Writing Competitions to Enter in February

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Exeter Writers Short Story Competition, Fish Flash Fiction Contest, Kelpies Prize, Lindisfarne Prize, National Flash Fiction Day Microfiction Competition, Spotify First Novel Competition, Theatre 503 Playwriting Award, Writers' & Artists' Yearbook Short Story Competition

If your New Year Resolution was to write more, and perhaps win a competition or two in the next twelve months, here are some suggestions that might give you a head start. And, remember, entering and winning a competition listed on this site has been known to get someone published…

The winner of the CWA’s Margery Allingham Short Mystery Prize will receive £500, plus two tickets to the 2022 CrimFest. They are looking for unpublished mysteries of up to 3,500 words that satisfy Margery Allingham’s definition: “The mystery remains box-shaped, at once a prison and a refuge. Its four walls are, roughly, a Crime, a Mystery, an Enquiry and a conclusion with an Element of Satisfaction in it.” Entry is £12 per story. Deadline: 28 February. Details: https://writ.rs/cwamystery

The CWA’s Dagger Award has changed for 2022 to allow self-published authors to enter. There is a cash prize of £500, plus potentially career-changing opportunities to get work seen by literary agents and editors. It is open to writers who have not had a novel traditionally published and do not have a contract with a literary agent. Send the first 3,000 words of an unpublished crime manuscript plus a synopsis of up to 1,500 words. Entry is £36. Closing date: 28 February. Details: https://thecwa.co.uk/debuts/debut-dagger

Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook Short Story Competition is for stories up to 2,000 words. Prizes: a place on an Arvon writing course. Entry is FREE. Closing date 12 February. Details: http://www.writersandartists.co.uk/competitions

Spotify First Novel Competition. A one-page synopsis plus the first page of an unpublished novel. Prizes: mentoring package; spotlight page on website, synopsis posted online. Entry fee: £16. Deadline: 14 February. Details: http://www.adventuresinfiction.co.uk

National Flash Fiction Day Microfiction Competition. Up to 100 words. Prizes: £100, £50, £25 Wakefield postcode prize. Entry fee: £2, £3.50 for 2, £5 for 3. Closing date: 15 February. Details: https://nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/index.php/competition/

Fish Flash Fiction Contest for up to 300 words. Prizes 1,000 Euros, 300 Euros, online writing course. Entry fee: 14 Euros. Deadline: 28 February. Details: http://www.fishpublishing.com

Exeter Writers Short Story Competition. Up to 3,000 words. Prizes: £700, £250, ££100, £100 for a Devon writer. Entry fee: £7. Closing date: 28 February. Details: http://www.exeterwriters.org.uk

Lindisfarne Prize for crime short stories or novel openings, up to 10,000 words, by unpublikshed authors from, or writing about the North of England. Prizes: £2,500, plus mentoring services. Closing date: 28 February. Details: http://www.ljrossauthor.com/lindisfarne-prize/

Kelpies Prize for fiction in any genre aimed at children aged 6-14 years. There are three entry categories which must (I think, but please check) be set mainly in Scotland. Prizes: £500 for the overall winner plus mentoring and possible publication. Closing date: 28 February. Details: https://discoverkelpies.co.uk/kelpies-prize

Theatre 503 Playwriting Award. Biennial award for full length, original, unproduced and unperformed theatre plays. Prizes: £6,000 and a guaranteed theatre production. Free entry. Closing date: 28 February. Details: https://theatre503.com/

Elmbridge Literary Competition is looking for poem and short story entries on the theme of ‘Enigma’. In the adult categories, there are prizes of £250, £150 and £100 for the winners. In the children’s categories, the winners will receive book tokens. Winning entries will also be published as a chapbook by Sampson Low publishers. Send original, unpublished short stories up to 1,000 words (8-13 years) or 1,500 words (14 years+) and poems up to thirty lines. Entry fee for adults is £5 per story or poem. Entry for young writers is free. Each writer may enter one story and one poem. Closing date: 28 February. Details: http://www.rcsherrifftrust.org.uk/elmbridge-literary-competition.

