Upcoming deadlines

It's been a while since I did one of these, here are a few upcoming deadlines for short story competitions:

July 31st The Sean O'Faolain short story competition: An excellent contest not just for its amazing prizes but because one sole judge reads every single entry!  Up to 3000 words, open internationally. First Prize: €2,000 (*approx $2690.82/ £1685.27), publication in the literary journal Southword, AND a week-long residency at Anam Cara Writer's and Artist's Retreat in Ireland. Second Prize: €500 and publication in Southword. Four other shortlisted entries will be selected for publication in Southword and receive a publication fee of €120. Entry fee: €15, US $20 or £15. Enter online or by post. Open internationally.

July 31st Ink Tears Flash Fiction competition: 500 words or less, previously published okay. Winner: £300 • Runner-up: £50 • 4x Highly Commended: £25 Entry fee: £3 for first entry, subsequent entries at a discount. Enter online.  Open internationally.

Aug 15th Gigantic Sequins flash fiction contest: Submit 3 stories per entry, each up to 1000 words, open internationally. publication of the winning piece in issue 4.1, special feature of the writer on our website this fall, a Gigantic Sequins 1-year subscription, $100 cash, and more! Entry fee: $5. Enter online. Open internationally.

Aug 26th Stringybark flash fiction and microfiction contests: Flash fiction: up to 1000 words, with link to Australia. Microfiction - 100 words, no Aussie link needed. Open internationally. First Prize - A$350 cash + publication + certificate + e-book + paperback (Value $368) Second Prize - A$150 cash + publication + certificate + e-book + paperback (Value $168) Third Prize - A$75 cash + publication + certificate + e-book + paperback (Value $93) Entry fee: AUS$9 per flash fiction. Microfiction - free entry with entry to flash fiction competition. Enter online. Open internationally.

Aug 31st Nanofiction flash fiction contest: Submit 3 stories per entry, each up to 300 words, open internationally. Prize awards publication and $500  - all entries considered for publication, all entrants receive a one year subscription to NANO Fiction and winners will be announced in September. Entry fee: $15. Enter online. Open internationally.

Sept 7th Costa short story award: Stories up to 4000 words, one entry per author. The winner will be announced at the Costa Book Awards ceremony in late January 2013 and will receive a cheque for £3,500. Two runners-up will each receive £750. No entry fee. Enter online. Residents of UK and Ireland only.

Sept 21st Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short story award:  "The judges are looking for an outstanding English-language story of 6,000 words or under from a fiction author from anywhere in the world who has been published in the UK or Ireland. Stories can be unpublished or first published after 1st Jan 2012. The winner will receive £30,000, and the five shortlisted writers will each receive £1,000 as well as having their work published online. A longlist of 16 will be announced in January." No entry fee. One entry per author. Online or postal entry.

And a little further off...
Oct 1st  StoryQuarterly short story comp Open to short stories and novel excerpts of 8,000 words or less. Grand Prize of $1000 and publication in StoryQuarterly 46 First Runner-up $300 and publication in SQ Online Second Runner-up $200 and publication in SQ Online. $18 contest fee includes subscription toStoryQuarterly 46, to be published in the late Fall, 2012.

Oct 31st  The Salt short story and flash fiction prizes (there is also a prize for poetry). The Short Story Prize: max 5,000 words. 1st PRIZE £1,000 plus publication in The Salt Anthology of New Writing. 2nd PRIZE £500 plus publication in The Salt Anthology of New Writing. 3rd PRIZE £50 book token for use in Salt’s online shops plus publication in The Salt Anthology of New Writing. SEVEN RUNNERS-UP A further seven finalists will be published in The Salt Anthology of New Writing. Open internationally. Entry fee £10 for first entry, discount for subsequent. Enter online or by post.
The Flash Fiction Prize: Max 350 words. 1st PRIZE £500 plus publication in The Salt Anthology of New Writing. 2nd PRIZE £250 plus publication in The Salt Anthology of New Writing. 3rd PRIZE £50 book token for use in Salt’s online shops plus publication in The Salt Anthology of New Writing. SEVEN RUNNERS-UP A further seven finalists will be published in The Salt Anthology of New Writing.Open internationally. Entry fee £5 for first flash, discount for subsequent. Enter online or by post.

Nov 15th  Willow Springs fiction prize No word limit. The winner of the contest will receive a prize of $2,000, plus publication in Willow Springs.Open internationally. Every entrant receives a one year subscription to Willow Springs. Entry fee $20, or $25 for non-US. Enter online or by post.Open internationally.

Good luck to all!

Flash...and more flash!

