Details

Details

UK Writing Competitions (currently 95)

Writers’ Forum Short Story Competition.  There is a new contest in each issue of this writers’ mag.  All types of stories are accepted, from horror to romance, with a length of between 1,000 and 3,000 words.
    Closing: Monthly.  Entries arriving too late for one comp go into the next.
    Prizes: £300, £150, £100 in each issue.
    Entry Fee: £10, or £7 for subscribers to the magazine.  Includes a free tick-box critique if you enclose sae.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Writers’ Forum Poetry Competition.  This monthly contest from the glossy magazine Writers’ Forum is for poems of up to 40 lines.
    Closing: Monthly.  Entries arriving too late for one month go forward to the next.
    Prizes: 1st - £100.  Runners-up - A Chambers Dictionary.
    Entry Fee: £5 each for the first three, £3 each thereafter.  Enclose sae for free critique.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Forward Press Animal Antics Competition.  This is for poems of up to 30 lines about your pet.  In addition to the poem, you are expected to send a photo (of the animal, not you, you vain fool).
    Closing: Anually.
    Prize: £1,000.
    Entry Fee: None.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Whidbey Writing Competition.  This contest from Whidbey Writers Workshop in the USA is open worldwide and is for fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry and writing for children or young adults.  Up to 1,000 words.  I should point out that they have a rather strange - and if I may say so lazy - way of selecting a winner for this one.  The judge reads submissions until he or she finds one that ‘knocks his/her socks off’.  Never mind that the next one might have divested the judge of his/her pants and woolly vest, the remaining entries are tossed aside without so much as a glance.  However, you can submit you entry again if it isn’t selected (try to get it in early, as entries are read in order of submission).
    Closing: Monthly.
    Prize: $50.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

   But first, a word from our sponsor ...    
Stiff Competition by Michael Shenton (Emissary £6.99), winner of the Peter Pook Humorous Novel Contest, takes a walk on the wilder side of consumer competitions where obsession, jealousy and murder lurk in the shadows. If you want to know what it takes to be a persistent winner, or if you would like to make a charitable donation to a struggling author, buy this novel.  ‘Compellingly funny’ -  Competitors world.
 Available through bookshops or from Emissary.

Global Short Story Competition.  This contest, which is supported by the Darlington Arts Centre in County Durham and renowned author Bill Bryson, is for stories of up to 2,000 words on any theme.
    Closing: End of each month.
    Prize: 1st - £100.  Runner-up £25.  After a year the monthly winners will be considered for an annual cash prize.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Website: Click Here.

Books to Improve Your Writing Skills  

Cazart Short Story & Flash Fiction Competition .  Well I’ll be ******.  They allow swearing in this one.  However, I don’t suppose expletives alone will be enough to win.  For the short story category, entries should be between 400 and 3,000 words.  Flash fiction can be up to 400 words.
    Closing: 26th of each month.
    Prize (in each category): A cash amount based on the number of entries received.  The winning stories will be published on the Cazart homepage for two months.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here .

Cinnamon Press Poetry Collection Award.  Entries for ths one should comprise 10 poems of up to 40 lines.
    Closing: 30.6.10, 30.11.10.
    Prize: £100 and your collection published.
    Entry Fee: £16 per batch of ten (includes a free copy of the winners’ anthology).
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Cinnamon Press Short Story Award.  This is for stories of between 2,000 and 4,000 words.
    Closing: 30.6.10, 30.11.10.
    Prize: £100 and publication.
    Entry Fee: £16 (includes a free copy of the winners’ anthology).
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Cinnamon Press Novel/Novella Award.  To enter this you submit the first 10,000 words of your novel or novella.
    Closing: 30.6.10, 30.11.10.
    Prize: £400 and your novella published.
    Entry Fee: £16.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Words Magazine Short Story Competitions.  Words Magazine seems to have been around for a long time and for most of that time it’s been running competitions. They close quarterly and have different themes.  This year’s are Kids (stories for children), No theme, No theme.
    Closing: 30.4.10, 30.6.10, 31.12.10.
    Prizes: £100.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Website: Click Here.

WriteOnSite Writing Competition.  This, they say, could be described as literary open mic.  The competition opens at 5.30pm GMT every Saturday, at which point three themes are given.  You choose your theme, pay your entry fee and then write.  You have just 20 minutes to complete your story.  Three entries are then chosen to be read and judged by all the other entrants during the following week.  Only for the brave.
    Closing: Every Saturday.
    Prize: £40.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here .

                                       A Reader Writes ...
Dear Michael Shenton,
     I would just like to say ‘thanks’.  I entered a writing competition that I saw on your website. I didn’t win but still thought the story was OK. I re-wrote it and submitted it to The Lady. It was published! This was the first story that I have had published and I was very happy. Also ecstatic, giggly, smug, cheerful, optimistic and generally jolly pleased with myself. I would not have written that particular story if it had not been for your entertaining, helpful and inspirational website.  -  Patsy Collins.

Telegraph ‘Just Back’ Travel writing Competition.  If you are just back from somewhere a little more interesting than the local park, the Telegraph Online would like the gripping details in up to 500 words.  You can read previous winners on the website.  A ‘voyage’ across the Mersey is one of them - proving that you don’t have to write about anywhere exotic to scoop the prize.
    Closing: Monthly.
    Prize: £200 in the currency of your choice.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Dark Tales Short Story Competition.  Yarns of up to 5,000 words are required here, and it should be obvious from the name of the contest that the yarns we are talking about are not fluffy romances ... unless something nasty happens on the honeymoon.  Winners will be published in the magazine (Dark Tales).
    Closing: End of each month.
    Prize: £200, £100, £50.
    Entry Fee: £3, or £6 with tick-sheet critique.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Story Feedback Competition.  Although this one is being run by the editor and publisher of the magazine Dark Tales it is for stories in any genre.  You are allowed up to 3,000 words.  The contest is open worldwide.
    Closing: Monthly.
    Prizes: £100, £50, £25.  The best three stories will be published on the website and in an anthology.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Complaint Letter Competition.  All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning this one is write a complaint about something - bad service, shoddy goods, people who sneeze their flu bugs all over you in supermarkets, etc - and post it on the website.  Your entry must have at least 250 words.  A winner will be chosen each month based on the quality of the writing and the letter’s popularity with other visitors to the site.
    Closing: Monthly.
    Prize: £30.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Click Here .

