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.
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.
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 Enter original, unpublished short stories of up to 1,500 words.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.
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.
The late lamented Hilary Mantel was not an overnight success, so let her inspire you to persevere with your own creative writing, perhaps by entering one of the competitions below, which have an October deadline. Who knows, a win might lead to you having a book published and being stocked in London’s famous Hatchard’s bookshop.
Grindstone Novel Prize. Submit the first 5,000 words of an unpublished manuscript over 50,000 words. Prizes: £1,000, £500, 4x£125. Entry fee: £8. Closing date: 1 October. Details: http://www.grindstoneliterary.com
The Perito Prize for short stories between 1,000-2,000 words on the specific themes of inclusion, access, diversoity, inclusive design and inclusive environments. Prizes £500 and publication. FREE entry. Deadline: 23:00 GMT 1 October. Details: http://www.weareperito.com/perito-prize
Bath Flash Fiction Award. Thrice-yearly award for flash fiction up to 300 words. Prizes: £1,000, £300, £100, 2x£30. Entry fee: £9. Closing date: 9 October. Details: http://bathflashfictionaward.com
Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize for stories up to 6,000 words. Prizes: £2,000, £200 for shortlisted, £50 book vouchers for longlisted, plus Galley Beggar Press subscription. Entry fee: £10. Closing date: 9 October. Details: http://galleybeggar.co.uk
Comedy Women in Print Prize for stories up to 5,000 words and comedy novels by women in two categories: published writers and unpublished writers. Prizes: £2,000 for published writers and £1,000 plus a free place on the University of Hertfordshire’s MA in Creative Writing for unpublished writers. Wntry fee: Free for published writers, £10 for unpublished writers. Closing date: 14 October. Details: http://www.comedywomeninprint.co.uk
Creative Mind Horwich. Short stories up to 1,500 words or poems up to 40 lines on the theme: ‘travel’. Prizes: £50, £30 and £20 in each category. Entry fee: £3; £5 for three. Closing date: 24 October. Details: http://www.creative-mind.co.uk
NAWG 250 Competition for Flash Fiction up to 250 Words. Prizes: £100. Entry fee: £2.50. Closing date: 25 October. Details: http://www.nawg.co.uk/competition
Bedford Competition for short stories up to 3,000 words, poems up to 40 lines, on any theme. Prizes: in each category: £1,000, £200, £100. Entry fee: £7.50 or 3 for £10. Closing date: 31 October. Details: http://www.bedfordwritingcompetition.co.uk
Cranked Anvil Short Story Competition for stories up to 1,500 words. Prizes: £150, £75, £30. Entry fee: £5, £3 for second, £2 for third. Closing date: 31 October. Details: http://www.crankedanvil.co.uk
Flash 500 Novel Opening Chapter & Synopsis Competition, for an opening chapter no longer than 3,000 words, plus synopsis. Prizes: £500, £200. Entry fee: £10, £18 for two, £26 for three. Closing date: 31 October. Details: http://www.flash500.com
McKitterick Prize for the best first novel, published or unpublished, by an author over the age of 40 on 31 October. Prizes: £4,000. FREE entry. Closing date: 31 October. Details: http://www.societyofauthors.org
National Flash Fiction Day Novella in a Flash Competition. 6,000-12,000 words in individual flash blocks, maximum 1,000 words each. Prizes: £300, £100, £50. Entry fee: £14. Closing date: 31 October. Details: https://nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/index.php/competition/
Beverley Prize for Literature for book-length manuscripts of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, memoir, or criticism. Prizes: £1,000 and publication.Entry fee: £25. Closing date: 14 October. Details: https://store.eyewearpublishing.com
Retreat West Prize for short stories, 1,500-2,500 words, flash fiction, 150-500 words, and micro flash, up to 150 words. Prizes: £400, £250, £20 each shortlisted short stories; £350, £200, £100 and £15 for flash; £200, £100, £50 and £10 for micro. Entry fee: £10 for short stories, £8 for flash, £5 for micro. Closing date: 31 October. Details: http://www.retreatwest.co.uk
Southport Writers’ Circle International Short Story Competition for stories up to 2,000 words. Prizes: £150, £80, £30. Entry fee: £3 or £10 for four. Closing date: 31 October. Details: http://www.swconline.co.uk
Fiction Factory Short Story, up to 3,000 words. Prizes: £300, £100, £50. Entry fee: £6. CFlosing date: 31 October. Details: http://fiction-factory.biz
Tom Gallon Trust Awards for short stories up to 5,000 words by authors who have had at least one story accepted for publication. Prizes: £1,000. FREE entry. Closing date: 31 October. Details: http://www.societyofauthors.org
Earlyworks Press Short story. Short stories in two categories: up to 4,000 words, and up to 8,000 words. Prizes: £200, cash and books. Entry fee: £5 for up to 4,000 words; £10 for 4,000-8,000 words. Closing date: 31 October. Details: http://www.earlyworkspress.co.uk
A fair amount of choice for you here, so do try at least one of them – remembering always to double-check the details before entering. Good luck!
