Friday, December 11, 2015

COMPETITION MONTHLY

Welcome back to Francesca Burgess with the latest in her Competition Monthly series.

First of all I am delighted to tell you that a couple of weeks ago I was shortlisted for The People's Friend Serial Writing Competition. It was something a little different for me so it just shows that sometimes you should chance writing outside the box. Writer Helen Yendall was the winner and I look forward to reading her story when it's published.

This month I'd like to mention record keeping. I'm certain I'd have got into a right mess with my submissions without my spreadsheets. I used to add the competition entries to the sheet for my magazine subs, but I recently created a new spreadsheet especially for the comps, which I have found much more useful. These are in date order. I also keep a paper system. This is an exercise book set out by story, which allows me to see exactly where each of them has been sent. It's also handy when your laptop crashes and you can't reload your spreadsheets. (Yes, it happened to me!)

There are a couple of unusual competitions this month. One has a writing retreat in Iceland as a prize (I've always longed to go there) and another is about points of view. Good luck!

**Closing soon** Iceland Writers' Retreat Northern Lights Competition
Theme: 'Northern Lights', up to 500 words.
Prize: Writing retreat in Rykjavik worth £1,500, including flights, 13-17 April 2016
Competition deadline: 3 January 2016
Entry: free

Writing Magazine Annual Open Short Story Competition
Theme: Open, 1,500 – 1,700 words
Prize: 1st £200 plus publication in magazine. 2nd £50 plus publication online
Competition deadline: 14 January 2016
Entry: £3 subscribers, £5 others

Grist Point of View Competition
Theme: Writing in one of five points of view: 'I', 'You', 'He', 'She' or 'It'. Maximum 5,000 words or 40 lines of poetry
Prize: 1st £500, 2nd £250, 3rd £125 and publication
Competition deadline: 31 January 2016
Entry: £5

Artificium fiction competitions
Competition for short stories:
Theme: Open, 2,000 – 8,000 words
Prize: 1st £300, prize pot to be shared between 1 – 4 runners up
Competition deadline: 5 February 2016
Entry: £5

 'In Brief' Competition:
Theme: Open, can include flash fiction and poetry, 500 – 1,000 words
Prize: 1st £150, prize pot to be shared between 1 – 4 runners up
Competition deadline: 5 February 2016
Entry: £5


Exeter Writers Short Story Competition
Theme: Open, except children's. 3,000 word maximum.
Prize: 1st £500, 2nd £250, 3rd £100, Prize for Devon writer £100
Competition Deadline: 28 February 2016
Entry: £6

Bath Novel Awards
Theme: Open, any genre including Y/A but not children's.
Prize: 1st £2,000, 2nd Consultancy report from Cornerstones and follow up session
Competition Deadline: 10 April 2016
Entry: £22

About Francesca:

Francesca Burgess has been placed or shortlisted in a number of competitions including Twyford Writers, Winchester Writers' Conference, Chorley and District Writers' Circle, Flash a Famous Phrase, Meridian Writing, People's Friend and those run by Writers' News and Writing Magazine. She's had stories published in magazines worldwide and in three anthologies, including Diamonds and Pearls. She's been a member of the RNA New Writers' Scheme for five years.





Thank you, Francesca!

Don’t forget to let us know about your competition successes plus any comps you are organising.

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4 comments:

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Congratulations on the short-listing, Francesca - that's a huge achievement!

Gabrielle said...

I second that. You have a really impressive track record.

Francesca Capaldi said...

Thank you Rosemary and Gabrielle x

anne stenhouse said...

Hi Francesca, Congratulations on the shortlisting for the PF serials. I was, too. Good RNA representation, then! Merry Christmas, Anne Stenhouse Graham