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)

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Holding a Gun to my Head

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Competitions, Ghost Stories

On Friday, after posting details of the competitions for September, I wondered briefly about having a go at the ghost story. But with no idea for a plot, and only days to go, I shrugged my shoulders and went back to working on my novel.

However, during the night I was restless – too many coffees, I suspect – and a story outline came into my head. Could I make the deadline? Could I manage something approximating a proper story within the time-frame?

Reader, I had a go. Ten minutes ago, I pressed the ‘send’ button and released a sketchy, barely-revised story into the ether. It wasn’t ready, but I had to send it off or admit defeat.

This was a positive result. My chances of getting anywhere depend on there only being five other entries! (There will be six stories read by actors at the Festival) And I’m actually nervous about printing off a copy and proof-reading the thing. BUT, taking part has resulted in me having a new story that I can work on, re-write, and hopefully ultimately turn into something worth having.

Hurrah for tight deadlines.

Competitions to Enter in June

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Bridport Prize, Competitions, Poetry, Short stories

Not many competitions to enter in June – half-term, holidays, the silly-season – but there are some. They are modest by comparison with the major prizes on offer at other times of the year, but it’s worth remembering that will mean less entries to compete against.

Troubadour International Poetry Prize for original poems by adult writers in English and no longer than 45 lines. Closing date: 21 June. Entry fee £5. Prizes: £5,000; £1,000 and £500, with 20 £25 prizes and a £100 Troubadour restaurant gift voucher and bottle of champagne for entries from London and the South-East. Details: http://www.coffeehousepoetry.org/prizes

Erewash Writers’ Group New Writer Competition, for a story up to 3,000 words by new writers only. Prize: £40. Entry fee £3. Details from: erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/2016-ewg-new-writer-competition.html

Words Magazine Short Story Competition. Up to 2,000 words on the theme of Christmas (Yes, I know – but magazines have long lead times!). Entry is FREE. Prizes: £50 and £25 plus, presumably, publication in the magazine. Deadline June 30. Details: http://www.words-mag.com

Henshaw Press Short Story Competition. Up to 2,000 words. Prizes: £100; £50; £25. Fee: £5. Details: henshawpress.co.uk

Please remember to check the websites for full details before entering.

And don’t forget that there are a handful of days left in May, if you’re tempted to have a go at the Bridport. I sent my novel entry in, experienced a glitch, but was given all kinds of help in sorting it out. They are truly lovely people. (Mind you, they’ll probably still give my book the thumbs down, but that’s writing for you!)

Czech & Slovak writing competition

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Competitions, Czech, Migration, Pluto, Slovak, space exploration, Vietnamese

The British Czech & Slovak Association’s 2016 writing competition is now open. The European Union is a controversial topic currently much in the news in all three countries: in the Czech and Slovak Republics because of migration, and in Britain because of the forthcoming referendum on membership. Entries featuring or referring to this would be welcome.

Fact or fiction – both are welcome. A first prize of £300 and a second prize of £100 will be awarded to the best 1,500 to 2,000-word pieces of original writing in English on the links between Britain and the Czech/Slovak Republics (at any stage in their history), or describing society in transition in the Republics since 1989. Topics can include history, politics, the sciences, economics, the arts or literature.

The writer of this year’s winning entry will be presented with the prize at the BCSA’s annual dinner in London in November 2016. The winning entry will be published in the December 2016 issue of the British Czech and Slovak Review and the runner-up in a subsequent issue. Submissions are invited from individuals of any age, nationality or educational background. Entrants do not need to be members of the BCSA. Entry is free. Entries should be received by 31 July 2016 (new date). An author may submit any number of entries. The competition will be judged by a panel of experts.

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.

All entries must be in English, prose, typed with double-spacing and no more than 2,000 words in length. (The recommended minimum is 1,500 words.) For full Submission Guidelines and the Rules of the competition apply to the Prize Administrator at the addresses given above.

2015 writing competition 

In the publicity for last year’s competition a strong hint was given that entries dealing with the topic of migration would be welcome. The 2015 winning entry, winning £300, was called It Has Nothing To Do With Me. It’s a disturbing glimpse of the situation of the Vietnamese community in Czechoslovakia shortly after the Velvet Revolution. The author is Janet Savin. Janet is a writer and translator who lives in the South of France.

The runner-up was James Fairfoot. James is a University lecturer and writer who lives in Leeds. His entry was called The Slovak Discovery of Pluto. An interplanetary probe lands on Pluto and discovers that the Slovaks have got there first. Being runner-up brought James £100.

The text of these two stories will shortly be available on the BCSA website (currently being revamped).

 

Competitions to Enter Now

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Competitions

The Novella Award 2016 is open for unpublished novellas between 20,000 and 40,000 words. The winner will receive £1,000 and have their novella published by Sandstone Press. The Award is run in partnership between Manchester Metropolitan University and Liverpool John Moore’s University and submissions may be in any genre. Entry fee is £17 and the closing date is 29 April. Full details from: http://thenovellaaward.com

The Bristol Short Story Prize wants unpublished short stories in any style, including verse and graphics, and on any subject. Maximum length is 4,000 words. The entry fee is £8 and the closing date 30 April. Check details on http://www.bristolprize.co.uk

Brentwood Writers’ Circle are celebrating their 75th anniversary with a flash fiction competition for stories of 75 words, on any subject. Entry fee is a modest £2 per story, with prizes of £40, £20 and £15. Deadline is April 30. Details from: http://www.brentwoodwriterscircle.org

Bath Novel Award. 5,000 words and synopsis. Fee: £22. Prize: £2,000 plus trophy. See www,bathnovelaward.co.uk for full details. Deadline April 10 (so, SOON).