Please remember that deadlines can change, competitions can be cancelled at short notice, or requirements altered, so the delightful Snowy (one of our Beta Readers) asks you to make sure you double-check before entry. She also wishes you Good Luck!

Competitions to Enter in February

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CWA Debut Dagger, CWA Margery Allingham Short Story Competition, Fish Flash Fiction Prize, Flash 500 Short Story Competition, Kelpies Prize, Papatango New Writing Prize, The Chiplitfest Short Story Competition, The Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Contest, WOW! Women On Writing Winter 2019 Flash Fiction Contest

Meet the new beta reader for ninevoices! Nine-month old Kiko’s recommendations for this freezing cold morning are a bracing walk (yay!) before curling up before a roaring fire with the laptop and entering a competition or two… Dropped biscuit crumbs would be a bonus.

Papatango and Southwark Playhouse welcome submissions of new stage plays for their Papatango New Writing Prize. The winner will develop their play with Papatango in preparation for a four-week production in the autumn. Their script will be published by Nick Hern books and the writer will receive ten percent royalties. In addition, following the stage production, the winner will be awarded a £6,000 commission to create a new play, with Papatango providing developmental support. The competition is for an original, unperformed and unproduced full-length stage play – minimum sixty minutes/forty pages/9,000 words. ENTRY IS FREE, and the deadline 17 February. Full details on their website: https://papatango.co.uk/#new-writing-prize

The Chiplitfest Short Story Competition is open for entries up to 5,000 words. There is a first prize of £500, a second prize of £100 and a third prize of £50. The authors of the top ten stories will have the opportunity to be featured on http://www.pennyshorts.com, which publishes short stories. The entry fee for stories up to 2,500 words is £5, and £8 for stories up to 5,000 words. Closing date is 7 February. Details: http://www.chiplitfest.com

The CWA are inviting entries for two writing competitions. The CWA Debut Dagger is given for the opening of a crime writer who had never published a full-length novel and who has not got a contract with a publisher or agent. The winner receives £500 and shortlisted writers receive feedback, plus having their entries sent to interested UK agents. To enter, send up to 3,000 words, plus a synopsis of no longer than 1,500 words. The entry fee is £36 and the closing date 28 February. The CWA Margery Allingham Short Story Competition 2019 is for the best unpublished short story that most closely fits vintage crime writer Margery Allingham’s definition: ‘The Mystery remains box-shaped, at once a prison and a refuse. Its four walls are, roughly, a Crime, a Mystery, and Enquiry and a Conclusion with an Element of Satisfaction in it.’ The prize is £500, plus two passes to Crimefest 2020.To enter, send unpublished stories up to 3,500 words. The entry fee is £12 and the closing date 28 February. Full details: https://thecwa.co.uk/

The CWA Debut Dagger people are generous with hints and tips on how to impress their judges – in particular. posting a five-point analysis of why a reader might fail to be impressed by a synopsis. This is valuable for ANY novel, not just one involving a crime. So do take a look at their website.

Fish Flash Fiction Prize, maximum 300 words. Open subject. Prizes 1,000 Euros; 300 Euros; online writing course; publication in anthology. Entry fees: online 14 Euros for one, then 8 Euros; postal 16 Euros for one, then 10 Euros. Deadline 28 February. Details: http://www.fishpublishing.com/flash-fiction-contest

Flash 500 Short Story Competition for between 1,000 and 3,000 words. Prizes: £500, plus a two-year Duotrope gift certificate; £200; £100. Entry fees: £7 for one story, £12 for two; £16 for three; £20 for four. Deadline 28 February. Details: http://www.flash500.com/index_files/ss.htm

Kelpies Prize for a novel. Send the first five chapters, plus a 1,000-3,000 word synopsis starting ‘There were three things everyone knew about [character name]… Rules: Scottish writers only, aged over 18. ENTRY IS FREE. Prizes: £500, plus £500 advance on signing contract, mentoring, writing retreat and £100 expenses. Full details: discoverkelpies.co.uk/kelpies-prize 

