions from a publisher in Writing Magazine and dust it off again, not wanting to give up on it entirely. One editor said it was the best submission she’d read that year, but it was, for various reasons, still a no. Months later, however, she got back in touch to say she’d often thought about Crenellation Lane since, and could she read it again? This led to a phone call and some fresh work on the novel before it eventually made it to the acquisitions stage… where it was turned down.

Buy ‘The Woman Before’ on Amazon

In the summer of 2021, after more near-misses and a change of title to The Viewing, I came across HQ Digital, a branch of Harper Collins who accepted non-agented submissions. Off it went again. A few months later I received an email to say the book was currently with an editor who was enjoying it, and could I confirm that it was still available? I duly confirmed, trying not to get my hopes up too much. It was difficult not to though, especially when I received an email from the editor herself, saying that she was taking it to the next acquisitions meeting and could I send ideas for a second book…

Unfortunately, the second book idea didn’t go down as well, but the editor offered to chat through the market and other potential ideas with me on a Zoom call. During the intervening days I came up with the outline of another book entirely, The Retreat, about a writer on a writing retreat who finds herself the target of creepy incidents taken from her own book. The new idea proved much more popular and that was the one that went to acquisitions, along with Crenellation Lane/The Viewing.

After what felt like a very long couple of weeks, the editor (henceforth known as my editor, Becky!) was back in touch to say that everyone loved both books and they’d be thrilled for me to join the HQ Digital family. We had a Zoom meeting to talk through the next stages of the process and then, once the contract was signed, we were off! It’s been an absolute joy working with Becky (and Abi, my current editor while Becky’s on maternity leave) and the HQ team. I’m so pleased my books found their way to them. I even got to go to the big Harper Collins party last summer at the V&A and meet everyone in person.

Book One, now retitled as The Woman Before, came out in eBook and audio in July 2022, and I celebrated at home, with Covid! The paperback version came out in September with a Covid-free launch at my local bookshop. It was spotted in Bella magazine too, which was exciting! Book Two, now called The Wilderness Retreat, is out in eBook and audio on 22nd February and in paperback on 27th April. It’s changed a bit along the way – my main character is now a film composer on a wilderness retreat in Sweden – but the creepy events, the unwanted return of a figure from her past, and the big final twist are all included. There
have been some wonderful early reviews on NetGalley so I’m really excited for its release.

Buy / pre-order ‘The Wilderness Retreat’ on Amazon.

Jennifer has apologised for writing ‘such a long post’, explaining that the above is very much a pared down version of events. But readers of this blog appreciate how tortuous the route to publication can be and will find her experience both fascinating and encouraging.

We wish her well with the launch of The Wilderness Retreat, which is currently available to pre-order on Amazon. I shall certainly be buying a copy!

Burned at the Stake?

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Anne Boleyn, Demonology, Elizabeth Sawyer, Janet Horne, King James I, Scotland

It is tempting to dream of being magically transported into the past. Not, of course, to be Anne Boleyn, kneeling on the scaffold awaiting the sword-swipe of that French headsman, but as an ordinary woman in 16th, 17th or 18th century England. To be able to experience the exotic scents and foul stinks; the sounds and sights; the extravagantly dressed nobility; their elaborate wigs, fine horses and splendid carriages.

Yet might such a dream turn into a nightmare?

I read recently that King James VI of Scotland (who became James I of England in 1603) published a book in 1597 entitled Demonology, setting down how to identify and convict witches. Hundreds of suspected women were subsequently imprisoned and tortured until they confessed. A thumbscrew might be tightened until the pain was sufficient to elicit the required admission of guilt. If this failed to work, trial by water involved being placed on a ducking-stool and lowered below the water line of a pond or river. When completely submerged, if an accused woman sank, she was deemed innocent (too bad if she was by then dead from drowning); if she floated, she was guilty and would be dealt with accordingly. For those found guilty, punishments ranged (if she was lucky) from a severe beating, to time spent in the pillory or the stocks, or up to a year in jail being fed only on bread and water. For cases deemed serious, the penalty was a horrendous death.

The initial identification involved a number of damning pointers: being female, being from the lower echelons of society, being no longer young, or behaving occasionally in an eccentric manner. Having a brown patch somewhere on their skin (tough luck if you had age-spots on your hands), or a superfluous nipple, was deemed highly suspicious. As was being childless. Owning a black cat or a besom broom was considered a significant pointer to being in league with the Devil.

Woe betide you if your neighbour disliked you and their well happened to dry up, their chickens died, or their cow failed to produce milk. Evil arts might be suspected and fingers pointed in your direction.

In England, more than 2,500 women were executed for witchcraft and in 1621 a crowd of up to 30,000 watched Elizabeth Sawyer hang for the presumed crime at Tyburn. North of the border, in 1727, Janet Horne became the last so-called witch burned alive in Scotland.