So, it was a week of good flash fiction-related news for me last week - a win at the Light Reading comp, semifinalist in another comp which hasn't declared yet, and then a shortlisting for the 2012 Unbound Press/Spilling Ink Holiday flash fiction Prize. My shortlisted flash story, Into the Waiting Arms of God, will be published in the prize anthology.

Huge congratulations to the winners and other shortlistees, especially Gail Aldwin, who tweeted me and Vanessa Gebbie to thank us, because she had taken part in the flash fiction workshops we ran in November as part of the Bridport Open Book festival. Most of the participants had not written flash fiction before, so Gail's shortlisting is really heartening, congratulations! And congratulations also to another of the workshop participants, Juliet West, whose flash story, Deep Hum, a draft of which was written during the workshop, has just been published on Ink, Sweat and Tears!

This leads me on to say that Vanessa and I will be running another flash fiction workshop for New Writing South in April, more details soon. But in the meantime, you have a chance to win copies of Vanessa's fabulous novel, The Coward's Tale, by entering the flash fiction competition on the Writers and Artists website. Here are the details:

To coincide with our recent interview with Vanessa Gebbie, author of The Coward’s Tale, we’re hosting a competition for you to showcase your literary skill.
We’re asking you to write up to 300 words (as a reference, not much longer than this page!) of flash fiction to be judged by Vanessa Gebbie. The best entries will win some very exciting prizes:

• First place winner will receive a signed copy of The Coward’s Tale in hardback, a copy of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook 2012, and also have their work featured on our website.
• Second place winner will receive a signed copy of The Coward’s Tale in hardback and also have their work featured on our website.
• Highly Commended- two highly commended entries will also have their work featured on the website.

If you think you are up to the challenge, read Vanessa Gebbie’s flash fiction article for inspiration and submit your entry to writersandartists@bloomsbury.com by the 22^nd February 2012. Winners will be announced on the 7^th March – good luck!

Happy flashing!

New stories and upcoming deadlines

Yes, yes, it's been a while, where does the time go! A quick few links to recently-published stories:

• Like Owls is published in SPECS, an annual print journal which is full of the weird and wonderful (my kind of thing). You can't read the prose poem online but you can watch a video of me reading it and read a short paragraph about how I came to write it.
• All Activity is Silent is published in Issue 15 of kill author, an online journal also filled with weird and wonderful. (You can also hear me reading it on the site.)
• And third for the weird and wonderful, The Watch My Father Wanted, in Metazen. Text only! These kinds of publications make me so happy, that there are others on my warped wavelength. They are full of gems, do check them out.

I've just had a story accepted by Beat the Dust, coming in November, and another by Metazen for December 8th Lovely, all lovely. To inspire - me and you! - here are some upcoming deadlines for story and poetry submissions:

Deadline Nov 30th:

The New Writer Poetry and Prose Prizes: for "fact, fiction and poetry" entry online or by post, open to all, prize fund £2500. Categories judged by Jon Pinnock (read my interview with him here), Sally Quilford (who produces a writing calendar) and Bill Greenwell.  

Whispered Words: 1000 words max: "welcomes fiction and non-fiction. We accept prose of all kinds: literary, science fiction, children’s, memoir, essay, creative non-fiction. Theme: Whispered Words," entry online, open to all, 1st prize  $1000.

Commonwealth Short Story Prize:Awarded for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2000 – 5000 words). Submissions must be made by the author of the short story. Regional winners receive £1,000 and the overall winner receives £5,000. Entry online only, open to Commononwealth only.

Diamond Light Reading Short Story & Flash Fic Comp: Competition by UK synchotron (don't know what that is? Here's your chance to find out!): "we’re inviting you to submit a story of up to 3,000 words inspired by Diamond – the facility, the science and the people. There’s also a Flash Fiction prize for stories under 300 words. Stories can be in any genre and there is no minimum word limit. The top three writers will receive a cash prize, and these, along with those highly commended by the judges, will be published in an anthology of short stories." £500 first prize. Entry online only, open to all.

I'll stop there for the moment... got to go do some writing. Good luck to all!

Celebrating the short story - Part 3

One lovely thing that has emerged from the fight to stop BBC Radio 4 cutting its once-daily Afternoon Reading short story program to once-weekly is the wealth of wonderful messages left by those signing the petition to protest the cuts. Here are a few:

"Short stories are gems that light up our lives. Please retain them on Radio 4. Readers, writers and listeners all have our lives enriched by short fiction. I urge you to reconsider and then reverse this extraordinary decision."

"My father went blind in his later years and relied on audio recordings. Yes, there are audio books but the whole point to the radio is to have an opportunity to taste the unexpected."

"I've been learning English by reading AND listening to short stories. Reducing the short story output on Radio damages not only the pleasure of the listeners but culture/education/learning also."