Love dogs? Why not write a story about one? Chances are, the judge might have a soft spot for them, too.
Cinnamon Pencil Mentoring Competition for 10 poems, two short stories or the first 10,000 words of a novel. Prizes: a place on Cinnamon Pencil mentoring scheme. Entry fee: £12. Closing date: 13 September. Details: http://www.cinnamonpress.com
This year’s Hammond House 2022 Literary Prize – sponsored by University Centre Grimsby – is on the theme of ‘Changes’ and has five categories. Poetry: up to 40 lines. The prizes are £500, £50 and £20. Short Story: between 1,000 and 5,000 words. The prizes are £1,000, £100 and £50. Comedy: sketches (max four sides of A4) or stand-up scripts (max. two sides of A4). Winning scripts will be performed at the 2022 Literary Festival. This category is new for 2022. Scriptwriting: Scripts for film, TV, radio or short film, up to 10 pages. The prize is £250. Songwriting: lyrics or performed song. The prizes are £100. All entries must be original and unpublished and on the ‘Changes’ theme. Entry is £10 for one entry in a single category. Closing date: 30 September. Details: http://www.hammondhousepublishing.com/competitions
V S Pritchett Memorial Prize for unpublished stories between 2,000-4,000 words. Prizes: £1,000 plus publiction in RSL Review and Prospect online. Entry fee: £7.50. Deadline: 16 September. Details: http://www.rslit.org
Moth Nature Writing Prize for poetry, fiction or non-fiction exploring the writer’s relationship with the natural world. Prizes: 1,000 Euros and a week at The Moth Retreat in rural Ireland. Entry fee: 15 Euros. Closing date: 15 September. Details: http://www.themothmagazine.com
Page 100 Competition from independent publisher Louise Walters Books invites entries of 100 pages of a novel or novella manuscript. The competition is for an unpublished novel/novella of a minimum 20,000 words. Shortlisted writers will be asked to send their full manuscripts. The winner will receive mentoring for six months. The winner and two runners up will each receive a box of Louise Walters Books titles. Entry fee: £6.50. Closing date: 30 September. Details: http://www.louisewaltersbooks.co.uk
Norwich Writers’ Circle Olga Sinclair Open Short Story Competition. Stories up to 2,000 words on an open theme. Prizes: £500, £250 and £100. Entry fee: £9, £7 each subsequent. Closing date: 30 September. Details: http://norwichwriters.wordpress.com
Crowvus Christmas Ghost Story Competition for stories up to 4,000 words. Each author may enter up to two stories. Prizes: £100, £75 and £50. Entry fee: £3 per story. Deadline: 30 September. Details: http://www.crowvus.com/competition
Ovacome Writing Competition for short stories up to 1,500 words on the theme ‘perspective’. Prizes: £250, plus £50 Waterstones voucher. Entry fee: £5. Closing date: 30 September. Details: http://www.ovacome.org.uk
Good luck – and Snowy says please remember to double check your entry details.
