Call for Submissions: Creative Competition Celebrates East Anglian Museums

Are you passionate about your local museum? Do you have a hidden creative talent that's just bursting to be recognised? Then why not enter this fantastic competition?

As part of their work with local museums, the Atelier East Young Curators' Forum are putting together a booklet of creative art and writing to celebrate museums across the East of England, and we'd like to hear from you.

We need your short stories, poems and drawings inspired by your local museum. This is a great opportunity to see your work in print, and there are so many amazing objects to spark your imagination! You could write a poem about the mummified rat in the Whittlesey museum, tell the story about the 'Spong Man' at the Norwich Castle Museum, or paint a picture of old-fashioned computers on display at the Framlingham Museum in Suffolk.  

All the winning entries will be published in a special limited edition booklet, and the competition is open to artists and writers of all ages! So, whether you're a budding Piccaso, or an amateur JK Rowling, we'd love to hear from you!

This project has been made possible with the support of Cambridgeshire-based arts organisation Atelier East and funding from the charity, Young Lives.

If you'd like to enter, please send your submission to info@karen-harvey.co.uk with your name, contact telephone number, and the name of the museum and artefact that inspired you. Alternatively, you can pick up an entry form from the Wisbech and Fenland Museum, Museum Square, Wisbech PE13 1ES.

The closing date for submissions is Saturday 31st August 2013.

Alexandra Park Library Creative Writing Competition - Free Entry

The theme of the competition is ‘London Journey’.

Poems must not exceed 40 lines.

Flash Fiction must not exceed 500 words.  

Closing date for all submission is 31^st May 2013.  

No entries will be accepted beyond that date.

Poems must be typed in single spacing and stories in double spacing. 

Paper submissions to:  Allen Ashley, c/o Alexandra Park Library, Alexandra Park Road, London N22 7UJ

Electronic submissions as a Word or RTF attachment to librarycomp@hotmail.co.uk

Please put your name, contact details and title of your work on your manuscript. You may enter one poem and/or one story. 

There is no entry fee. 

All entries will be read by the judge, Allen Ashley.

A gift prize will be awarded to one winner in each category: Poetry and Flash Fiction.  Winners and runners-up will be invited to give a public reading at the library and poems and stories will be on display after the competition has been judged.  

Entries may also be placed on a website or in an email newsletter.

Email librarycomp@hotmail.co.uk  for further details.

Call for submissions: Voicewalks

The Durham Book Festival team at New Writing North is working with the Hearing the Voice project at Durham University on a special series of events which will take place during this year’s festival. As part of the project, they’d like to invite writers of all levels to contribute to a pamphlet of poetry, prose and non-fiction in English about hearing voices when walking in the city. In addition to a specially-commissioned piece by Iain Sinclair, StepAway magazine will publish a special issue of a collection of walking narratives by both voice-hearers and writers who creatively imagine hearing voices.

Submissions can be as long as a 1,000-word essay or story, or as short as a 17-syllable haiku. Submissions can be named or anonymous, as the writers wish. 

Deadline: 1st August 2013. 

For full details and to apply, see http://hearingthevoice.org.

Flash in the Pen New Welsh Review launch Microfiction Competition

In celebration of the forthcoming 100th edition of Wales’ foremost literary magazine, NWR is launching a mircroficiton competition which will be judged by writer Cynan Jones. The competition welcomes very short stories of only 100 words and the first prize includes £100, kindly donated by Granta Books, plus a packed hamper of books from Welsh publishers and writers worth over £200. The winning entry will also be published in NWR 101 in the autumn. Entries are welcome from writers across the UK.
Cynan Jones will announce the winners on Tuesday 28th May at a NWR 100 party on the Hay Festival site, sponsored by the Rendel Chair at the Department of English and Creative Writing, Aberystwyth University.

Publishers who have donated to the prize hamper are as follows: Granta Books, Seren Books, Cinnamon Press, Honno Press, University of Wales Press, Alcemi, Parthian Books, Bloodaxe and NWR.
Closing date for entries: Friday 10th May 2013.


