Friday, July 15, 2016

Competition Monthly with Francesca Burgess

Welcome back to Francesca Burgess with another in her very helpful series about writing competitions. Have you entered any lately?

How can you make a good impression with your competition entry? Although not all competitions
stipulate a writing font and size, it's a good idea to stick with something easily legible, like Arial or Times New Roman size 12. Anything that makes it hard to read isn't going to warm the judge to your story. Apart from which, it doesn't look very professional. If you're entering by post, don't use old yellowed paper you've found at the back of the cupboard, or coloured sheets. Neat, white paper is the order of the day.
One of the competitions this month is for a story written only in dialogue. It sounds like quite a challenge to convey all the necessary information in that manner. However, if you happen to have the August copy of Writing Magazine, take a look at page 62 for a good example of this kind of story.
Good luck, everybody.


Writing Magazine 1,000 Word Short Story Competition
Theme: Open. 1,000 words
Prize: £200 plus publication in Writing Magazine. Runner up £50 plus online publication
Competition deadline: 15 August 2016
Entry: £5 / £3 for subscribers

The Creative Competitor Historical Fiction Writing Competition 2016
Theme: Use the picture of the horse and carriage provided for inspiration. 1,200 words max.
Prize: £500 / £300 / £200 / £100
Competition deadline: 30 August 2016
Entry: £3.50

Park Publications Article Competition 2016
Theme: 'My Writing Day', 1,000 – 1,500 words
Prize: £50 / £25 / £15
Competition deadline: 31 August 2016
Entry: £3

1,000 Word Challenge
Theme: Open with the line provided.
Prize: £100 / £50 / £25
Competition deadline: 31 August 2016
Entry: £5

SaveAs Writers' Group Competition
Theme: Rebellion. 3,000 words
Prize: £100 / £50 / £25
Competition deadline: 31 August 2016
Entry: £4

The Glimmer Train Very Short Fiction Competition
Theme: Open. 300 – 3,000 words
Prize: $2,000 + publication / $500 / $300
Competition deadline: 31 August 2016
Entry: $16

Books Ireland Short Story Competition 2016
Theme: Open. 2,600 words max.
Prize: €400 + writing course at the Irish Writing Centre + publication / €200 / €100
Competition deadline: 31 August 2016
Entry: €10

Writing Magazine Love Story Competition
Theme: 1,500 - 1,700 words
Prize: £200 plus publication in Writing Magazine. Runner up £50 plus online publication
Competition deadline: 14 September 2016
Entry: £5 / £3 for subscribers

Bartleby Snopes Eighth Annual Dialogue Only Competition
Theme: Dialogue only. Under 2,000 words
Prize: $300 / $100 / $50 / $30 / $20
Competition deadline: 15 September 2016
Entry: $10

Mslexia Children's Novel Competition
Theme: First 3,000 words of a children's or YA novel at least 15,000 words long
Prize: £5,000
Competition deadline: 19 September 2016
Entry: £25

Caledonia Novel Award
Theme: Adult or YA. For unpublished or self published authors
Prize: £1,000
Competition deadline: 1 November 2016
Entry: £20



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 and Writing Magazine. Her shortlisted entry for The People's Friend serial competition is due to be published soon. She's had stories published in magazines worldwide and in three anthologies, including Diamonds and Pearls and 100 Stories for Haiti. She is a member of the RNA New Writers' Scheme.



 Thank you, Francesca! Good luck to anyone entering competitions this month.

If you would like to write for the RNA blog please contact us on elaineeverest@aol.com

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