Searchlight Writing for Children Awards have prizes of £500 for the best Children’s Picture Book and £1,000 for the Best Novel Opening. Entry fees, £9 and £14 respectively. Deadline: 22 August. Details: http://www.searchlightawards.co.uk
The Hysteria Writing Competition invites entries of short stories up to 1,000 words, flash fiction up to 250 words and poems up to twelve lines, all on the theme of ‘peace’. Each category winner will receive £300. Winners and runners-up will be published in the Hysteria 9 anthology. Entry is £3 per submission. Closing date: 31 August. Details: https://lindaph.co.uk/hysteria-writing-competition/
Enter poetry and short fiction in the £5,000 international Aesthetica Creative Writing Award 2022. The winner in each category will receive £2,500 and publication in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual. The poetry winner will receive full membership of the Poetry Society, a twelve-month subscription to Litopia, a one-day course courtesy of the Poetry School and a five-day Arvon Course. The short fiction winner will receive a consultation with Redhammer Management, a twelve-month subscription to Litopia, and a five-day Arvon course. Twenty short-listed fiction entries and forty short-listed poetry entries will be published in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual. Enter short fiction up to 2,000 words and poems up to 40 lines. Works may have been previously published. Entry is £12 for one poetry entry and £18 for one fiction Entry. Closing date: 31 August. Details: https://aestheticalmagazine.com/creative-writing-award/
The Edinburgh Award for Flash Fiction is for fiction on any subject, no longer than 250 words. The winner will receive £1,000 and there are second and third prizes of £300 and £150. The top three winners also receive a year’s free membership of the Scottish Arts Club in Edinburgh. The top twenty shortlisted writers will be invited to a Flash Bash at the Scottish Arts Club in February 2023. The £500 Golden Hare Award will be given to the best piece of flash fiction from a writer resident in Scotland. Entry is £7 per story. Closing date: 31 August. Full details: http://www.storyawards.org/flashfiction
The 2022 Exeter Story Prize is for unpublished stories up to 5,000 words. First prize £500 and second and third prizes of £250 and £150. The Trisha Ashley Award will be given for ‘humorous, engaging and quirky’ stories and will receive £200. Each contestant to the Short Story Prize will receive a few lines of feedback. Entry is £12 per story and the deadline is 31 August. Details: http://www.creativewritingmatters.co.uk
The Anthology Short Story Award is for fiction up to 1,500 words on the theme of ‘Courage’ and the winner will receive 500 Euros and publication in Anthology plus a year’s subscription. Entry is 15 Euros per story. Closing date: 31 August. Details: https://anthology-magazine.com/
The Oxford Flash Fiction Prize is for unpublished stories no longer than 1,000 words. Prizes: £1,000, £200 and £100. Entry is £6 for one entry, £10 for two and £14 for three. Closing date: 31 August. Details: https://oxfordflashfictionprize.com/
Please note that there are competitions that have been cancelled and others which have changed their submission details, in particular their deadlines – so be careful to check all details before entering anything.
Summer on the beach waiting for the dog to return from her swim, lounging by the pool, or in the garden – all perfect opportunities to compose something new, or mull over an existing idea for one of the above competitions… Poppy wishes you the best of luck!
Skipper, one of the four-legged supporters of ninevoices, suggests that you abandon your armchairs and get down to some serious writing.
His first suggestion is that you read our previous blog, of 21st June, advising that the British Czech & Slovac Association’s 2022 writing competition deadline has been extended to Sunday 31 July. Full details can be found there and we think you really should give this serious consideration. Competition is not as fierce as that for things like the Bridport and even if you have never been to Prague, you could surely make something up. After all, you write fiction, don’t you?
