Writing competitions with closing dates in February

Tags

Christopher Tower Poetry Competition, Crime Writers Association Debut Dagger Award, CWA Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition, Exeter Writers Short Story Competition, Fish Flash Fiction Prize, Flash 500 Short Story Competition, Harpers Bazaar Short Story Competition, Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award, Kelpies Prize, Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, National Flash Fiction Day Microfiction Competition, Northern Writers Awards, Papatango New Writing Prize, Peters Fraser + Dunlop Queer Fiction Prize, Rialto Nature and Place Poetry Competition, Scottish Arts Club Short Story Competition, Searchlight Writing for Children Award, Spotlight First Novel Competition, The Poetry Business International Book & Pamphlet Competition, The Poetry Business New Poets Prize, The Welkin Writing Prize, UK Film Festival Script Writing Competitions, Writers & Artists Yearbook Short Story Competition

Isn’t it time you entered a competition? (says Snowy)

Nine of this month’s competitions are free to enter (I’ve typed this fact in bold wherever it applies!) so do take a look. I really hope you’ll find one or two (at least) that will inspire you to have a go. Also, I’ve added in a couple of extras whose deadlines fall early in March. As always, please check websites, in case details have changed.

• Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award for a short story of up to 8,000 words showing the near future (no more than 50–60 years out) of manned space exploration (e.g. about moon bases, Mars colonies, orbital habitats, space elevators, asteroid mining, AI, nano-technology, realistic spacecraft, heroics, sacrifice, adventure). FREE ENTRY. Prizes: publication on Baen Books’ main website at pro rates for first prize, plus prize packages for first, second and third. Closing date: 1^st February. Details: https://www.baen.com/contest-jbmssa

• Papatango New Writing Prize for unperformed full-length playscript. FREE ENTRY. Prizes: £7,000 + winning script produced by Papatango in a full run at Bush Theatre (London). 4 x £500 + option to have play presented as reading. Closing date: 5^th February. Details: https://papatango.co.uk/new-writing-prize/

• Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize for first 40–50 pages of an unpublished novel (plus 3–5-page synopsis of remainder) by a woman. Entry fee: £12. Prize: £1,500. Closing date: 10^th February (or 8^th February if sponsored as low-income writer). Details: https://www.fictionprize.co.uk/

• Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook Short Story Competition for a story (for adults) of up to 2,000 words on the theme of ‘love’. FREE ENTRY. Prize: place on an Arvon Residential Writing Week (worth £850) and website publication. Closing date: 14^th February. Details: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/competitions/writers-artists-short-story-competition-2023

• Spotlight First Novel Competition for a one-page synopsis and first page of an unpublished novel. Entry fee: £16. Prize: mentoring package from Adventures in Fiction, a dedicated Spotlight page on their website, and first page + synopsis posted online. Closing date: 14^th February. Details: https://adventuresinfiction.co.uk/spotlight-1st-novel

• National Flash Fiction Day Microfiction Competition for up to 100 words on any theme. Entry fee: £2 for one entry, £3.75 for two, £5.25 for three. Prizes: £150, £100, £50, £20 x 7 ₊ publication in anthology + free print copy of anthology. Closing date: 15^th February. Details: https://www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/index.php/competition

• Northern Writers’ Awards for work including poetry, fiction, narrative non-fiction and YA by writers in the north of England; also by those originating from a working-class background, final-year/graduates of Northumbria University, young writers between 11–14 and 15–18, and those with ‘limited opportunities to pursue their talent’. FREE ENTRY. Prizes: different for each award, but including cash prizes and mentoring support. Closing date: 22^nd February. Details: https://newwritingnorth.com/northern-writers-awards/awards

• Christopher Tower Poetry Competition for poems of up to 48 lines by UK students aged 16 to 18 (not in higher education) on the theme ‘The Planets’. FREE ENTRY. Prizes: £5,000, £3,000, £1,500, 10 x £500. Closing date 24^th February. Details: https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/research-and-academia/enter-tower-poetry-competition

• Harper’s Bazaar Short Story Competition for a short story up to 2,200 words on the subject of ‘Notes’. Open to UK residents only. FREE ENTRY. Prize: 2-night stay in treehouse at Callow Hall (Peak District) for winner (and guest) and publication in Harper’s Bazaar. Closing date: 26^th February. Details: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/culture/culture-news/a36157/harpers-bazaar-short-story-competition

• Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award for a crime novel. Submit the first 3,000 words plus synopsis (up to 1,500 words). Entry fee: £36. Prize: £500; also finalists on shortlist receive brief professional assessment + work will be sent to UK publishers and agents. Closing date: 28^th February. Details: https://thecwa.co.uk/awards-and-competitions/the-daggers/debut-dagger-rules

• CWA Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition for short stories of up to 3,500 words based on Margery Allingham’s definition of a mystery. Entry fee: £12. Prize: £500 + 2 full weekend passes to Crimefest 2023. Closing date: 28^th February. Details: https://thecwa.co.uk/awards-and-competitions/margery-allingham-short-mystery-competition