In the light of all this, as a working-class female past the first flush of youth, with stepchildren but no offspring of her own, I no longer fancy travelling back in time. Especially as I frequently read books aloud to my all-black cat. Mutter to myself while editing on my computer. Sing carols loudly while driving my car. In the summer. And – perhaps most damning – own a rather splendid besom broom.

Writing Competitions to Enter in November

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Bath Children's Novel Award, Bluepencilagency Pitch Prize, Caledonian Novel Award, Cinnamon Press Literature Award, Cranked Anvil Flash Fiction Competition, Ecologisers EcoSanta Short Story Santa Competition, Fish Short Story Competition, New Writers Flash Fiction, Paul Torday Memorial Prize, Retreat West Novelette in Flash Prize, TripFiction Sense of Place Creative Writing Competition, Writers Bureau Flash Fiction Competition

Don’t take fright, but if the year looks like drawing to a close without any of your writing New Year Resolutions being accomplished, one of the following competitions might save you from agonies of guilt.

Caledonian Novel Award for the first 20 pages plus 200-word synopsis of a novel by an unpublished writer. Prizes: £1,500, trophy. Entry fee: £25. Closing date: 1 November. Details: https://the caledoniannovelaward.com

Scribble Annual Short Story Competition for stories up to 3,000 words on the theme of ‘Neighbours’. Prizes: £100, £50, £25; publication in Scribble. Entry fee: £4. Details: http://www.parkpublications.co.uk

Blue Pencilagency Pitch Prize. First 500 words of an opening chapter and 300-word synopsis. Prizes: one-on-one meeting with agent for up to ten writers. Entry fee: £10. Closing date: 6 November. Details: http://www.bluepencilagency.com

TripFiction Sense of Place Creative Writing Competition. Stories up to 2,500 words, in which the location is as important as the story. Prizes: £1,000, £500, £250. Entry fee: £10. Closing date: 6 November. Details: http://www.tripfiction.com/sense-of-place-creative-writing-competition/ (Please note that we are unsure about this competition, which is detailed in Writing Magazine as being current, but whose website seems to refer to 2020…!)

Retreat West Novelette in Flash Prize. 3,000-8,000 words total, made up of flashes up to 500 words each. Prizes: £150, £100, £50; publication. Entry fee: £14. Closing date: 28 November. Details: http://www.retreatwest.co.uk

Bath Children’s Novel Award. An international prize for unpublished and independently published writers of children’s novels, picture books and chapter books. Send first 5,000 words and synopsis. Prizes: £3,000, manuscript feedback. Cornerstones online course worth £1,800. Entry fee: £29. Closing date: 30 November. Details: bathnovelaward.co.uk

Cinnamon Press Literature Award for 15 poems up to 500 lines each, 2 short stories or up to 10,000 words of a novel. Prizes: publishing contract. Entry fee: £18. Closing date: 30 November. Details: http://www.cinnamonpress.com

Cranked Anvil Flash Fiction Competition for short stories, up to 500 words, quarterly. Prizes: £150, £75, £30. Entry fee: £5, £8 for two, £10 for three. Closing date: 30 November. Details: http://www.crankedanvil.co.uk

Fiction Factory Flash. Short stories up to 1,000 words. Prizes, £200, £50, £25. Entry fee: £5. Closing date: 30 November. Details: hppt://fiction-factory.biz

Fish Short Story Competition for stories up to 5,000 words. Prizes: 3,000Euros for first, a week at Anam Cara Writer’s Retreat in west Cork plus 300 euros expenses for second, 300 euros for third, seven 200 euro honorable mentions. Entry fee: 20 euros for the first 10 euros thereafter. Closing date: 30 November. Details: http://www.fishpublishing.com

Ecologisers EcoSanta Short Story Santa Competition. Stories for children featuring Santa as an eco-champion, under 2,000 words. Prizes: £100. Entry fee: £5. Closing date: 30 November. Details: http://www.ecosanta.co.uk

New Writers Flash Fiction for flash fiction up to 300 words. Prizes: £700, £200, £100. Entry fee: £6. Closing date: 30 November. Details: https://newwriters.org.uk/flash-fiction/

Paul Torday Memorial Prize for a first novel by a writer 60 and over. Prizes: £1,000. FREE ENTRY. Closing date: 30 November. Details: http://www.societyofauthors.org

Writers Bureau Flash Fiction Competition for stories up to 500 words on an open theme. Prizes: £300, £200, £100 plus Writers Bureau course worth over £374. Entry fee: £5, £10 for three. Closing date: 30 November. Details: http://www.wbcompetition.com

No apologies for keeping you awake at night with guilt. Grab that pen, or keyboard, and start writing… But do, please, double check all details before entry in case of last-minute changes or cancellations.