The annual HG Wells Short Story Competition was founded by renowned BBC aeronautics engineer Reg Turnbull and his wife Margaret. There are two categories. The Junior Prize is free to enter and has a prize of £1,000. The prize in the Senior category is £500. The 2022 contest is for original unpublished short stories of between 1,500 and 5,000 words on the theme of ‘Switch’, which can be interpreted as broadly as the writer wishes. Winners and shortlisted entrants will be published in an anthology. Entry in the senior category is £10, or £5 with student ID. Closing date: 11 July. Details: https://hgwellscompetition.com/
Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers Award is looking for between 20,000 and 25,000 words of a prose WIP by a first-time author. Prizes: £10,000; runners-up £1,000, FREE Entry. Closing date: 1 July. Details: http://www.deborahrogersfoundation.org
Working class authors who don’t have a publishing contract or an agent are invited to enter the W&AWorking Class Writers’ Prize with an entry of an unpublished writing sample of up to 2,000 words. Submissions may be in any genre and should include a two-page synopsis of the full manuscript and a 200-word piece of writing about the entrant and why this prize speaks to them. First prize is £200, two hour-long mentoring sessions with the prize judge (TBA), access to a number of W&A writing and publishing events, a year’s membership of the Society of Authors, a W&A writing guide bundle and a selection of Bloomsbury books. Five shortlisted entries will receive a W&A writing guide bundle plus a year’s membership of the Society of Authors and support from the W&A team. Entry is FREE. Closing date: 18 July. Details: https://writ.rs/wawcw22
Ilkley Literature Festival Short Story and Walter Swan Poetry Competitions. Short stories 1,000-2,000 words; poems up to 30 lines. Prizes: £200 for short stories, £200, £100, £75 for adult poems; £100, £75, £50 for 18-15s poems. Entry fee: £5 Closing date 31 July. Details: http://www.ilkleyliteraturefestival.org.uk
Exeter Literary Festival Short Story Competition for stories on any theme except children’s, up to 750 words. Prizes: £200, £100, £50. Entry fee: £5; £9 for two. Closing date 31 July. Details: http://www.exelitfest.com
Hastings Literary Festival Writing Competition for stories up to 2,500 words; short memoirs, up to 4,000 words, or 60-line poems; poems up to 40 Lines. Prizes: £250, £50 each category. Entry fee: £7.50, £10 for two. Closing date: 31 July. Details: http://www.HastingsLitFest.org
HISSAC Annual Open Short Story Competition. Stories up 2,000 words, flash fiction up to 500 words. No connection to Scotland is needed by theme or entrant. Prizes: £200, £75 and £50 in both categories. Entry fee: £5, £12 for 3, £18 for 5. Closing date: 31 July. Details: http://www.hissac.co.uk
Sean O’Faolain Short Story Competition for stories up to 3,000 words. Prizes: 2,000 Euros, week-long residency at Aman Cara Writers’ and Artists’ Retreat, 500 Euros, 4×250 Euros. Entry fee: 18 Euros. Closing date: 18 July. Details: http://www.munsterlit.ie
Do make sure you check the details of any entry you are considering.
Skipper hopes for great things from you. Please don’t disappoint him.
The closing date for the British Czech & Slovak Association’s 2022 writing competition has been extended. It is now midnight on Sunday July 31. So that gives you and your writerly friends and relatives another month to come up with 2,000 words that will interest, amuse, irritate, educate or otherwise entertain the eminent judges. £400 lies the other side of those eminent judges – plus publication in the British Czech & Slovak Review. The runner-up gets £150 (plus publication).
This year’s suggested (but not compulsory) theme is Freedom – in any aspect. The interpretation is yours. Personal freedom, freedom in relationships, the freedom of nations, democratic freedoms, or just the ending of lockdown? You choose.
The 2021 competition brought in some impressive creative writing, including such gems as:
An entertaining account of a Scot’s postgraduate year in Czechoslovakia in 1972, which included a wedding missed because he was drinking slivovice to celebrate the release from prison of the father of a hitchhiker he had picked up en route.