• Exeter Writers’ Short Story Competition for stories of any genre and theme (but not children’s) up to 3,000 words. Entry fee: £7. Prizes; £700, £350, £200, £100 for a Devon writer. Closing date: 28^th February. Details: www.exeterwriters.org.uk

• Fish Flash Fiction Prize for flash fiction up to 300 words. Entry fee: €14, €9 subsequent entries. Prizes: €1,000, €300 + online writing course, €300. Anthology publication for top 10 stories. Closing date: 28^th February. Details: https://www.fishpublishing.com/competition/flash-fiction-contest

• Flash 500 Short Story Competition for short stories of any genre (including by and for children) from 1,000 to 3,000 words. Entry fee: £7, £12 for two, £16 for three, £20 for four. Prizes: £500, £200, £100. Closing date: 28^th February. Details:  https://flash500.com/short-stories

• Kelpies Prize is for writers living in Scotland only. Entries must include (i) the first five chapters of a book for children (either fiction or non-fiction) OR a whole picture book story, (ii) synopsis, (iii) a short piece of writing for children (1,000–3,000 words) that begins, ‘It wasn’t my fault!’ [character name] said. ‘Let me tell you what really happened …’, (iv) information about you. FREE ENTRY. Prize: £500 plus nine months’ mentoring and consideration for publishing contract with Floris Books. Closing date: 28^th February. Details: https://discoverkelpies.co.uk/kelpies-prize-writing

• Scottish Arts Club Short Story Competition (open to writers worldwide) for short stories on any topic up to 2,000 words. Entry fee: £10. Prizes: £3,000, £500, £250. Write Mango Award: £300. Isobel Lodge Award open to unpublished writers living in Scotland: £750. Also offer of publication of top 20 stories (or more) in next anthology. Closing date: 28^th February. Details: https://www.scottishartstrust.org/short-story

• UK Film Festival Script Writing Competitions for (i) 3-minute scripts (3–4 pp), (ii) 10-minute screenplay, and (iii) feature film scripts. Entry fee: (i) 3-minute script – £20, (ii) 10-minute screenplay – £35, (iii) feature film script – £60. Prizes: 3-minute script will be produced. 10-minute and feature scripts will be circulated to production companies and financiers. All winning scripts will be supported by UK Film Festival for chance of production and promotion. Winners and runners-up will receive the latest version of Final Draft 12 (value: $250) + free script listing and placement on Inktip. Closing date: 28^th February. Details: https://filmfreeway.com/TheUKFilmFestivalScriptCompetitions

• The Welkin Writing Prize for narrative prose up to 400 words. FREE ENTRY. Prizes: £250 + Writers’ HQ membership, £120 + book voucher, £60 + book. Closing date: 28^th February. Details: https://www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-prize

• The Poetry Business International Book & Pamphlet Competition for a collection of 20 pages of poetry. Entry fee: £29. Prizes: 2 x £700 + publication by Smith|Doorstop Books + in The North magazine + reading at The Wordsworth Trust + a place on a residential course at Moniack Mhor. Six runners-up will receive publication in a feature in The North magazine + online reading + £100 each. Closing date: 1^st March. Details: https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/competitions/the-international-book-pamphlet-competition

• The Poetry Business New Poets Prize for a collection of 12 pages of poems from writers aged 17 to 24. Entry fee: £10. Prizes: Two winners will receive editorial support for publication by Smith|Doorstop + their work will appear in a feature in The North magazine. Two runners-up will receive mentoring + their work will appear in The North magazine. Winners and runners-up will also receive a subscription to The North magazine and be invited to give a reading organised by The Poetry Business. Closing date: 1^st March. Details: https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/competitions/new-poets-prize

• Rialto Nature and Place Poetry Competition for nature poems up to 40 lines. Entry fee: £7 for the first poem in a batch of 6, £4 thereafter. Prizes: £1,000, £500, £250. Closing date: 1^st March. Details: https://www.therialto.co.uk/pages/nature-poetry-competition

• Searchlight Writing for Children Award for illustrated picture book texts (either in development or self-published). Entry fee: £9. Prizes: £500. Top 10 shortlisted entries included in The Winners’ Collection and sent to agents and publishers. Closing date: 1^st March. Details: https://www.searchlightawards.co.uk/competitions/best-childrens-illustrated-picture-book-2023

• Peters Fraser + Dunlop Queer Fiction Prize for 3 chapters, synopsis and covering letter for novels for adults OR YA & children by new LGBTQIA+ writers. FREE ENTRY. Prizes: representation at PFD and support in writing to the end of your novel. Closing date: 1^st March. Details: https://petersfraserdunlop.com/about-us/pfd-queer-fiction-prize/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Just suppose that winning a competition meant getting your novel published. That’s what happened to Maggie when she won the Historical Writers’ 2020 Unpublished Novel Award with The Servant. Could it be your turn next?

