A new year and new resolutions, so why not make one of them a pledge to enter a few more competitions?
What I'm going to say this month may sound farfetched, and I'm sure most of you will be saying, What? I'd never do that! But here's the advice anyway.
Don't be tempted to explain on your competition entry form or manuscript where the story originated
or that it's based on something funny that happened to your aunty Doris. Don't attach photos of the setting you've based it on or add illustrations. The judge doesn't want to know or see any of these things and it will make no difference to whether they like it or not. Instead it will seem rather amateurish.
As I implied, this may sound like an unnecessary warning, but competition entrants have seriously been known to do this. If you have to explain your story, then maybe it needs to be rewritten.
There's a variety of competitions this month, though mainly for flash and short fiction. The Reader's Digest one is only 100 words long. Very short pieces are a skill in themselves, but since it's free, what have you got to lose?
Good luck to everyone, and don't forget to let me know of any competition success you have.
Crimson Cloak Story Writing Competition
Theme: See the picture on the website. 1,500 - 3,000 words
Prize: $150 / $100 / $50
Competition deadline: 31 January 2017
Entry: $10 Details
Bath Flash Fiction Award
Theme: Open genre (except children's). 300 words max.
Prize: £1,000 / £300 / £100
Competition deadline: 12 February 2017
Entry: £9 Details
Reader's Digest 100 Word Short Story Competition
Theme: Open, but must be exactly 100 words
Prize: £2,000 / 2 x £200
Competition deadline: 20 February 2017
Entry: Free Details
ChipLit Fest Short Story Competition
Theme: Open, up to 2,500 or 5,000 words
Prize: £500 / £100 / £50
Competition deadline: 20 February 2017
Entry: £5 (up to 2,500 words) / £8 (up to 5,000 words) Details
Nottingham Writers' Club Short Story Competition (for new writers)
Theme: Open, up to 2,000 words. Entrants must not have earned more than £300 from their writing.
Prize: £200 / £100 / £50
Competition deadline: Opens 1st February, closes 28th February 2017
Entry: £6 Details
Artificium Short Story Prize
Theme: Open, 2,000 - 8,000 words
Prize: £300 / Prize pot of £100 minimum shared between 1to 4 runners up.
Competition deadline: 28 February 2017
Entry: £5 Details
Artificium 'In Brief' Prize
Theme: Open, 500 - 1,500 words (includes flash fiction and poetry)
Prize: £150 / Prize pot of £100 minimum shared between 1to 4 runners up.
Competition deadline: 28 February 2017
Entry: £5 Details
Flash 500 Short Story Competition
Theme: Open, 1,000 - 3,000 words
Prize: £500 / £200 / £100
Competition deadline: 28 February 2017
Entry: £7 Details
Exeter Writers Short Story Competition
Theme: Open genre (except children's), max 3,000 words
Prize: £500 / £250 / £100 plus Devon prize of £100
Competition deadline: 28 February 2017
Entry: £6 Details
Wundor Short Fiction Contest 2017
Theme: Novellas & short stories, 5,000 – 45,000 words
Prize: £500. Winner and two runners up will have work published in full or extract.
Competition deadline: 28 February 2017
Entry: £9 Details
1,000 Word Challange
Theme: Must start with 'Stop', in direct speech.
Prize: £100 / £50 / £25
Competition deadline: 28 February 2017
Entry: £5 Details
Best of luck to anyone taking the plunge!
Francesca Capaldi 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, Wells Festival and Writing Magazine. Her shortlisted entry for The People's Friend serial competition will 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.
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Thank you Francesca!
If you would like to write for the RNA Blog, then please contact Elaine at elaineeverest@aol.com
This blog was prepared by blog team member, Louisa Heaton.
1 comment:
Might have a go at a couple of these, thanks. Especially the Reader's Digest one.
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