Hi Michael,
     I won the Prima magazine contest you advertised - I was in the November 2008 issue. Better yet, the prize was not a pair of pink garden shears emboldened with the Prima logo (as you suggested), or even a polyester nightie, but £200 and a year’s subscription to the mag. It might not have given me worldwide fame but it’s encouraged me to continue writing. And since that I’ve placed a short story in the Sunday Express magazine, a venue that ‘rarely accepts unsolictated fiction,’ have had other stories accepted by various websites and an American anthology, and have completed my first novel.
                                                                         -  Louise Beech

The Christopher Tower Poetry Prize 2010.  This contest is open only to 16-18-year-olds in full or part-time education in UK secondary schools and colleges.  The theme is Promises, and take note that the organisers promise to disqualify you if your poem exceeds 48 lines.
    Closing: 11.2.10.
    Prize: 1st - £3,000.  2nd - £1,000.  3rd - £500.  Winners are eligible to enter the Tower Poetry Summer School held in August at Christ Church, Oxford.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Wigtown Poetry Competition.  This annual event is, they say, the largest poetry contest in Scotland.  The first one attracted over 2,000 entries, so I won’t argue. Limit your efforts to 40 lines per poem.
    Closing : 12.2.10 (5.30pm).
    Prizes: £2,500, £750.  Runners-up (8) - £50.  For those who like to hide their poetry from the masses, there is a £500 prize for the best Gaelic poem (the Hardly Any Readers Award).
   Entry Fee: £6 each, or £15 for three.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

UClan It’s a Crime Competition.  You know that crime novel you wrote that turned out to be too short for most publishers?  Well, it’s moment has arrived - maybe - because UClan (University of Central Lancashire) Publishing are looking for a story of between 20,000 and 50,000 words.  Send them the opening three chapters plus a synopsis.  If they think the sample has promise, you will be expected to send the rest without delay.
    Closing: 14.2.10.
    Prize: £500 and publication.
    Entry Fee : None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook Short Story Competition.  This contest from one of the nation’s best known writers’ handbooks is for stories of up to 2,000 words on the theme of Unity or Union.  Your story must be for adults.  Entries are made by email but note that you have to be registered with the website to be eligible.
    Closing: 14.2.10.
    Prize: £500 and a place on an Arvon Foundation residential writing course worth ‘up to £575’ (depends on how much you eat, presumably).  The winner will be published online.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Ambit 200 Words Poetry & Prose Competition.  Well, it’s not exactly 200 words.  It’s between 196 and 204, but that wouldn’t sound so slick in the title, so out go the inconvenient facts.  The bit about poetry or prose is however correct.  Ambit, in case you have never encountered it before, is a literary magazine which, according to our poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, ‘continues to surprise, exasperate and delight.’ You can read some extracts on the website, to get your eye in.
    Closing: 15.2.10.
    Prizes: £500, £200, £75.
    Entry Fee: £4 for the first, £3 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Click Here .

Leaf Books Wales Competition.  This is for writing about Wales.  Moby Dai?  No, that’s whales.  We’re talking about Wales the country.  ‘Perhaps a retelling of the Mabinogion,’ suggest Leaf Books helpfully.  ‘Or a comment on climate ... a political satire ...’.  Anything, in fact, connected with the place in question.  Entries can be poems of up to 40 lines, stories of up to 1,000 words, micro fiction of up to 300 words, or illustrations.  I expect you’ll want to leave this page now and look up Mabinogion.
    Closing: 15.2.10.
    Prizes: 1st - £150 plus a copy of the Leaf Books magazine/anthology.  Runner-up - A copy of the magazine/anthology.  Other successful entrants will be published in the magazine and well receive a free copy.
    Entry Fee: £3 each, £4 for ten.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Norwich Writers’ Circle Open Poetry Competition.  The Man in the Moon, according to the old rhyme, was keen to get to Norwich, so there must be something interesting about the place, but I am unfortunately bereft of the details.  That being the case, I will just say in conclusion that the contest is for poems of up to 40 lines.
    Closing: 16.2.10.
    Prizes: £200, £100, £50.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Brit Writers’ Awards.  This contest, say the organisers, offers the largest prize ever awarded to an unpublished writer in the UK.  Clearly they are not regular visitors to this site, otherwise they would have seen the Manchester Fiction Prize (also £10,000) earlier in the year.  Make it £10,001 next year, chaps, and then you can boast.  The competition is for short stories (1,000 - 3,000 words), novels, non-fiction, children’s stories, poems (collections of 5) and songs.  There is also a ‘Diverse Unpublished Writer’ category for people of black, ethnic or minority origin.  Sorry, by minority they don’t mean those of us who still have a job.  They mean people like travellers, who are exempt from the planning laws.  There is in addition a category for children, but the little darlings will probably be too busy squabbling over the latest video game to write anything, so I won’t give any details.  Finally, there is a category for published writers.  Alas, published writers do not qualify for any cash, presumably because it is assumed they will already have made a fortune from their work.  Ah, if only ...
    Closing: Extended to 26.2.10 (5pm).
    Prizes: Adult - £10,000.  Children - to be announced.
    Entry Fee: £10.95 (you may submit as many entries as you wish for this one-off payment).
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Hi Michael
     I discovered your website last year and entered lots of comps - no prizes in 2008. This year I decided just to enter The Trowell and District Writers Trust competitions - again directed from your site and also in the hope of bettering my marks compared to my entries last year.
     I am delighted to say I went along to the Presentation yesterday and received 1st prize in the Open Poetry competition - a lovely certificate, a shield and some prize money.
     I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon which had a "Stand and Deliver" poetry competition as well as a raffle, refreshments, sales of Members poetry, and time to chat and get to know people.
     The comps are great - all entries receive a mark and a short critique - I found all these helpful and encouraging. I feel I have new friends and a lovely day to look back on.
                                                                                -  Kate Brumby