You can find more out about the competition here.

Fiction Desk Flash Fiction Winners and New Comp

The Fiction Desk are delighted to announce the winners of their 2013 Flash Fiction Competition. They are:

Gavin Cameron, with 'A Big Leap'
James Collett, with 'The Clever Skeleton'
Damon King, with 'Simmo!'
Paul Lenehan, with 'For Joy'
Matt Plass, with 'Invisible Them'
Ian Shine, with 'Love Stops at Ten Metres'

And the overall winner is:

Tania Hershman, with 'A Call to Arms'
To see the full announcement, visit their blog.

... and The Fiction Desk's new ghost story competition ...


Today they've launched The Fiction Desk Ghost Story Prize.
The top prize is £500, with a second prize of £100; both winners will feature in an upcoming anthology.

Further details about the ghost story competition.

Cuckoo Quarterly Wants Your Writing

Cuckoo Quarterly is on the hunt for new work by the North East's finest young writing talent for its sixth issue.  


They are looking for poetry, shorts, articles, reviews and rants by young writers aged 19 and under, so if you know a wannabe Carol Ann Duffy, Charlie Brooker or JK Rowling, please do send them Cuckoo Quarterly's way! 

Submissions should be sent to editors@cuckooquarterly.com by 15th March. For details for how to submit, check out all the details on the Cuckoo website at www.cuckooquarterly.com/?page_id=114.

Issue six will be launched at a special Cuckoo event at Hexham Book Festival on 28th April. The event will be free to attend and for details, email laura@newwritingnorth.com.

Mslexia 2013 Women’s Short Story Competition closes 18th March 2013

The 2013 Mslexia Women’s Short Story Competition is for previously unpublished stories of up to 2,200 words by women writers.

Judged by Janice Galloway, the first prize is £2,000 plus a week’s writing retreat at Chawton House Library and a day with a Virago editor. Second prize is £500 and third prize is £250, with three other finalists winning £100 each. 

All winning stories will be published in issue 58 of Mslexia, published in June 2013. Deadline for submissions: 18th March with a £10 entry fee per story. 
 
For more information and to enter, see www.mslexia.co.uk/shortstory.

Much More Than A Writing Competition: Escalator Literature

Are You A Writer Of Genre Fiction Based In The East Of England?

Enter Writers' Centre Norwich Escalator Literature Competition

What type of genre writing do you specialise in? Whether it's a nail-biting crime writing novel or a sublime twist of historical fiction, prepare to enter your best genre fiction writing to  Escalator Literature Competition to win a year’s worth of professional development, funding support, and intros to agents and publishers. 

Deadline: Wednesday 28th November 2012 by 5pm

About the Competition

This year's Escalator scheme is looking for writers of genre fiction or inventive mash-ups of genre. Open to writers from the East of England who want to get professional, enter now if you think you would benefit from: 

•    One-To-One Mentoring

A year’s worth of support from professional writers (Tobias Hill, Natasha Cooper, Cathi Unsworth, David Rain and Michelle Spring).

•    Supported Applications For Grants

You will be coached through an application for an Arts Council England.

•    Professional Development Workshops

A tailored range of workshops designed to give you the information you need to get ahead in the world of genre writing.

•    Introductions To Agents and Publishers

Your work will be introduced to agents, publishers and other industry professionals and you will take part in a special London reception at the end of the year promoting you and your work.

•    Peer Support

Across 2013, ten winning genre fiction writers will be supported through Escalator Literature. Many of the Escalator graduates are still in touch with their group and find it of invaluable benefit to go through the year talking to each other.

When?

The Escalator Literature Genre Fiction Competition is open now. Submissions must reach us by 5pm on Wednesday 28th November. See eligibility guidelines below.

It Works

Escalator Literature is an Arts Council funded initiative and has been running for seven years. Many Escalator Literature prize winners have gone on to find agents and get published: Guy Saville, Helen Ivory, Susan Sellers and Nicola Upson are all graduates of the scheme.

