Upcoming deadlines etc..

I had a fantastic time leading a writing workshop on Sunday for Spread the Word on "Art breathes through containment, suffocates from containment", as Leonardo da Vinci said. We experimented with many different kinds of restrictions to see what opened us up. I will be writing a blog about this sort of thing for Writers & Artists shortly... when I have sorted out everything in my head!

In the meantime, it's been a while since I've done one of my "writers service announcement" blog posts with lots of places that want your writing, so here goes. The first place to point to has to be Paul McVeigh's excellent blog, which over the past few months has become an invaluable resource, with links to competitions and calls for submissions as well as interviews with writers and writing folk. Add that to your "must read" list!

And here are a few handpicked upcoming deadlines:

April 20th Litro Short Story Competition: Poland and Bruno Shultz

"In preparation for our Polish issue in June and in association with the Polish Cultural Institute London, we are running a short story competition inspired by Polish writer Bruno Schulz and his book The Street of Crocodiles. The winner’s work will be published in the June issue of Litro Magazine and showcased at a London Underground Station. The theme is “Poland,” with particular reference Schulz’s short story collection, The Street of Crocodiles. For inspiration, check out the Brothers Quay’s eerie 1980’s stop-motion animation of the same name or Jonathan Safron Foer’s adaptation, Tree of Codes on the Litro site" 300 words max, no entry fee, one entry per person.

** April 30th Bristol Short Story Prize
The brilliant short story competition based here in bristol, open to writers worldwide! Max word count 4000 words, NO MINIMUM. Entry Fee: £8. First prize is £1,000, 2nd prize £700, 3rd prize £400 and 17 runners up receive £100. 20 stories will be published in the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology Volume 6. The winning story will, also, be published in Bristol Review of Books magazine. The 2013 Bristol Short Story Prize awards ceremony will be held as part of the 2013 Bristol Festival of Literature in October 2013. Enter now!

April 30th And We Were Hungry: Flying Elephants Short Story Prize
Judged by Edwige Danticat, no length restrictions, but longer manuscripts (8,000–10,000 words) or shorter manuscripts (less than 2,000 words) will have to be truly exceptional to be shortlisted. Entry Fee: None. Eligibility: Writers must eighteen-years of age or older, and short stories must be original and previously unpublished. Theme or Prompt: “And we were hungry…,” or “Hunger.” Grand Prize Theme: Consideration for the grand prize is reserved for stories that connect the theme with nature or the natural world. You may submit two short stories. Prizes: One grand prize winner ($2,000 + publication ), three finalists ($1,000 each + publication) and eight runners-ups (publication only).

April 30th Treehouse Unusual Lit Competition
"We’re interested in prose that does unusual stuff. In the past we’ve published stories in the form of to-do lists, invisible text with footnotes, survival guides, landlord-tenant correspondence, recipes, and also all kinds of inventive work that was linguistically, but not necessarily structurally, experimental. So if you think your story, essay, prose poem, or genrebender fits the bill, send it our way. (Sorry, no poetry with line breaks for this one.) Entries are to be a maximum of 750 words." No submission fee. Prize is set of subscriptions to a wonderful array of lit mags as well as books by Indie publishers, because, say the editors "One of the main things we’re trying to communicate with this contest is that literature is a community. We picked out the journals and publishing houses we’re most excited about because we wanted to share them with you—our favorite readers.". Open to all.

May 15th Paper Darts Short Fiction Award
"$800 for 800 words. Plus, the winning story will appear fully illustrated, all beautified and sexy on its very own custom website." Entry fee $6. Love this magazine.

30th April Lightship One-Page Prize
300 words max, £8 per entry, judged by Flash Fiction Day pioneer Calum Kerr!

30th June Lightship Flash Fiction Prize
1500 words max, £10 per entry, judged by Etgar Keret (yes, really).

30th June Booktown Short Story Competition
1. short stories between 1,000 and 3,000 words, submit online or by post, £5 for one entry, £9 for two entries and £13 for three entries, 14. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd placed authors will receive £200, £100 and £50 respectively and their work will be published on the Booktown Writers Website and in the Booktown Writers’ Anthology. Judge: Sam Kelly - Head of Creative Writing MA, Edinburgh Napier

30th June Scottish Short Story Competition
500-2000 words in length, entry free £10, stories can be any genre but must be Scotland-related,£300 First Prize, Inclusion in eBook Anthology of ten selected stories

That's all for the moment, enough to be going on with? I am off to do a little submitting myself. Happy writing!