Writing competitions to enter in January

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Bath Flash Fiction Novella in Flash Award, British Haiku Society Awards, Charles Causley International Poetry Competition, Cheshire Prize for Literature, Discoveries Programme, European Writing Prize, Exeter Novel Prize, Fish Publishing Short Memoir Prize, Gemini Magazine Poetry Open Prize, Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award, Kay Murphy Prize for Poetry, Kent & Sussex Poetry Society Open Poetry Competition, Lancashire Authors' Association Flash Fiction Competition, Magma Poetry Competition, Martin Lucas Haiku Award, Orna Ross Green Stories Novel Prize, Papatango New Writing Prize, Retreat West First Chapter Competition, Teignmouth Poetry Festival Competition, Virginia Prize for Fiction, WriteMentor Novel and Picture Book Award

Start the new year the way you mean to go on – by entering a competition (or two). There are so many exciting ones to choose from this month and I’ve added in a couple of extras whose deadlines fall early in February. I hope you’ll find lots to inspire you here. As always, please check websites, in case details have changed.

Exeter Novel Prize for first 10,000 words of a novel not under contract, including 500-word synopsis. Entry fee: £20. Prizes: £1,000 + trophy, 5 x £100 + paperweight. Closing date: 1^st January. Details: www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk

The Charles Causley International Poetry Competition for a poem on any subject up to 40 lines. Entry fee: £7.50 for one poem, £5.50 for subsequent poems. Prizes: £2,000 + one-week writing residency at Cyprus Well, Causley’s former home in Launceston; £250; £100. Closing date: 1^st January. Details: www.causleytrust.org/competition-2022

The European Writing Prize 2023 for unpublished short fiction between 1,500 to 3,500 words, incorporating the notion of anxiety (however you see fit). Entry fee: Free. Prizes: €50 + lifetime membership of the European Society of Literature + publication in its quarterly journal. Closing date: 1^st January. Details: www.litsoceu.com/writing-prize

Kay Murphy Prize for Poetry for up to three poems. Entry fee: $20. Prize: $1,000 + subscription to Bayou Magazine. Closing date: 2^nd January. Details: www.bayoumagazine.org

Gemini Magazine Poetry Open Prize for poems of any subject, length and style. Entry fee: $9 for up to three poems. Prizes: $1,000, $100, 4 x $25, + publication. Closing date: 3^rd January. Details: www.gemini-magazine.com

Orna Ross Green Stories Novel Prize for three chapters (first, last and one that best showcases how your novel meets their green stories criteria) plus synopsis. They also require you to read one of the books from their Green Stories project and will ask you three questions about it when you submit. Free entry. Prizes: £1,000, £500, plus discounted appraisal from Daniel Goldsmith Associates. Closing date: 3^rd January. Details: www.greenstories.org.uk

Discoveries Programme (a writers’ development programme run in partnership with the Women’s Prize Trust, Audible and Curtis Brown) invites women resident in the UK or the Republic of Ireland to submit opening (including any prologue) of a fiction novel for adults (not children or YA) of up to 10,000 words and a synopsis of no more than 1,000 words. Free entry. Prizes: (i) winner – offer of representation by Curtis Brown, £5,000, gratis place on Discoveries course, studio session with Audible; (ii) scholar – gratis place on Curtis Brown 3-month novel course, mentoring session, gratis place on Discoveries course, studio session with Audible; (iii) Four shortlisted entrants – gratis place on Curtis Brown 6-week course, mentoring session, gratis place on Discoveries course, studio session with Audible; (iv) ten longlisted entrants – £50 discount on a Curtis Brown 6-week course, gratis place on Discoveries course. All sixteen of the above will also receive an annual Audible subscription and invitation to the Women’s Prize Trust’s summer 2023 party. Closing date: 15^th January. Details: https://www.womensprizeforfiction.co.uk/discoveries

Bath Flash Fiction Novella in Flash Award for flash fiction novellas between 6,000 and 18,000 words. Entry fee: £16. Prizes: £300, 2 x £100, publication. Closing date: 15^th January. Details:  www.bathflashfictionaward.com/novella-entry

Retreat West First Chapter Competition for first chapter of a novel on any theme up to 3,000 words. Entry fee: £10. Prizes: feedback and review. Closing date: 29^th January. Details: www.retreatwest.co.uk

Magma Poetry Competition for poems on any subject in two categories: (i) 11–50 lines, (ii) up to 10 lines. Entry fee: £5, £4 for second poem, £3.50 for third and each subsequent. Prizes: (i) £1,000, £300, £150, + publication. Ditto for (ii). Plus 5 special mentions for each. Closing date: 31^st January. Details: www.magmapoetry.com/magma-2022-23-poetry-competition

British Haiku Society Awards for three categories: (i) Haiku, (ii) Tanka, (iii) Haibun. Entry fee for up to 3 Haiku OR 3 Tanka OR 3 Haibun: £5.50. Prizes: Haiku – £125 x 2, £50 x 2. Tanka – £125 x 2, £50 x 2. Haibun – £125, £50. All award-winners will be published in the May 2023 issue of BHS journal Blithe Spirit. Closing date: 31^st January. Details: http://britishhaikusociety.org.uk/2022/09/call-for-entries-bhs-awards-2022/