A topical entry on the Me-Too theme that took us to a trial of a celebrity accused of sexual assault, with the simultaneous thoughts of the judge and the two victims.
A moving account of a young Englishwoman’s visit to Slovakia for her Slovak father’s funeral. (This won a runner-up prize.)
You can feature here! Fiction or fact – either is welcome. What is essential is that all entries must deal with either (1) the links between Britain and the lands now comprising the Slovak and Czech Republics, at any time in history, or (2) describing society in the Republics since 1989. Topics can include, for example, history, politics, sport, the sciences, economics, the arts or literature.
Entry is free. Submissions are invited from individuals of any age, nationality or educational background. Entrants do not need to be members of the BCSA.
Entries should be submitted by post to the BCSA Prize Administrator, 24 Ferndale, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 3NS, England, or by e-mail to prize@bcsa.co.uk. The closing date is now midnight on July 31 2022.
Here are some competitions for you to enter in June. It is easy to think such things not worth entering, but winning or being shortlisted is always a possibility and often an opportunity as well. And a competition deadline can frequently shift Writer’s Block.
We hope it might encourage you to know about past successes of members of ninevoices. If we can do it, why not you?
·Won the Historical Writers Association Unpublished Novel Award
·Won the Barbara Pym Short Story Award – twice! – together with publication
·Won the Colm Tóibín International Short Story Award
·Won the Henshaw Short Story Award, plus publication in their anthology
·Won the Hysteria Writing Competition
·Shortlisted for the Debut Dagger Award
·Shortlisted for the Exeter Novel Prize (twice)
·Shortlisted for the Norwich Writers Olga Sinclair Award
·Shortlisted (1 of 14 out of over 2,000 entries) in a Cornerstones ‘Are You Ready to Submit’ competition
·Shortlisted for Bridport Flash
·Shortlisted for Bedford Short Story Competition
·Shortlisted for Exeter [Short] Story Award
·Shortlisted for RNA Joan Hessayon Award
·Longlisted for Mslexia Novel Competition
·Longlisted for Exeter Novel Prize
·Poem published in The Times; short stories in Writing Magazine, Writers’ Forum, Pony Magazine
Hopefully, those efforts will inspire you to enter one of the following:-
British Czech & Slovak Association Prize for short stories and non-fiction, up to 2,000 words, exploring the links between Britain and the Czech/Slovak Republics or society in those lands since 1989. Optional theme for 2022 is: “Freedom”. Prizes: £400, £150, publication in the British Czech and Slovak Review. Entry is FREE and the deadline is 30 June. This competition might sound daunting, but need not be. The judges would love to receive something impressively erudite – but they also have a well-developed sense of humour and would equally enjoy being entertained by a true or imaginary tale of someone’s stag party on the streets of Prague. The choice is yours. Why not surprise them? Details: https://wwww.bcsa.co.uk/2022-bcsa-writing-competition/
The Fitzcarraldo Editions Novel Prize 2022 is inviting entries of “innovative, imaginative unpublished literary fiction that explores the possibilities of the novel form”. The winner will receive $10,000 and simultaneous publication in the UK and Ireland by Fitzcarraldo Editions, in Australia and New Zealand by Giramondo and in North America by New Directions. All submissions must include a cover letter and a brief outline with the manuscript. Closing date: 1 June. Details: https://fitzcarraldoeditions.com/
Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition for full-length novels, 30,000-80,000 words, suitable for readers aged 7-18. Closing date 1 June. Details: http://www.chickenhousebooks.com/submissions
The newly launched Seasiders’ Write Debut Novel Award invites entries from writers who have not yet published a full-length novel (at least 25,000 words) and do not have a literary agent. The winner will receive £1,500 and their novel will be published by Seasiders’ Write in print and ebook. The first runner up will receive £500 and ebook publication and the second runner-up will receive £250 and ebook publication. Send the first 5,000 words of the novel plus a one-page synopsis. Shortlisted writers will be asked to send their completed novel manuscript (the maximum length is 65,000 words). Entry fee: £20. Closing date: 1 June. Details: http://www.seasiderswrite.com