Kelpies Prize 2010.  This is an annual prize awarded for new writing for children aged roughly between 9 and 12.  Entries should be set wholly or mainly in Scotland and must have a word count of between 40,000 and 70,000.  Manuscripts need to incorporate ‘subject matter to which today’s children can relate.’  It is at this point that I usually say something cynical about today’s children, but I have come over all soft and mushy for Christmas.  The contest is, incidentally, open to all nationalities despite the declaration that it is for Scottish writing and must be in English.  So it just needs a tartan setting, basically.  However, if you live in, say Alaska, bear in mind that if you win you will be required to make yourself freely available for publicity in Scotland in autumn 2010 and spring 2011.  It’s in the T&Cs, so by entering you will be agreeing to this.
    Closing: 26.2.10.
    Prize: £2,000.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Heritage Travel Writing Competition.  This one from Heritage, the historic travel magazine, is for true stories of up to 500 words about travels around Britain.  Winning stories will be featured in the June issue of the mag.
    Closing: 26.2.10.
    Prizes: 1st - A luxurious seven-night Hebridean Island cruise for two aboard the Hebridean Princess.  2nd - A two-night stay for two adults and two children at the Auchrannie Spa Resort on the Isle of Arran. This includes a bottle of sparkling wine, a beauty treatment and a full Scottish breakfast (probably porridge).  3rd - An overnight stay for two in a four-poster room at Bibury Court Hotel (a Jacobean mansion in the Cotswolds), with dinner and full English breakfast (probably Cornflakes).   4th - Two tickets for an exhibition of your choice at the Royal Academy of Arts.  5th - A Thorntons Chocolates gift set.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.  One entry per person.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Fylde Brighter Writers Circle Short Story & Poetry Competition.  I spent a couple of years of my childhood living on the Fylde coast, so I can tell you with confidence that this contest comes from Lancisheer.  It is for stories of up to 2,500 words and poems of - cor, here’s something you don’t see every day - any length.  Just think what you could do with a one thousand line poem!  You could bore the judges to death.  Get to the point and then get to the exit - that’s the best policy.
    Closing: 27.2.10.
    Prizes: Stories - £200 plus trophy, £50, 3 x £25.  Poetry - £100 plus trophy, £50, 2 x £25.
    Entry Fees: Stories - £5 each, £10 for three.  Poems - £3 each, £5 for three.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Rose & Crown Novel Competition.  You might expect an imprint with the name Rose & Crown to publish something like The Good Beer Guide, but in fact they are publishers of ‘Christian inspirational romance’.  More information is given on the website for those currently scratching their heads.  Apparently this genre can include detective stories and even westerns - as long as there is romance in the air (e.g. the cowboy falls in love with his horse).  The contest is of course for novels in this genre.  They must contain at least one Christian character and adhere to Christian/Biblical principals ... so forget the horse.  Length should be between 40,000 and 150,000 words.
    Closing: 28.2.10.
    Prizes: £200, £100 plus publication.
    Entry Fee: £18.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Chapter One Promotions Novel Competition.  To enter this one submit the first three chapters of a novel plus a one-page synopsis.
    Closing: 28.2.10.
    Prize: £500 and publication by Chapter One Promotions.
    Entry Fee: £20.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Grace Dieu Writers’ Circle Poetry Competition.  This annual contest is for poems of up to 40 lines.  As the entry form on the competition page doesn’t give the entry address, I’d better mention that all is revealed on the General Rules page.  Most of you will check all the rules automatically, I know, but believe it or not there are some misguided scribes who never do.  This is why you will sometimes see a chap in a frock collecting a prize at an awards ceremony after finding out from the congrats letter that the contest is for women only.  Others may be disqualified for stapling their manuscripts or not using the right sort of envelope.  Now and again these booby traps do turn up in the fine print, and I don’t always have time to seek them out when listing the contest.
    Closing: 28.2.10.
    Prizes: £350, £150, £75, £50, £25.
    Entry Fee: £3 each, £10 for four.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Myriad Editions Writer’s Retreat Competition.  To enter this one from publisher Myriad Editions you submit an extract of up to 10,000 words from a work in progress, such as that novel you haven’t had time to complete, or a collection of short stories or a script.  A synopsis of up to 300 words is also required.  The judges include a literary agent, a playwright, and the editor of Waterstone’s Books Quarterly magazine.
    Closing: 28.2.10.
    Prize: A one-week writing retreat with full board at West Dean College near Chichester.  You will also have the chance to discuss your work with Myriad’s fiction editor, Vicky Blunden.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Utmost Christian Writers Poetry Contest.  This annual Canadian contest, which is open to all Christians, is for poems of up to 60 lines.  If you are not sure if you are a Christian, there is a handy guide in the Rules.
    Closing: 28.2.10.
    Prizes: 1st - $1,000.  2nd - $600.  In addition there are 10 Honourable Mention awards of $100 (sounds better than ‘runner up’).  Rhyming Poem - 1st - $300.  Hon Mention - $100.
    Entry Fee : $20.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Grace Dieu Writers’ Circle Short Story Competition.  The requirement here is for stories of up to 2,000 words on any subject.  If you can’t find the entry address on the website, see the Grace Dieu Poetry Competition listing above.
    Closing: 28.2.10.
    Prizes: £350, £150, £75, £50, £25.
    Entry Fee: £5 for the first, £3 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Click Here .

Spikethecat Last Laugh Competition.  The funny thing about this contest from new publishing venture Spikethecat is that the prizes are a share of the entry fees - which could turn out to consist of just yours.  However, you can check how much is in the kitty by clicking on the Prize Fund link on the website.  To enter, make ’em laugh with a story of up to 2,500 words.  Winners and ten others will be published in an anthology.
    Closing: 28.2.10.
    Prizes: A share of the entry fees for the best two stories.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

The James White Award.  This is for science fiction stories of under 6,000 words written by non-professional writers.  ‘Professional’ and ‘science fiction’ are defined on the website - which also contains a list of science fiction cliches you would be wise to avoid (e.g. robots that turn on their creators ... so no politicians).
    Closing: 28.2.10.
    Prize: £250.  The winning story will be published in Interzone.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Pentlands Writers Short Story Competition.  If the word ‘ten’ inspires you to write a story of up to 1,500 words, Pentlands Writers would be happy to consider it for a prize in their 2010 contest.  For those of you with a curious mind and a shaky knowledge of British geography I’ll just mention that Pentlands Writers hang out in Scotland, presumably huddled together in a makeshift shelter on one of the Pentland Hills, south of Edinburgh.
    Closing: 28.2.10.
    Prizes: £50, £25.
    Entry Fee: £4 each, £10 for three.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Stafford Poetry Competition.  This contest, sponsored by Stafford District Arts Council, is for poems of up to 40 lines.  The judge is Michael Hulse.
    Closing : 28.2.10.
    Prizes: 1st - £1,000.  Runners-up (5) - £50.
    Entry Fee: £4 for the first, £3 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Abbey Hill Literary - Quick Lit Challenge.  Here’s a U.S. literary contest that even has prizes for the illiterate (sorry, ‘evolving talent’).  Can’t spell?  No problem.  Can’t punctuate?  Don’t worry.  Can’t handle grammar?  Be not dismayed - for you could be rewarded for your creativity alone.  It had to happen sooner or later, I suppose, in this sloppy txt ‘n’ TV age.  A few months ago in a British school a youth wrote ‘F*** off’ on his test paper and was awarded points on the grounds that he had at least managed to express himself.  The new Shakespeare?  I don’t think so.  But let’s get back to this competition.  It does of course have prizes that are awarded only for the well-written stuff.  Stories can be in any genre but must be no more than 1,500 words.  The ‘challenge’ part is to use one of the opening lines or scenarios given on the Current Challenges page.
    Closing: Quarterly - next on 28.2.10.
    Prizes: $250, $100, $50, $25.
    Entry Fee: $10.
    Comp Page: Click Here .