WriteMentor Novel and Picture Book Awards for (i) children’s novel (chapter book, middle grade, young adult) – first 3,000 words and 1-page synopsis; and/or (ii) children’s picture book – whole, completed manuscript. Entry fee: £12. Prizes 6 months’ access to Spark, WM’s 121 mentoring service with published children’s authors + 1-year membership to the Hub, WM’s online community platform. Runner-up prize: 1-year membership to the Hub. Closing date: 31^st January. Details: https://write-mentor.com/awards/writementor-novel-picture-book-awards-2023/

The Cheshire Prize for Literature by writers born, living, studying or working in Cheshire (past or present) for a short story (up to 1,500 words) OR poem (maximum 100 lines) OR children’s story or poem (same lengths) OR script (max 15-minute). Also entries of poetry/short stories are invited from children aged either 4–11 or 11–17. Entry: free. Prizes: cash for each over-18 category. Book tokens for children aged 4–17. Closing date: 31^st January. Details: https://www1.chester.ac.uk/press-office/cheshire-prize-literature

Kent & Sussex Poetry Society Open Poetry Competition for poems up to 40 lines. Entry fee: £5 per poem or, for three or more, £4 each. Prizes: £1,000, £300, £100, 4 x £50. Closing date: 31^st January. Details: https://kentandsussexpoetry.com/kent-sussex-poetry-society-open-poetry-competition-2023/

Lancashire Authors’ Association Flash Fiction Competition for a story of exactly 100 words. Entry fee: £2, or £5 for a maximum of three. Prize: £100. Closing date: 31^st January. Details: http://www.lancashireauthorsassociation.co.uk/Open_Comp.html

Martin Lucas Haiku Award for original unpublished haiku. Entry fee: £5 for up to 5 haiku, £1 each additional haiku. Prizes: £100, £50, 2 x £25, + publication in Presence Magazine. Closing date: 31^st January. Details: https://haikupresence.org/award

Teignmouth Poetry Festival Competition for poems up to 40 lines. Entry fee: Online – £4.50 (£3.50 each additional entry). By post – £4 (£3 each additional entry). Prizes: £600, £300, £200. Closing date: 31^st January. Details: https://www.poetryteignmouth.com/competition-2023.html

Virginia Prize for Fiction for unpublished novels, at least 45,000 words, by women. Entry fee: £25. Prize: Development and publication of winning novel. Closing date: 31^st January. Details: https://www.aurorametro.com/virginia-prize-for-fiction

Fish Publishing Short Memoir Prize for a memoir of up to 4,000 words of your life. Entry fee: €18 (€11 subsequent entries). Prizes: €1,000; 2 x €300 + online writing course. The best 10 memoirs will also be published in the Fish Anthology 2023. Closing date: 31^st January. Details: https://www.fishpublishing.com/competition/short-memoir-contest

Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award for a short story of up to 8,000 words showing the near future (no more than 50–60 years out) of manned space exploration (e.g. about moon bases, Mars colonies, orbital habitats, space elevators, asteroid mining, AI, nano-technology, realistic spacecraft, heroics, sacrifice, adventure). Entry: free. Prizes: publication on Baen Books’ main website at pro rates for first prize, plus prize packages for first, second and third. Closing date: 1^st February. Details: https://www.baen.com/contest-jbmssa

Papatango New Writing Prize for unperformed full-length playscript. Free Entry. Prizes: £7,000 + winning script produced by Papatango in a full run at Bush Theatre (London). 4 x £500 + option to have play presented as reading. Closing date: 5^th February. Details: www.papatango.co.uk

A nudge from Snowy to get writing!

Writing Competitions to enter in December

Tags

Audio Arcadia Short Story Competition, Boulevard Short Fiction Contest, Craft Creative Non-Fiction Award, Exeter Novel Prize, Gemini Magazine Poetry Open Prize, Hawkeye Publishing Manuscript Development Prize, Kay Murphy Prize, Lascaux Prize in Short Fiction, Mslexia Women’s Poetry Competition, Mslexia Women’s Poetry Pamphlet Competition, Orna Ross Green Stories Novel Prize, The Moth Poetry Prize, The Wolves Lit Poetry Fest Competition, Virginia Woolf Award for Short Fiction, vLex International Law and Technology Writing Competition

A great range of competitions to enter this month – and I’ve added in a few extra whose deadlines fall early in the new year. I hope you’ll see at least one that will inspire you. As always, please check websites in case details (like closing dates) have changed.