Bath Short Story Award. 2,200 words. Fee: £8. Prizes: £1,000, £200, £100. £50 Acorn Award for unpublished writer. Deadline April 25. Details from: bathstoryaward.co.uk.

Bristol Short Story Prize. 4,000 words. Fee: £8. Prizes: £1,000, £700, £400, plus 17x£100. Deadline 30 April. Details from: http://www.bristolprize.co.uk

Momaya Press Short Story Competition. 3,000 words. Fee £8. Prizes: ££110 and £55. Theme: Ambition. Details from http://www.momaya-press.com

Deadlines and details can change, so please double-check the websites before entering anything.

Remember all those New Year Resolutions about writing more…? 

The Brentwood Writers’ Circle competition only needs 75 words – you could dash those off while chomping down your final Easter egg, surely?

 

Keep Your Novel Away from the Slush Pile

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Bath Novel Award, Bridport Novel, Competitions, debut novels, Myriad First Crimes

Love someone to snap up your debut novel – but hate the prospect of it moldering at the bottom of that notorious agent slush pile?

Why not sidestep this process by entering one of the competitions below? Yes, there will still be a biggish number of entrants, but the organisers of these sound a tad less jaded than the hard-pressed folk in the literary agencies.

Bath Novel Award. 5,000 opening words, plus a synopsis. Those shortlisted will be expected to have at least 50,000 words available before the end of April. The winner gets a £2,000 prize plus a consultancy report from Cornerstones. One runner up will also receive a consultancy report. Entry fee is £22. Deadline: 10 April.  Details from bathnovelaward.co.uk

Yeovil First Novel Prize. 15,000 words, including a synopsis. Couldn’t find details of the prize on their site – you may be more successful in doing so! There will be something worth having, plus, of course, La Gloire. Entry fee is £11. Details from http://www.yeovilprize.co.uk

Good Housekeeping New Novel Award. (see our own post on this of 7 January) They are offering a book deal and a £10,000 advance. They’re asking for a full synopsis – two pages – plus the first 5,000 words and a 100 word biography. Deadline 31 March. BUT entry is only via a coupon in the February edition of Good Housekeeping.

Bridport First Novel Prize (Peggy Chapman Andrews Award).  5000-8000 words, plus 300-word synopsis. First prize £1,000 plus mentoring with The Literary Consultancy. Second Prize £500, plus manuscript assessed by TLC. Three runners up receive £100, plus a 50-page ms. assessment report. Entry fee £20. Details http://www.bridportprize.org.uk  Deadline 31 May.

First Novel Prize organised by literary consultancy Daniel Goldsmith Associates. Prizes: £1,000, £250, £100. They want fiction manuscripts of over 50,000-words, synopsis to be included in the same document. Entry fee: £25. Can’t see deadline date, but check details at: firstnovel.co.uk

Debut Dagger Competition. Prize: £500 plus submission to agents and editors. Entry fee £30 plus VAT. Deadline 28 February. Details http://cwdaggers.co.uk/debut

See also our own post on Myriad First Crimes competition, posted on 29 December. The prize is mentoring for a crime novel.

PLEASE PLEASE check all details on the relevant website. Like the curate’s egg, this list is good in part, dodgy in others. And good luck!

Six-Word Story Competition

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Competitions, Short stories

We would like to invite our readers to participate in a competition to write a six-word story based on the photograph above. Please put your submission in the ‘Comments’ section for this post. There is no entry fee, but a small prize of £10 will be sent to the winner. (No need to submit your details. We will ask for them if you’ve won.) The deadline is midnight Wednesday, 17th February 2016 and the winner will be chosen at the ninevoices meeting the following day.

To provide you with a bit of inspiration, this writer’s effort was:

“Just tell me straight.” “Not lyin’.”

No doubt you can do better.

The Rejection Diaries

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Competitions, rejection, Woman's Weekly

Wouldn’t want you to think I’ve stopped submitting.

I’ve had TWO rejections in the last weeks: a ‘boomerang’ from Woman’s Weekly (back so fast the girl opening the mail probably dealt with it) and a letter from The People’s Friend which took about five weeks to arrive. The latter was actually a proper three-paragraph letter explaining that the story ‘hadn’t met with success because the theme of the plot would be too familiar to our readers‘.

At least it was properly considered, and at least they gave a reason.

I was one of the expeditionary force who attended the Woman’s Weekly Workshop. One of the useful things about the day – apart from meeting a roomful of people serious about their writing – was being given tip sheets. One in particular detailed why stories were rejected. Top of Della Galton’s list  was predictability, with overused theme second. Point duly taken.

Entering competitions not only helps your writing, it cushions you against editorial rejection. I’ve had a win, two shortlistings and a commendation this year, and that saves me from thinking I’m a totally crap writer because a magazine rejects a story.