TXTLit Micro Story Competition.  For this contest you need a mobile phone.  Well, everyone’s got one, haven’t they?  No.  There’s still one person in the British Isles who hasn’t.  Me.  I don’t like phones of any sort.  I have one that plugs into the wall but I never answer it when it rings.  I think: ‘They’ll ring again if it’s important.’  They seldom do, and if they do I never answer it and they never ring again - which proves they were just time-wasters.  Now, I may seem to be rambling a bit here, but hey, what do you know, this turns out to be relevant because you mustn’t ramble in this competition.  Limit your stories to 154 characters (letters and spaces, not people), and while you’re about it, refrain from using abbreviated TXT gibberish, as this is not welcome.  At last - someone is fighting back on behalf of the English language!  There is a different theme each month.
    Closing: 28.2.10.
    Prize: £50.
    Entry Fee: £1 plus the normal cost of sending a text message (no use asking me what that is).
    Website : Click Here.

Dear Michael
     Just to let you know I’ve been entering writing competitions for several years and this year came second in the 19^th Feile Filiochta International Poetry Competition. Hurrah! I probably wouldn’t have heard about it but for your site (and I still don’t know how to say it). I don’t even consider it one of my better poems – but it was free to enter. It just goes to show that literary competition judges have to be very subjective in the end, so it’s worth carrying on even when you don’t feel that confident. Anyway, I’m off to spend my winnings of 500 euros (that’s very nearly £375 in real money). Keep up the good work!
     Here’s a link to the poem that won the prize
      All the best - Clare Kirwan

WritersReign Short Story Competition.  This annual contest is for stories of between 1,000 and 1,500 words on the theme of ‘A New Day’.
    Closing: 28.2.10.
    Prizes: £80, £40, £25, plus three Highly Commended awards of £10.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Review Fuse Poetry Contest.  To enter this American contest you submit a poem of up to 50 lines, then review the four poems assigned to you.  The 10 best poems, as selected by the Review Fuse staff, will go forward to Round 2, and half of these will be selected for Round 3 based on the four reviews the writers have submitted.  If the reviews you did consisted solely of comments such as ‘No bad,’ or ‘Yeah, I liked it,’ it is unlikely you will progress to the final stage, as they are looking for ‘the most detailed and well thought out critiques’.  Registration is required and is free.
    Closing: 28.2.10.
    Prize: $100.
    Entry Fee : None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Limnisa Short Story Competition 2010.  Limnisa, a creative writing centre on the idyllic Greek Island of Methana, seems like a great a great place to get your creative juices flowing - and you could be there if you win this contest, although you will have to stump up for the travel costs unless you use your thumb.  The competition, which is open worldwide, is for stories of up to 3,000 words on any subject.
    Closing: 1.3.10.
    Prizes: 1st and 2nd - A choice between a free place at a two-week creative writing seminar by the sea in Greece, or a one-week stay in a holiday apartment with sea views, on the Methana Peninsular in Greece.  Runners-up (8) - a 50% discount on a creative writing holiday by the sea in Greece.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Wyvern Publications Short Story Competition.  Stories of 1,200 to 1,600 words aimed at the teen market are required for this one.
    Closing: 1.3.10.
    Prizes: £100, £25, £25.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Chrysalis Prize.  This slightly unusual contest is for stories of up to 4,000 words about a profound transition, as detailed in the pdf document available from the website.  The winning entry will be used to complement a butterfly-shaped writing desk at an exhibition of furniture by Derek Elliott who designs pieces that tell a story.  I used to have a cocktail cabinet that could tell jokes, but it got into a huff and never said another word after I gave up the drink.  The exhibition, entitled Furniture Stories, is to be held in April at the North Wall Gallery in Oxford.
    Closing: 7.3.10.
    Prizes: Adult (18+) - £100.  Under 18 - £50.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Web Site: Click Here (then click the ‘North Wall Gallery’ link under ‘Furniture Stories’ near the foot of the page).

Segora Vignette Competition.  Not many vignette contests about these days.  This is because hardly anyone knows what a vignette is.  You do, of course, and in fact you probably have a dozen or so already written.  Yeah, right.  The word limit is 300.
    Closing: 15.3.10.
    Prize: £30, £10.
    Entry Fee : £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

The Pedestrian Essay Competition.  This one from the new American magazine The Pedestrian is for essays on the subject of how an animal of your choice might use a tool of your choice.
    Closing: 15.3.10.
    Prize: $500.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Fish One-Page Story Competition.  This flash fiction contest from Fish Publishing is for stories of up to 300 words on any theme.
    Closing: 20.3.10.
    Prizes: 1st - 1,000 euros plus publication.  Runners-up (9) - publication in the anthology plus 50 euros.
    Entry Fee: 12 euros.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Glass Woman Prize.  This American contest is for short fiction or creative non-fiction of between 50 and 5,000 words written by women.  Entries must be ‘of significance to women’.  No football then.  No shopping either by the sound of it: this is serious stuff.  A glass woman is described as having a blood system and a gut system visible inside her, and in these there are bits of poetry, newspapers, roses, baby’s teeth, birds, ice-picks, wedding cake ... and so on.  A glass woman, then, has an eating disorder which compels her to consume inappropriate things.  But this gives her an insight and a literary talent beyond the grasp of mere men.  Hence men are excluded from the competition.
    Closing: 21.3.10.
    Prizes: $600, $100, $50.
    Entry Fee: Non - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