Don’t let those deadlines whoosh by, says Snowy

vLex International Law and Technology Writing Competition for a 1000-word blog-style article by students over 18 (or recent graduates) on one of three themes: (i) Law, technology and sports, (ii) Law, technology and climate or (iii) Law, technology and crypto. Free entry: Prizes: £1,500, 3 x £250. Closing date: 1^st December. Details: www.vlex.com/writing-competition

Mslexia Women’s Poetry Competition for unpublished poems of any length on any subject. Entry fee: £10 for up to three poems. Prizes: £2,000, £500, £250 & (for an entry by a previously unpublished poet) £250. Closing date: 5^th December. Details: www.mslexia.co.uk

Mslexia Women’s Poetry Pamphlet Competition for collections of up to 20 poems (up to 24 pages). Entry fee: £20. Prize: £250, plus publication by Bloodaxe Books. Closing date: 5^th December. Details: www.mslexia.co.uk

(Mslexia’s judge, Imtiaz Dharker, says: ‘My most important advice is, don’t allow yourself to be ruled by rules. You can write about anything in the world. That’s what poetry does. It allows you to write about unspeakable things … I love it when I get a shock of recognition, when I feel, ‘That was exactly what I wanted to say but never found the right words! – and this poet has said it at last.’ I love the sound of Imtiaz!)

Hawkeye Publishing Manuscript Development Prize for 300-word synopsis, first 30 pages and one-page plan (demonstrating understanding of audience and marketing) for a book length manuscript of strong commercial fiction or non-fiction, up to 80,000 words. Entry fee: Aus $45. Prize: $2,500 editing package, author coaching, structural and line edit. Closing date: 16^th December. Details: www.hawkeyebooks.com.au

Craft Creative Non-Fiction Award for a longform creative non-fiction piece up to 6,000 words OR up to two flash creative non-fiction pieces of 1,000 words or fewer. Entry fee: $20. Prizes: 3 x $1,000, 2 x $200, + publication. Closing date: 29^th December. Details: www.craftliterary.com

Lascaux Prize in Short Fiction for short stories up to 10,000 words. Entry fee: $15. Prizes: $1,000 + publication. Other finalists: $100 + publication. Closing date: 31^st December. Details: www.lascauxreview.com/contests

Audio Arcadia Short Story Competition for short stories up to 5,000 words on SF/fantasy/paranormal themes. Entry fee: £6.50. Prizes: Anthology publication + royalties for eight winners. Closing date: 31^st December. Details: www.audioarcadia.com/competition

Boulevard Short Fiction Contest for Emerging Writers for fiction up to 8,000 words by a writer who has not yet published a book of fiction, poetry or creative non-fiction with a nationally distributed press. Entry fee: $16 (includes one-year subscription to Boulevard Magazine). Prize: $1,500 + publication. Closing date: 31^st December. Details: www.boulevardmagazine.org/short-fiction-contest

The Moth Poetry Prize for a single unpublished poem. Entry fee: €15. Prizes: €6,000, 3 x €1,000, + publication in The Moth, 8 x €250 commendations. Closing date: 31^st December. Details: www.themothmagazine.com

Virginia Woolf Award for Short Fiction for short stories of 3,000–8,000 words. Entry fee: $20. Prizes: $2,500 + publication, 3 x $100. Closing date: 31^st December. Details: www.litmag.com

The Wolves Lit Poetry Fest Competition for a poem of up to 40 lines on any subject. Entry fee: £4. Prizes: £400, £150, 3 x £25, £50 for best poem by someone living in a WV postcode. Closing date: 31^st December. Details: www.pandemonialists.co.uk/wolves-lit-fest-poetry-competition-2023

Exeter Novel Prize for first 10,000 words of a novel not under contract, including 500-word synopsis. Entry fee: £20. Prizes: £1,000 + trophy, 5 x £100 + paperweight. Closing date: 1^st January. Details: www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk

Kay Murphy Prize for Poetry for up to three poems. Entry fee: $20. Prize: $1,000 + subscription to Bayou Magazine. Closing date: 2^nd January. Details: www.bayoumagazine.org

Gemini Magazine Poetry Open Prize for poems of any subject, length and style. Entry fee: $9 for up to three poems. Prizes: $1,000, $100, 4 x $25, + publication. Closing date: 3^rd January. Details: www.gemini-magazine.com

Orna Ross Green Stories Novel Prize for three chapters (first, last and one that best showcases how your novel meets their green stories criteria) plus synopsis. They also require you to read one of the books from their Green Stories project and will ask you three questions about it when you submit. Free entry. Prizes: £1,000, £500, plus discounted appraisal from Daniel Goldsmith Associates. Closing date: 3^rd January. Details: www.greenstories.org.uk

May 2023 bring you unimaginable writing success!

Sarah trying to imbibe inspiration at Bleak House (Broadstairs)

Bouncebackability – when you (yet again) don’t make a longlist

Tags

Cathy Rentzenbrink, Charles Dickens, Stephen King, Thomas Hardy, WriteMentor

‘Bouncebackability’ first entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2005, after football manager Iain Dowie coined it to describe Crystal Palace’s ascent from the edge of relegation to promotion through play-offs. What happened to his team in the 2003–4 season is, apparently, not uncommon. In 2018, Richard Foster wrote that, ‘the best preparation a team can have for a play-off final is the experience of losing one the year before’ (The Guardian, 25^th May, 2018). He backed this up with an amazing statistic: ‘Of the 10 beaten finalists who have returned to the same fixture the next season, nine have succeeded second time around – and the only exception made amends a year later.’