Win £1,000 for the best unpublished short story of the year in the VS Pritchett Story Prize 2022, plus publication in Prospect magazine and the RSL Review. Stories should be unpublished and between 2,000–4,000 words. Entry fee:£7.50 per story. Closing date 1 July, but there are 50 free entries for low-income writers, who should apply before 17 June. Details: https://rsliterature.org/award/v-s-pritchett-short-story-prize/
Farnham Flash Fiction Competition for fiction up to 500 words on any subject. Prizes: £75, £25, £25 for the best entry featuring Farnham. Entry fee: £5. Deadline 17 June. Details: http://www.farnhamfringefestival.org
Leicester Writes Short Story Prize for stories up to 3,500 words. Prizes: £175, £75, £50. Entry fee: £5. Deadline 20 June. Details: http://leicesterwrites.co.uk
Wells Festival of Literature is inviting entries for its creative writing competitions: Open Poetry for original unpublished poems up to 35 lines – prizes £1,000, £500 and £250, entry fee £6 per poem; Short Story 1,000-2,000 words – prizes £750, £300, £200, entry fee £6 per story; Book for Children, enter the first two chapters or twenty pages, for a book for children from age nine to YA – prizes £750, £300 and £200, entry fee £6. Closing date 30 June. Details: http://www.wellsfestivalofliterature.org.uk/2022-competitions/
The 2022 Queen Mary Wasafiri Writing Prize invites entries in fiction, life-writing and poetry. Three winners will each receive £1,000 and publication in Wasafiri’s print magazine. Shortlisted writers will be published online. Writers entering the competition must not have had a full-length book of fiction, life-writing or poetry published. All shortlisted writers will be offered either the Chapter and Verse or Free Reads mentoring scheme in association with The Literary Consultancy and a ‘conversation’ with Nikesh Shukla of The Good Literary Agency. Send original unpublished work no longer than 3,000 words and must be self-contained, i.e. not an extract from a longer piece. A single poetry entry may consist of up to 3,000 words. Entry is £10 for a single entry and £16 for a double entry. Each writer may enter two manuscripts in a single submission, either in the same or different categories. Closing date: 30 June. Details: http://www.wasafiri.org/new-writing-prize/
The Moth Short Story Prize 2022 for short fiction up to 4,000 words. First prize €3,000, second prize a writing retreat at Circle of Misse and €250, third prize €1,000. The three winning stories will appear in the autumn issue of The Moth, Ireland’s literary magazine. Entry fee: €15 per story. Closing date: 30 June. Details: http://www.themothmagazine.com
Liverpool Hope Playwriting Prize for full-length comedy plays. Prizes: £10,000, possible staging at Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool; 2×5£1,500 highly commendeds. Entry fee: £20. Closing date: 30 June. Details: http://www.playwritingprize.com
Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting is looking for full-length new stage plays written in English which have not been published or professionally performed. Prizes: £16,000; 2x£8,000. FREE ENTRY. Closing date: 6 June. Details: http://www.writeaplay.co.uk
James White Award for science fiction (broadly defined) of between 2,000-6,000 words by non-professional writers. Prizes: £200 plus publication in Interzone. Free entry. Deadline: 30 June. Details: http://www.jameswhiteaward.com
British Fantasy Society Short Story Competition for any kind of fantasy story – science fiction, magic realism, horror, etc – up to 5,000 words. Prizes: £100, £50, £20; year’s membership of BFS, publication. Entry fee: £5 (free for BFS members). Closing date: 30 June. Details: http://www.britishfantasysociety.co.uk
Efforts have been made to check the above details, but do please make sure you have consulted the websites yourselves, in case of errors or last-minute changes. Good luck!
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