The Sleeper Short Story Competition.  Okay, here’s the deal.  A graphic artist has created a character called The Sleeper, and this character has been given a limited back-story.  Your task is to write a tale of between 1,000 and 1,500 words about the character and his unending search for his dead wife on alternative planes of existence.  Don’t worry, he is able to leave his earthly body for this purpose, having been frozen at the point of death by an obliging (and presumably deranged) doctor friend.  On these other planes he has special powers and a barbed-wire belt that obeys his commands.  Now for the weird bit.  The ten winning entries will be used by the promoters to create a graphic novel.  Not ten graphic novels: just the one.  Ten different stories, one novel.  I’d like to  wish them the best of luck.  I suspect it’s going to end up as a book of short stories, but I’m thinking in terms of the earthly plane.  On another plane, who knows?  The book, incidentally, is going to be given away in London free of charge, so there will be no royalties.
    Closing: 30.3.10.
    Prizes: 1st - £100.  2nd - £50.  3rd - £25.  Runners-up (7) - £10.
    Entry Fee: £4.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Fish Poetry Prize 2010 .  No line limit this time but a word limit: 200.  Any theme, any style.
    Closing: 30.3.10.
    Prize: 1,000 euros.  Best ten entries will be published in the annual Fish Anthology.
    Entry Fee: 12 euros.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Bristol Short Story Prize 2010.  This annual contest, which is sponsored in part by Waterstone’s, is for stories of up to 3,000 words on any subject.  It is open worldwide.  Any style is welcome, whether it be graphic, verse or genre-based.
    Closing: 31.3.09.
    Prizes: 1st - £500 plus £150 waterstone’s gift card.  2nd - £350 plus £100 Waterstone’s gift card.  3rd - £200 plus £100 waterstone’s gift card.   Runners-up (17) - £50.
    Entry Fee: £7.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Hannah Frank Poetry Competition.  This contest in memory of Glasgow artist Hannah Frank, whose career spanned an amazing 75 years, is for poems of up to 40 lines inspired by one of her many black & white drawings (see the website’s Gallery).  Entries can be in English or Scots.  Putting words such as ‘Och Aye’ and ‘Hoots mon’ into your poem does not make it Scots, incidentally.  Scots is a separate language known only to a handful of lonely academics in Scottish universities.  More people speak Klingon.  Avoid.
    Closing: 31.3.10.
    Prizes: Adult - £200, £100.  Winners receive a framed print of an Hannah Frank drawing of their choice.  There are different cash prizes for younger winners (18 and under), in four different age categories.
    Entry Fee: Adults - £3.  18 and Under - free.
    Comp Page: Click Here .

Dear Michael
   I discovered your excellent site a few months back and entered some of the poetry competitions. I have in all my long years never received a payment for anything I have written, but I today received an email from Cooldog Publications to say I have won second prize in their E-mag Poetry Competition! £50! What a great way to start the new year.
   I just had to write and say thanks to you for the trouble you have taken with your site and how much I appreciate the sense of humour that underpins it.
  This has given me a terrific boost.
                                                                                -  Carol Browne

Exeter Writers Short Story Competition.  Exeter Writers are seeking tales of up to 3,000 words for their 2010 contest.
    Closing: 31.3.10.
    Prizes: £200, £100, £50.
    Entry Fee: £3.50.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Harry Bowling Prize 2010.  When I first saw this one I thought it said Hairy Bowling, something I used to do in the school cricket team.  But it has nothing to do with cricket.  It’s a novel-writing contest in memory of the East End author Harry Bowling.  Sponsored by Headline, it is for novels of any genre set in London.  To enter you submit the first chapter (up to 5,000 words) plus a 500-word synopsis.
    Closing : 31.3.10.
    Prizes: 1st - £1,000.   Runners-up - £100.
    Entry Fee: £10.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Write a Story for Children Competition.  This international contest from the Academy of Children’s Writers is for stories of up to 2,000 words suitable for children of any age group up to teenage.
    Closing: 31.3.10.
    Prizes: £2,000, £300, £200.
    Entry Fee: £3 ($10 or 10 euros).
    Comp Page: Click Here .

Flash 500 Competition.  This new flash fiction contest, which offers higher prize money than many similar competitions, is for stories of up to 500 words on any theme.  Simon Whaley will be the judge.
    Closing: 31.3.10.
    Prizes: 1st - £250 and publication in Words With Jam.  2nd - £100.  3rd - £50.  Highly Commended - A copy of The Writer’s ABC Checklist.
    Entry Fee: £5 each, £8 for two.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Segora Vignette Competition.  Here’s another vignette contest from the French-based International Writers Block 1999.  ‘The territory (of the vignette) is somewhere between a poem and a short story,’ they say.  If you wish to go there, do so in no more than 300 words.  Not sure if you’ll recognise the place when you arrive?  See the website for a description.
    Closing: 31.3.10.
    Prizes: 1st - £30.  Runners-up - £10.
    Entry Fee: £3 each, £5 for two.
    Comp Page : Click Here.

The Richard Szulik Memorial Prize .  This short story contest from the new creative writing magazine Dawn is for stories of up to 2,500 words on any theme.
    Closing: 31.3.10.
    Prizes: £50, £25, £10, all in book tokens. Winners published in the mag.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Spikethecat Writing Competition.  The theme for this short story contest from recently-formed publishing venture Spikethecat is Someone Has to Die.  Kill it at 2,500 words, or your entry will get the chop.  Winners and ten others will be published in an anthology.
    Closing: 31.3.10.
    Prizes: £100, £50.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Meridian Writing - Spring Short Story Competition.  This is for stories on any theme, running to no more than 3,000 words.
    Closing: 31.3.10.
    Prizes: £100, £50, £25.  In addition all winners receive a £10 Firstwriter.com voucher.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Cooldog Publications Short Story & Poetry Competitions.  This regular runner is for stories of up to 3,000 words and poems of up to 40 lines.  The poetry theme this time is The Love Poem (they want to see what the 21st century can bring to the form).  For the stories, romance doesn’t get a look-in. The theme is Terrors of the Night.
    Closing: 31.3.10.
    Prizes (in each category): £100, £50, £25.  The winners and three runners-up will be published in the Cooldog E-Mag.  Winners will be entered for the annual Cooldog Prize which has a top award of £500.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Writers’ Village Spring 2010 Competition.  Any form of prose fiction (short story, part novel) is welcome for this one ... as long as it doesn’t run to more than 3,000 words.  The judge will be John Yeoman who has a lot of letters after his name.  Winning entries will be showcased on the website.
    Closing: 31.3.10 (noon).
    Prizes: 1st - £150.  2nd - £30.  3rd - £20.  There are ten runner-up prizes of £10 for writers whose entries show ‘the greatest originality, mastery of the craft skills of creative writing and power to move the reader.’  You could probably win with your tax return.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Just thought I would share my good news with you.  I recently entered the U-Star Novels* Competition I found on your web site, and won first prize! Not only did I win £100, but I was also commissioned to write a 40,000 word romantic novel, which I managed to do in just over 3 weeks. It is now with the publisher, and will be available online by the end of January 2010.
     Many thanks Michael for providing such an excellent web site.  It is one that I am constantly recommending to members of my local writers circle here in sunny Eastbourne. Well done, and long may you be sufficiently enthusiastic to continue. Best of luck with your own writing career, and I really hope you have the success you undoubtedly deserve.    -  Harry Pope