Surely a near miss for writers could have the same effect? The problem is we never know how close our work gets to being longlisted; if it’s not there, it’s not there. The WriteMentor folk addressed this problem recently (as much as it can be addressed) when they published additional lists of ‘Very Close’ and ‘Readers’ Favourites’, alongside their official competition longlist. Those who found themselves on these lists tweeted how hugely encouraging it was. Inevitably, though, there were more omissions than inclusions and I was one of the omissions.

I haven’t had much success lately – and I’ve ended up in a bit of a slough. I’ve been researching a new novel for a year but can’t quite bring myself to write it.

There’s a ton of advice out there to help writers like me who feel discouraged: you should ringfence a slot every morning to write whatever comes into your head; join a writing group; take a course; go on a retreat/workshop; get a mentor, etc.

But what works for one person might be unhelpful to another (assuming it’s even affordable). Stephen King – whose book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft is a favourite of mine – says he is ‘doubtful about writing classes’, though ‘not entirely against them’, which I found pretty interesting. In case you’re tempted to stop reading right here, perhaps the following (re his view on workshops/retreats in which would-be writers do daily critiques on each other’s work) will resonate more:

‘The pressure to explain is always on, and a lot of your creative energy … is therefore going in the wrong direction. You find yourself constantly questioning your prose and your purpose when what you should probably be doing is writing as fast as the Ginger-bread Man runs, getting that first draft down on paper while the shape of the fossil is still bright and clear in your mind.’

Getting your first draft down before you lose that vital spark appeals to me. (Elsewhere, he says, ‘If I don’t write every day, the characters begin to stale off in my mind – they begin to seem like characters instead of real people.’) He also advocates reading widely. That, of course, has to be right. At the end of last year, I came across an insightful tweet from literary agent Jennifer Laughran (@literaticat):

‘The best advice if you want to write for kids is, GO TO THE LIBRARY AND READ 100 BOOKS PUBLISHED IN YOUR CATEGORY IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS. Put your favourites in a special pile and buy your own copies of those so you can write in them. Tear them apart. Why and HOW do they work? If you do this: CONGRATULATIONS, you just did much of the work for a master’s degree without having to pay for it. While you’re at it – make a spreadsheet of those 100 books, noting WHO PUBLISHED THEM, and agent/editor if they are listed in the acknowledgments. Note patterns! If you do THIS step: CONGRATULATIONS, you just got a crash course in publishing and are armed with the knowledge of “who publishes what” that you will need as you begin your querying/publishing journey.’

I’m thinking this advice is transferable to anyone writing for adults, too, though reading 100 recent books might be a stretch.

I’ve also discovered that outings connected with my subject are really helpful (though this probably isn’t startling news to anyone else!). Towards the end of last year, I had an overnight stay in Dorchester and walked to various places connected with Thomas Hardy. Google Maps took me across fields to the church where Hardy’s father first saw his mother, then to the nearby house (what remains of it) where she was in service, and finally, along the road, to the cottage where Hardy was born. I came back feeling more hopeful and inspired than I had for months!

Ditto after a trip to Charles Dickens’ house in Doughty Street, London, last week.

I’ve also found writers baring their souls about failure and insecurity immensely encouraging. In Cathy Rentzenbrink’s new book Write It All Down, she says:

‘It is pointless to worry whether the work is any good or whether you are any good. It’s all about learning to tolerate the gap between our aspiration for the finished thing and the current dog’s breakfast that we see before us. With each of my five books I wasted aeons of time fretting about whether it was rubbish and I was useless and would everyone laugh at me and had I bitten off more than I could chew …

‘A sea change came when I had a talk about it with my agent, Jo. We were sitting on a wall outside the London Book Fair, and I was crying because I felt so adrift and miserable and unable to finish the next draft of what would become The Last Act of Love. I told her that I just didn’t think I was good enough. “Look,” she said kindly, “self-doubt is intertwined with creativity. I don’t understand why, but all the creative people I know spend a lot of time believing they are useless. You just need to not listen to it.”

‘That was a life-changing moment for me …’

Bouncebackability is about the state of your morale, the ability to shut out negative voices. The reason I remember when the OED first included it is because a boy in my son’s English class decided to celebrate by inserting it into an essay on Romeo & Juliet as often as possible! For example, Romeo, he said, showed bouncebackability when he moved on from his unhappy adoration of Rosaline (‘I have a soul of lead’) to joyous devotion to Juliet (‘Did my heart love till now?’) I don’t know how else he applied it but it must have made his teacher smile (a bit) and I’ll never think about bouncebackability without doing the same. It helps me lighten up.

Thoughts on ‘Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise’

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‘Children’s fiction has a long and noble history of being dismissed,’ writes Katherine Rundell in this short but inspirational hardback. She cites Martin Amis who once said, ‘If I had a serious brain injury I might well write a children’s book.’ 😲 Instead of going on the attack, though, Rundell, a prize-winning author and Fellow of All Souls, Oxford, has chosen to write a wonderful rebuttal.