Who Can Apply?

We welcome applications from writers of ambitious, high quality genre fiction, which include Crime, Thriller, Horror, Ghost, Mystery, Historical, Sci-fi, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Romance, Humour, Espionage and inventive mash-ups of genre (think Haruki Murakami).

Escalator Literature is open to writers currently resident in the East of England, who think that a period of structured support would enable them to develop artistically. Successful applicants will demonstrate considerable creative talent and potential for development and will commit to the Escalator Literature scheme and the work they undertake as part of it.

Eligibility Guidelines:

Applicants must

• Be over the age of 18 years old

• Be resident in the East of England (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk)

• Application must be in written in English

• Submit single authored works only

• Demonstrate creative talent and potential for development

• Be available to attend a mentoring session on Saturday 26 January 2013

• Be writers of genre fiction: Crime, Thriller, Horror, Ghost, Mystery, Historical, Sci-fi, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Romance, Humour, Espionage and inventive mash-ups of genre

Applicants must not

• Be studying for a full time academic qualification in creative writing at the time of applying for the GFTA (January 2013)

• Applicants must not have previously published or self published a full length work of fiction

• Applicants must not have received an Arts Council Grants for the Arts award in the previous three years

• Applicants must not be employees of Writers’ Centre Norwich

Want to Apply? Here's How:

Apply and Pay Online

Please pay online here, filling in the questionnaire and then printing out your e-receipt. You will need to pay a processing fee of £5 online, and we accept credit and debit cards.

Applicants may not apply more than once.

If you have not already registered with Writers’ Centre Norwich you will be asked to register.

If you are unable to pay online please contact 01603 877177.

Then Send Writers' Centre Norwich Your Application

Once you have paid online please submit the following by post:

•    A Sample Of Your Work (3 x copies)*

Up to 3000 words typed (hand-written submissions will not be accepted), single-spaced 12pt on A4. Note – this sample of work should be a sample of work that demonstrates the quality of your writing and should be an extract from a piece of longer writing.

•    An Application Letter (3 x copies)*

Please send a type-written covering letter no longer than one side of A4 paper including:

•    The context and scope of your writing submission

•    A short biography of your writing history 

•    An explanation of where you are in your writing life and how you would benefit from Escalator Literature

•    The Receipt From Your Online Payment

*Please include your online booking reference number on all copies of your documentation. You can include your name on your application letter, but please do not include it on your writing submission.

Please send the receipt for your online payment along with three copies of your writing sample and three copies of your covering letter to:

Escalator 2012/13

Writers’ Centre Norwich

14 Princes Street

Norwich

NR3 1AE

DEADLINE: Wednesday 28th November 2012 by 5pm

Your application must reach their office by this date.

If you need further information about the Escalator Genre Fiction Competition then Writers' Centre Norwich are very happy to talk to you informally and answer any questions:

Please contact: Anna Selby on 01603 877177. 

Email: anna.selby@writerscentrenorwich.org.uk

What Happens Next?

The ten Escalator winners and commended applicants will be notified by Wednesday 23rd January 2013. Good luck!

 

For further info please visit Writers' Centre Norwich.

New Competition from The Taunt Pen

Mr. Pen and Miss Pencil bring you an event you can’t miss out. It’s time to be a kid once again. You like it, love it or hate it. Open your heart out and tell it all in poems, short stories, random scribblings or even comic strips. The Taunt Pen don’t mind child-oriented issues either! Voice out for the child trapped within you. 


The Taunt Pen are organizing a creative writing contest with the theme - "Children". Participants can send us poems, short stories and random scribblings, comic strips. The selected entries will be awarded. Smile,the long listed entries will be published in our e-newspaper the The Taunt Pen. 

For more details please visit: http://getbooksreviewed.blogspot.in/p/blog-page.html

 

What is The Taunt Pen?

It is a e-newspaper, an imprint of All About Books global., published since June 2012. Other details are here: http://getbooksreviewed.blogspot.in/p/blog-page.html

Source: Info from The Taunt Pen.