* U-Star novels have the purchaser’s details, or those of anyone nominated, inserted into the story so that they become the main character(s).   -  MWS

Buxton Poetry Competition 2010.  A Breath of Fresh Air is this year’s theme for the University of Derby’s annual poetry contest.  You can express this in as many as 40 lines before suffering the icy blast of disapproval from the judges.
    Closing: 1.4.10.
    Prizes: Adults - £300, £200, £100.   Young People and Children’s categories - Waterstones book tokens.  The 15 finalists will have their work exhibited in the Devonshire Dome during the Buxton Festival 2010.  The top three poems will be published in the Festival programme.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Jim Baen Memorial Writing Contest.  Here’s one from America for sci-fi fans.  It is for stories that show the near future of manned space exploration (in a positive light).  By ‘near future’ they mean 50 to 60 years from now.  Do not boldly go beyond 8,000 words.
    Closing: 1.4.10.
    Prizes: 1st - Publication at the normal rates, and a specially designed award.  You also get free entry into the International Space Development Conference in Chicago (but not, alas, travel costs).  In addition there is a year’s membership for the National Space Society (in America) and, finally, various Baen Books and space merchandise.  2nd - A year’s NSS membership plus Books and space merchandise.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Firstwriter Short Story Competition.  Stories of up to 3,000 words for this one, any style or subject.
    Closing: 1.4.10.
    Prize: £200.  Plus ten non-prizes of ‘special commendations’.
    Entry Fee: £6.50.  Discounts for 2+.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Wergle Flomp Poetry Contest.  This fun American competition, which is open worldwide, is for parody poems.  First of all you find a vanity poetry contest with low standards (they’re usually free to enter) where just about every entry is praised and selected for publication so that the organisers can flog an expensive anthology to the multitude of lucky poets.  You write and enter something absurd, strange or amusingly dire (yes, I know this sounds a bit like the National Poetry Competition, but it’s not quite the same thing).  Finally you send this poem as your entry for the Wergle Flomp contest.
    Closing: 1.4.10.
    Prizes: 1st - $1,500.  2nd - $800.   3rd - $400.  Honourable Mention (12) - $75.  Winners will also receive a Winning Writers polo shirt.  There is no anthology to buy.
    Entry Fee: None.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Diana Raffle One-Act Play Competition.  This one from New Theatre Publications is for ‘plays that entertain’.  Performance time should be between 30 minutes and one hour.  Note that the rules allow the organisers to disqualify you and keep your entry fee if they think your play contains anything that might lay them open to legal action.  It seems you need to be a lawyer as well as a playwright these days.
    Closing: 2.4.10.
    Prize: £100 plus a publishing contract.
    Entry Fee: £7.50.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Biscuit Publishing International Short Story Prize.  Here’s another annual contest, this time for stories of between 1,000 and 5,000 words.  Any subject or form.
    Closing: 14.4.10.
    Prizes: £1,500, £300, £150.   Runners-up (7) - £25.  The ten winning stories will be published in an anthology, and the writers will receive three copies each.
    Entry Fee: £10.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Gap-Year Travel Writing and Photography Competition.  For this you submit a piece of writing running to no more than 800 words with the theme: How My Gap- Changed My Life.  If you can’t be bothered to write anything, you can send a photo instead, with a strong gap- theme.  The contest is open worldwide.
    Closing: 16.4.10.
    Prize: Two first prize winners (one in each category) will be awarded unpaid publication in the gap-year guidebook.  If you are lucky enough to be a runner-up instead a first prize winner however, you could receive a digital camera.  There are other useful runners-up prizes too, such as medical and first-aid supplies.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

MAG Poetry Prize.  All profits from this contest from Poetic Republic go to the Mines Advisory Group, a humanitarian organisation that clears the explosive leftovers from conflicts in various parts of the world.  Your entry needn’t be about mines, although it could contain a little dynamite.   The line limit is 42.  Poems will be judged online by the entrants.  This includes you, and take note that if you don’t pull your weight you will be knocked out.  Blimey, they must send round a couple of heavies.  Oh, I see, knocked out of the contest.
    Closing: 30.4.10.
    Prizes: Winners receive a share of the prize fund, which accumulates at the rate of £2 per entry.  1st - 50%.  2nd - 25%.  3rd - 15%.  4th - 10%.
    Entry Fee: £6.
    Comp Page: Click Here .

Ware Poets Open Poetry Competition 2010.  This annual contest is for poems of up to 50 lines.  It also has a sonnet category - which lifts it above the run of the mill.
    Closing: 30.4.10.
    Prize: £500.   Best Sonnet: £200.
    Entry Fee: £3 each, £10 for four.
    Details (send SAE): The Competition Secretary, Clothall End House, California, Baldock, Herts, SG7 6NU.