She shows how the best children’s books help us ‘refind things we may not even know we have lost,’ taking us back to that time when ‘new discoveries came daily and when the world was colossal, before your imagination was trimmed and neatened …’

As the Financial Times says, ‘It’s a very short book but it packs a real punch.’ It also covers a lot of ground – zipping through the history of children’s books (which, in English, began as ‘instruction manuals for good behaviour’), the importance of fairy tales (with their ‘wild hungers and heroic optimism’), the need for greater diversity of authorship (‘there is so dazzlingly much to gain’) and how library budgets should be increased (not ‘slashed’), along with lighter issues, such as the ‘bookworm’s curse’ of knowing a word’s meaning but not how to pronounce it.

There are many thought-provoking ideas here but one, in particular, made me pause: ‘… there are some times in life when [a children’s book] might be the only thing that will do.’

A few months ago a friend of mine, struck down by a neurological illness that had left her bedridden and unable to speak, had reached the point where people were questioning whether she’d lost her mind. In the past she and I had often discussed books and one day, not long before she died, I decided to read her one of my all-time favourites – Richmal Crompton’s William (1929). The chapter I chose was one in which 11-year-old William tries to distract a gullible woman from her gold-digging suitor by interrupting him with preposterous stories. Halfway through one of these, my friend opened her eyes and laughed. I felt the bond between us; it was a precious moment.

• 

Another friend, who lived to 105, found life in a care home unbearably restrictive (she always referred to herself as an inmate). Her father had worked for Henry Ford – she’d met him as a child – and she’d lived an incredibly full life. Now she was mostly confined to one room, and books were a lifeline, especially certain children’s books. Even though she was 44 when Dodie Smith’s The 101 Dalmatians was published, this one was a favourite. Her reaction when I turned up with it was just wonderful.

This is how Katherine Rundell finishes her 63-page essay: ‘Go to children’s fiction to see the world with double eyes: your own, and those of your childhood self. Refuse unflinchingly to be embarrassed: and in exchange you get the second star to the right, and straight on till morning.’

How can you refuse?

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Exeter Novel Prize

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Competitions

Huge congratulations to Rebecca Kelly for winning this year’s Exeter Novel Prize with her novel Skin-whistle. Unfortunately, Rebecca was unwell on Saturday and is therefore not in this line-up pic of the prizegiving.

However, ninevoices‘ own talented Sarah is there (in her spotty dress), having been shortlisted for the second time in two years. Many congratulations to Sarah and to all this year’s longlistees and shortlistees.

L to R: Freya Sampson (shortlistee), Cathie Hartigan (CWM), Broo Doherty (DHH Literary Agency) Sophie Duffy (CWM), Kathleen Jowitt, Sarah Dawson, Emma Albrighton, Debbie Fuller-White (all shortlistees)

The thrill of being shortlisted

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Being shortlisted

I’m always heartened by writers’ honesty about disappointment – and, TBH, I have a lot more time for posts with titles like ‘The Rejection Diaries’ than for ones like mine above.  But … yesterday Maggie posted her excellent monthly round-up of forthcoming competitions and as, minutes later, I found I’d been shortlisted for the Colm Tóibín International Short Story Award, I thought I’d just say how jolly grateful I am to her for her monthly reminders.

Do have a go at one of the October competitions she lists.  You might get placed – and it’s such a boost!

Mitchell & Webb on Jude the Obscure …

Thomas Hardy experiments with some adventurous punctuation: https://soundcloud.com/bbc-radio-4/that-mitchell-and-webb-sound

Competitions to Enter in September

 

I’ve always been fascinated by doorways, wondering what or who lies through them. Old ones can really get my imagination seething… So why not hunt one down that fires YOUR imagination? Write a story. Open a door for your reader…

Val Wood Prize for Creative Writing 2018. To celebrate 100 years since women won the right to vote this year’s competition is entitled: Women’s Writes. Open to all genders over 16 years of age, entries should be in the form of a short story, with entrants free to write about whatever they wish, but each story must feature a strong female protaganist. The winner will receive £100 and their entry will be published on their website and shared via various social media outlets. The runner-up will receive £50 and there will be two commendations of £25. Max. word count is 1,500 and the deadline 15 September. Details: http://www.valeriewood.co.uk

 

 

 

Do you live in London? London Short Story Prize. Win a first prize of £1,000 in the annual competition from London writer development agency Spread the Word, which is designed to publish the best new stories coming from the capital. They are looking for unpublished stories up to 5,000 words and the winner will not only receive £1,000, but also have a meeting with an agent. Two runners-up will each receive £250 and a meeting with an editor. Highly commended entries will be published in the London Short Story Anthology 2018. Entry is £8 per story. Deadline 17 September. Details http://www.spreadtheword.org.uk