The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Contest for a novel for children. Full manuscript 30,000 to 80,000 words, synopsis and covering letter. Rules: novel suitable for children aged 7-18. Entry fee: £18. Prize: publishing contract/royalty advance of £10,000; critique for all longlisted. Details: http://www.chickenhouse-books.com/submissions

If you fancy attracting the attention of an American agent, WOW! Women On Writing Winter 2019 Flash Fiction Contest is open until February 28. The guest judge is literary agent Kari Sutherland with Bradford Literary Agency. Submit short fiction of any genre between 250-750 words. Prizes: $400; $300, $200. The prize also includes publication and an interview. Can’t find if there is an entry fee, but details should be on: https://creativewritingink.co.uk/competitions/wow-women-on-writing-winter-2019-flash-fiction-contest/

That should be enough to be going on with, but do, please, double-check all and any details before entering.

Having noted the requirements for the Kelpies Prize, above, with its suggested opening phrase, I’m going to suggest this as one of the homework tasks that whoever hosts the fortnightly ninevoices’ sessions sets for those not immersed in novel editing. It should trigger useful flash and short stories – so why not make use of it? Kiko would give you an approving tail-wag..

 

 

 

Competitions to Enter Now

Tags

Exeter Writers Short Story Competition, Fish Flash Fiction, Kelpies Prize, Plymouth Writers Short Story Competition, The White Review, Theatre 503 Playwriting Award, Writers & Artists Yearbook Short Story Competition

As the official bossyboots of our group, this is my reminder that there’s still time (just about) to enter the Plymouth Writers Group Writing Competition, deadline 1st Feb. They are looking for up to 2,000 words, on any theme. Prizes: £250 and £50. Entry fee: £5. Full details from plymouth-writersgroup.co.uk

The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook Short Story Competition also wants up to 2,000 words, on any theme. Deadline is 15th February. Prizes: £500 and a place on an Arvon Writing Course. Entry is FREE, but you must register on their website. Details: http://www.writersandartists.co.uk/competitions.

Fish Flash Fiction Prize, wants 300 words on any theme, with prizes of: 1,000 Euros and an online writing course with Fish. Deadline 28th February. Entry fee 14 Euros online; 16 Euros postal. Details: http://www.fishpublishing.com/flash-fiction-contest-competition.php

Exeter Writers Short Story Competition. Up to 3,000-words on any theme. Prizes: £500, £250, £100 (plus £100 for a writer living in Devon). Entry fee: £6. Deadline 28 February. Details: http://www.exterwriters.org.uk/pl/competition.hmtl

Kelpies Prize – Novel for Children. Must be set wholly or mainly in Scotland.  Prize: £2,000 plus publication. Deadline 29 February. FREE ENTRY.  See website for full details, including suggested ms lengths for different age categories. http://www.florisbooks.co.uk

The biennial  Theatre 503 Playwriting Award offers a £6,000 prize, plus guaranteed production of the play at Theatre 503. Entries accepted between 1st and 29th February. Applications must be via an online form and must include a 200-word biography, a 50-word play synopsis and the entire play as a pdf.  Check more details on: https://theatre503.com/theatre503-playwriting-award 

And, finally, literary magazine The White Review will award £2,500 to the winner of its annual short fiction competition. This is for writers who have not secured a publishing deal, but who may have been published in magazines or journals. Entries may be in any genre, but they favour stories ‘that explore and expand the possibilities of the short story form’. Something a bit different, then. The winner will be published in The White Review and will be invited to meet literary agent Imogen Pelham. They want stories between 2,000 and 7,000 words. There is an entry fee of £15 and writers may submit only one story. Details from http://www.thewhitereview.org.

PLEASE double-check on the appropriate website in case any details have been changed.

Remember all those New Year Resolutions about writing more…