Earlyworks Press Web Poetry Competition.  Earlyworks Press was formed to publish poems written before seven in the morning, but it turned out that poets were too lazy to get up before nine, so the time restriction had to be dropped.  Well, that’s my theory anyway.  The contest is for poems of up to 40 lines written at any time of the day or night.  Winners will be published on thr website.
    Closing: 30.4.10.
    Prizes: 1st - £75.  Runners-up (5) - £5.
    Entry Fee: £3 each, £12 for 6.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Ver Poets Open Poetry Competition.  Here is another familiar face in the competitions crowd.  It is for poems of up to 30 lines in any style.
    Closing: 30.4.10.
    Prizes: £500, £300, £100.  Winners and other selected poems will be published in the anthology.
    Entry Fee: £3 each, four for £10, £2 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Unbound Press Short Story & First Chapter Competition.  New Scottish publisher Unbound Press (‘Intelligent books for intelligent readers’) is inviting submissions of stories or opening chapters (of novels) running to no more than 3,000 words.
    Closing: 30.4.09.
    Prizes: Short Story - £100, £50.   First Chapter - £75, £25.  Winners and runners-up will be published in the Unbound Press Journal and will receive a free copy.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Southport Writers Circle International Poetry Competition 2010.  I used to live just up the road from Southport.  It was a cultural void back then, often referred to as the poor man’s Blackpool.  But not any more.  These days, in addition to its renowned flower show (‘a horticultural hotbed’) it has a writers’ circle and an international poetry contest.  Some are now calling Blackpool the poor man’s Southport, although admittedly not many.  The contest requires poems of up to 40 lines.  Alison Chisholm will be judging.
    Closing : 30.4.10.
    Prizes: £200, £100, £50.  Humour Prize - £25.  Local Prize - £25.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Pulsar Poetry Competition.  This annual contest from the poetry magazine Pulsar has a line limit of 40 and is open to anyone over 16.
    Closing: 30.4.10.
    Prizes: £125, £75, £50.
    Entry Fee: £2.50 for the first, £1.50 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Leaf Books Nano Fiction Competition.  They’ve taken a leaf out of their own book here and decided to run their second nano fiction contest.  Like the first, it’s for stories of up to 100 words on any subject.
    Closing: 30.4.10.
    Prizes: 1st - £150 plus a free copy of the Leaf Writing magazine and the anthology.  Runner-up - A copy of the magazine and anthology.  Winning and outstanding entries will be published in the mag.
    Entry Fee: £3 each, £10 for four.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Hi Michael
     Well, you told me to let you know if I won anything, and who'd imagine I'd be writing so soon? I started sending to writing contests last month, fully expecting everything to fail dismally (bit of a pessimist that way). And this week I found out I have won the Biscuit Flash Fiction comp for 2009! To be honest, I had never even heard of flash fiction till I looked at your site. I sent a weird little thing I wrote in 1995 and it came first! That means publication and a 1000 prize! So a big lovely thankyou to you and your site for pointing me in the right direction.
                                                                             -  Cheryl Latter

Far Horizons Award for Poetry.  This contest from the Canadian literary magazine The Malahat Review (‘dedicated to excellence in writing’) is for poems of up to 60 lines.  Any subject or aesthetic approach.
    Closing: 1.5.10.
    Prize: $500 plus a publication fee at the rate of $40 per printed page.
    Entry Fee: $35.  Emerging poets can enter three poems for this price.  Humbling generosity, but I think most poets would have preferred the option to enter one poem at a third of the cost.  All entrants receive a one-year subscription to The Malahat Review, if that’s any consolation.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Countryside Tales Article Competition.  Biography, nature item, countryside memory, etc - up to 1,500 words.
    Closing: 1.5.10.
    Prizes: £50, £25, £15.  The winning entries will be published in Countryside Tales.  Others may also be published.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Partners Annual Open Poetry Competition.  I know very little about this competition from the Partners Writing Group except that they run it every year and tell me very little about it.
    Closing: 1.5.10.
    Prizes: 1st - £250.  2nd - £50.  3rd - A year’s subscription to Aspire poetry magazine.
    Entry Fee: £2.50.
    Details (send email): partners_writing_group@hotmail.com

Northampton Literature Group  Opem Poetry Competition.  This one has two categories: Rhyming Poems and Free Verse.  In both cases, the line limit is 40.
    Closing: 15.5.10.
    Prizes (in each category): 1st - £150.  2nd - £50.  3rd - £25.  Highly Commended (3) - £10.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Segora Short Story Competition.  Tales of between 1,500 and 3,000 words are required for the third Segora short story contest from French-based International Writers Block.  This year there will be an anthology of winners past and present.
    Closing: 29.5.10.
    Prize: £100.  Additional prizes may be awarded at the discretion of the contest organiser.
    Entry Fee: £5.50 each, £10.50 for two, £15 for three.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Yeovil Literary Prize .  This is the seventh of these contests from Yeovil, the literary capital of the West Country where even the sheep appreciate poetry.  I once read out some of my verses on a Yeovil Sheep farm and the verdict was ‘Baaa!’ - which in sheep means ‘brilliant’  I got some of my best reviews that day.  The contest has three categories: Short Story, Poetry and Novel.  The stories can run to 2,000 words, while the poems should be no more than 40 lines.  Novels have a limit of 15,000 words for the opening chapters and synopsis.
    Closing: 31.5.10.
    Prizes: Story and Poetry - £500, £200, £100.   Novel - £1,000, £250, £100.  There is in addition a local award for residents of Somerset and Dorset, but it’s not worth moving down there specially as the prize is only £100).
    Entry Fee : Short Story & Poetry - £5 each, £8 for two, £10 for three.  Novel - £10 each.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Frogmore Poetry Prize 2010.  This annual contest is run by Frogmore Press which was founded in 1983 in the Frogmore tearooms in Folkestone.  Well, what else can you do in Folkestone?  I know: you can fall in the sea, a feat I managed at the age of 8.  Will I ever forget that day?  Unlikely, for I had the misfortune to be rescued by my two sisters.  ‘No, no - let me drown!’ I cried.  ‘I’ll never be able to face my mates again.’  But I had the ice cream money in my pocket and my pleas were ignored.  I later wrote a poem: Never Walk on Mossy Rocks, but it would have been too long for this contest because it ran to 360 lines.  The line limit here is 40.
    Closing: 31.5.10.
    Prizes : 200 guineas.  Classy.  All shortlisted poems will appear in The Frogmore Papers.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Memorial Poetry Prize.  Coleridge did ramble on a bit in some of his poems (626 lines in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner) but you will have to curb your enthusiasm at a mere 30 lines.  The other restriction is that your entry must reflect nature or the sea.
    Closing: 1.6.10.
    Prizes: £300, £200, £100.  Highly Commended and Commended entries receive book tokens.
    Entry Fee: £3 for up to three poems.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Trowell & District Writers Trust Open Story & Poetry Competition. This is the 12th of these contests for short stories, poems, articles, stories for children, and poetry for children.  Stories can be up to 2,000 words, articles 1,500 words and poems 40 lines. Winners will be published in the special Christmas edition of the TDWT magazine Chapter and Verse.
    Closing: 30.6.10.
    Prizes: As well as small amounts of cash, there are four trophies, any one of which would look good on your coffee table when your friends drop in.  There is the exotic-sounding Vambria Walters Memorial Trophy for the most original piece; the slightly less exotic Ilkston Advertiser Trophy for a short story; the workmanlike Trowell Council Trophy for a poem; and finally the refined Nicholas Palmer MP Trophy for an article.
    Entry Fee: £4 for the first, £3 thereafter.  Juniors free.
    Details/Entry Form: The Competition Secretary, Trowell and District Writers’ Trust, 26 Derbyshire Avenue, Trowell, Notts, NG9 3QD or ring 0115 9329568 or 0115 9135548.