Mere Literary Festival Write in the Week timed Flash Fiction Competition. On a theme to be announced in 14 September, deadline 22 September. Prizes: £60, £30, £15. Entry fee £2, with £1 for each subsequent. Details: info@merelitfest.co.uk

Hammond House International Literary Prizes 2018, run by the University Centre, Grimsby, are open for entries on the theme: ‘precious‘. The 2018 Short Story Competition is for fiction between 2,00 and 5,000 words. The first prize is £500 and there are second and third prizes of £100 and £50. The top 25 entries will be published. The entry fee is £10. The 2018 Screenplay Competition is for ten-minute screenplays. The winner will receive £25 and their screenplay will be professionally produced and submitted to the Aesthetica film festival. Entry fee £10. The 2018 Poetry Prize is for a single poem, with prizes of £100, £50 and £25. Entry fee is £10 for each poem. Deadline is: 31 September. Details: http://www.hammondhousepublishing.com

Erewash Writers’ Open Short Story, for short stories up to 2,500 words. Prizes: £100, £70, £30. Entry fee: £3, £5 for two, £2.50 thereafter. Deadline 27 September. Details: erewashwriterscomps@hotmail.co.uk

The Imison Award for original radio plays by writers new to radio. Prizes: £2,000. Entry fee: £30. Deadline 29 September. Details: http://www.societyofauthors.org/imison-award

Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize 2018 for stories up to 6,000 words. Prizes: £1,000, or a year’s editorial support. Entry fee: £10. Deadline 28 September. Details: info@galleybeggar.co.uk

Bedford International Writing Competition for stories up to 3,000 words, and poems up to 40 lines, on any theme. Prizes: £300, £150, £100 in each category. Entry fee: £6, £12 for three. Deadline 30 September. Details: http://www.bedfordwritingcompetition.co.uk

Manchester Fiction Prize for short stories up to 2,500 words. Prizes: £10,000. Entry fee: £17.50 Deadline 14 September. (PLEASE NOTE: ON CHECKING THIS TODAY, I FIND THE DEADLINE HAS BEEN CHANGED FROM 29 SEPTEMBER!)  Details http://www.manchesterwritingcompetition.co.uk/fiction

Caterpillar Story for Children Prize. Short stories up to 2,000 words for children aged 7-11. Prizes: 500 Euros, plus a two-week stay at The Moth retreat; 300 Euros; 200 Euros. Entry fee: 12 Euros. Closing date 30 September. Details: enquiries@thecaterpillarmagazine.com

Chorley & District Writers’ Circle Annual Short Story Competition, for stories on the theme of natural justice. Prizes: £100, £50, £30. Entry fee: £5. Deadline 30 September. Details: http://www.chorleywriters.org.uk

Grindstone Literary Services Novel Prize for an opening chapter, maximum 3,000 words. Entry fee £20. Prizes: £1,000; £100; publication. Discount on Curtis Brown online writing course. Deadline 28 September. Details http://www.grindstoneliterary.com/competitions.

The 2019 International Beverly Prize for Literature is for an original, unpublished manuscript of fiction, non-fiction, drama, memoir or criticism. The winner will receive £500 and publication with Eyewear Publishing. The entry fee is £20 and the closing date 15 September. Website: https://store.eyewearpublishing.com/

My apologies for being a bit late with this list – blame editing fever. As always, I rely on you double-checking any competitions you’re interested in, since terms and conditions, or entry dates, can change at the last minute. See my note above, on the Manchester Fiction Prize. 

All that remains is for me to urge you to give something a try. And to remember Samuel Beckett’s famous words:

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

 

 

The stature of waiting …

I love it when authors share what they go through while awaiting feedback. In her recent autobiography, Claire Tomalin describes how she ‘tactfully left the room’ after giving her husband a chapter of her first manuscript – only to find him asleep with it in his hand when she crept back. Fortunately, ‘We were both able to laugh.’ Later, when she ‘nervously’ sent the whole thing to her editor, Tony Godwin, she says, ‘Silence fell. After four days the telephone rang, Tony on the line. He seemed stiff and odd, and I, embarrassed, thinking he must have hated the book, tried to chat about nothing much. Then he exploded: “What about my telegram?”’

Apparently, he had sent a ‘glorious message of enthusiasm and congratulation’ – to the wrong address.

This ending is pure wish-fulfilment – but for me the real interest lies in the description of Tomalin’s uncertainty beforehand.

Stephen King is still more endearing when it comes to self-disclosure. In his 2000 memoir On Writing he says he always writes with one ideal reader in mind – his wife – and that when something of his makes her laugh ‘out of control … I … adore it’. He recounts a drive during which she read the manuscript of his latest novella: ‘I kept peeking over at her to see if she was chuckling … On my eighth or ninth peek (I guess it could have been my fifteenth), she looked up and snapped: “Pay attention to your driving before you crack us up, will you? Stop being so goddam needy!”’

(In case you’re wondering: five minutes later he heard ‘a snort of laughter’.)

Of course, it has to be easier sharing moments like this when the outcome’s good but if you have any kind of ‘author waiting’ story I’d love to hear it.