The Bridport Prize.  This is one of the most prestigious writing contests in the British literary calendar.  Everyone in the trade whose mind is not addled by drugs has heard of it, and they will be impressed if you can claim to have won it.  Fortunately, winning it is easy.  All you have to do is submit the best poem or short story, the former having no more than 42 lines, the latter running to no more than 5,000 words.  This year’s judges are Michael Laskey (poems) and Zoe Heller (stories).  Writers from beyond the veil should note that the Bridport rules forbid posthumous entries.
    Closing: 30.6.10.
    Prizes in each category: £5,000, £1,000, £500.  There are also ten runners-up prizes of £50.  These are called ‘supplementary prizes’ to make you feel less like an also-ran.  There is in addition a special prize of £100 and a perpetual trophy for the highest placed writer from Dorset.  The top 13 stories will be entered for the National Short Story Prize worth £15,000.  Finally, according to the website on December 1st, the top 26 poems and stories will be published in the Bridport Prize 2009 anthology.  This is already on sale.  Spooky or what?
    Entry Fee: Poems - £6.  Stories - £7.
    Website: Click Here.

Earlyworks Press Flash Fiction Competition.  This is for flash fiction of up to 100 words including the title.  Winners will be published on the website.
    Closing: 30.6.10.
    Prizes: 1st - £75.  Runners-up (5) - £5.
    Entry Fee: £3 each, £12 for 6.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Dear Michael,
     I just wanted to tell you that I won first prize in the Charnwood Arts' miniWords Poetry Competition (£250), so thank you very much for that!
                                                                               -  Mary Whitsell 

Doris Gooderson Short Story Competition.  This is the tenth of these annual contests from Wrekin Writers of Shropshire, who are keen to receive stories of up to 1,200 words.  Entries must be in English, they say.  Aw, and you thought you’d finally found a home for that one you wrote in Esperanto.  Never mind   Perhaps next year.
    Closing: 12.7.10.
    Prizes: £150, £70, £40.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Countryside Tales Autumn Poetry Competition.  Poems of up to 40 lines about the countryside in autumn are required for this one.
    Closing: 31.8.10.
    Prizes : £50, £25, £15.  The winning entries will be published in Countryside Tales.  Shortlisted entries may also be considered.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Earlyworks Press Open Short Story Competition.  Here’s something you don’t see every day: a competition that penalises the more wordy writer by charging double the entry fee.  4,000 words will cost you a fiver, while 4001 will set you back ten.  The absolute word limit is 8,000.
    Closing: 31.8.10.
    Prize: £100 and first place in the anthology.
    Entry Fee: £5 for up to 4,000 words.  £10 for between 4,000 and 8,000.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Earlyworks Press Fiction for Children or Teens Competition.  For this you submit up to 5,000 words of your story plus a synopsis.
    Closing: 30.9.10.
    Prize: £100 Advance and Royalty Contract or up to £350 cash.
    Entry Fee: £14.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

Synergise Travellers’ Tales Competition.  Synergise is a travel website about which I know very little.  They are looking for travel articles of between 1,000 and 2,000 words to publish on-site. The best of the submissions receive prizes as detailed below, while the rest, if deemed good enough, are published without payment.
    Closing: None given.
    Prizes: £100.
    Entry Fee: None.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Competition.  This US contest is open worldwide and is for short stories of up to 17,000 words.  They should be science fiction, fantasy or horror with fantastic elements.
    Closing: Quarterly.
    Prizes: $1,000, $750, $500.
    Entry Fee: None.
    Website: Click Here.

Scribble Quarterly Short Story Competitions. This is run by short story magazine Scribble.  It is for stories on any subject, up to 3,000 words.
    Closing: Ongoing.
    Prizes: £75, £25, £15.
    Entry Fee: £3.
    Comp Page: Click Here .

Envoi International Poetry Competition.  This one, from the well-known though small magazine Envoi, is for poems up to 40 lines.
    Closing : 20th February, June and October each year.
    Prize: £150, £100, £50.
    Entry Fee: £3.00 per poem or 5 for £12.00.
    Comp Page: Click Here.

  A good writers’ forum can be found at WritersDock.    

>>>>>>>>>>>>>   Books for Writers - Improve your Skills   <<<<<<<<<<<<<

Special Offer: Ink Club is offering a free compatible ink cartridge (post £2.99) for Epson or Canon printers, plus big savings on all original & compatible cartridges.

*********************************************************************************
Notes: Unless otherwise stated in the rules, all poetry should be single-spaced.  The rest should be double-spaced (which is to say, double spacing between the lines, not the words!).  It is sometimes the case that your name shouldn’t appear on the manuscript.  Again, check the rules.  If you put your name on there after being told not to, you’re out.  Don’t use coloured paper or fancy fonts, and don’t send your manuscript done up like the Queen’s dinner menu with a fancy gold-tooled leather cover.  These things merely announce that you have no confidence in your submission or, worse, that you think the judges are shallow enough to judge on appearance rather than content.  Plain white A4 80gsm paper is the stuff to use, with plain black typing or print.  Write on one side of the sheet only (unless asked to put your address on the back).

            Before you start writing, allow me to introduce you to an old friend

                                       The Typo Goblin

            I am the Typo Goblin, my heart is made of flint,
            My role in life is simply this: to keep you out of print.
            I sneak into your manuscript and do my fiendish work,
           Adding errors guaranteed to make you look a berk.
           And then I cast the ‘Careless’ spell: you say, ‘Ah, what the heck!’
           And pop your script into the post without that final check.
           At length some hapless editor receives your golden wit,
           And after reading fifty words he writes it off as ... unpublishable.

                                                                            - Michael Shenton

Finally, as you sift through the remnants of your shattered dreams and wonder if it’s worth going on ... www.samaritans.co.uk/

                                    
My Humorous            This is the Prizemagic website                   Poem:
       Verse                 Email comps@prizemagic.co.uk               Being a
    & Songs            Copyright:  Michael Shenton  2010              Writer