Radio 4 has always been a beacon of light in the world of the short story - why turn off that light when it costs so little and achieves so much?  

My husband doesn't really enjoy reading, but will happily listen to short stories on Radio 4 and will thoroughly enjoy them. If we're listening in the car we have stay there until the story is finished, even if we've reached our destination! Far too important to cut back.

"I LOVE the short story slot. I switch on my radio at 3.30pm purely for that and nothing else...I even listen to the end of Money Box Live so I don't miss the beginning of the story. It is the one moment in my day where I can switch off from everything else and enter another world. We all need stories: they make us understand the world in which we live. They persuade us to empathise, to see another perspective, to understand other cultures, to imagine ourselves in someone else's shoes. Stories are what make us human and interactive. Don't take them away."

Click here to read more comments... and don't forget to sign!

Some more story positivity - Vanessa's comment on my last blog post needed a bit more exposure:

...Philip Pullman, speaking last night in support of the Save Our Six Libraries initiative, came out strongly in support of story. And spoken story. And the importance of hearing fiction read, (he talked about children, but in context, in a celebration of language - and his remarks can equally be applied to radio, and adults...)

Yippee! Save the libraries too...

And finally, a great way to celebrate the short story is to send your own stories out into the world, so here are a few upcoming deadlines for you:

July 31st: Sean O'Faolain Short Story Prize: Judged this year by Ian Wild. Entry fee €15, US $20 or £15, up to 3000 words. Prize is €1,500 for the overall winner, €500 for 2nd prize and €120 for four shortlisted stories. Online or postal entry.

August 12th: Manchester Fiction Prize: Judged by Heather Beck, John Burnside, Alison MacLeod and Nicholas Royle . Entry fee £15, up to 3000 words. Prize is £10,000 for the overall winner. Online or postal entry. All work submitted for consideration must be the entrant's own original writing, and should not have appeared in print or appear on a website (including blogs and social networking sites) or have been broadcast, or be submitted for publication or consideration elsewhere, for the duration of the Manchester Fiction Prize (which is deemed to begin on the date of entry and end on Friday 14th October 2011)

Sept 21st: Glasswoman Prize: a work of short fiction or creative non-fiction (prose) written by a woman. No entry fee, 50  to 5000 words. Prize is $500 for the overall winner, €100 for 2nd prize and €50 for runner-up. Online entry. Subject is open, but must be of significance to women

Upcoming deadlines

It's been a while since I did one of my "writers' service announcement" blog posts with some upcoming deadlines, and I am feeling pretty congested today and not up to anything more thoughtful, so here are some places to send your very talented short stories (and the odd poem). Good luck!

Hippocrates Prize for Poetry and Medicine contest deadline Jan 31st.

£5000  1st prize , £1000  2nd prize, £ 500  3rd prize, 20 commended entries £50. "‘Medical’ is to be interpreted in the widest sense, including the nature of the body, and anatomy; the history, evolution, current and future state of medical science; the nature and experience of tests; the experience of doctors, nurses and other staff in hospitals and in the community; the experience of patients, families, friends and carers in these situations; the experiences of acute and long-term illness and dying, of birth, of cure and convalescence; the patient journey; the nature and experience of treatment with herbs, chemicals and devices used in medicine". Entry maximum of 50 lines not including title or blank lines. Entry fee £6, entry online or by post. Open to all. 

Orlando Prize contest deadline Jan 31st. (women only)

poetry (90 lines), creative non-fiction (4000words), short fiction (4000 words) & Flash fiction(1000 words). £1000 1st prize in each category .Entry fee $15. Women only. Online entry only. 

Readers' Digest 100 Word Story competition deadline Jan 31st

£5000 1st prize in each category. Entries should be an original, previously unpublished story of exactly 100 words (excluding title). There is no limit to the number of entries you can make. No entry fee. Online entry only. 

Lumen/Camden Poetry Competition deadline  feb 14th

£5000 1st prize in each category Poems up to 40 lines. £2.50 per poem, 6 poems £10. Poetry must not be previously published. Judge: Carol Ann Duffy, Poet Laureate. Proceeds to the Cold Weather Shelter. Pamphlet publication collection of winner's poems - 50 free copies plus a reading. 

Binnacle Ultra-Short Story deadline Feb 15th
"We are looking for prose works of 150 words or fewer and poetry of sixteen lines or fewer and fewer than 150 words. All works should have a narrative element to them.  Please include the work in the body of the email message, if possible. A minimum of $300 in cash prizes will be awarded, with a minimum prize of $50.  Please submit no more than two works total, prose and/or poetry." No entry fee. Online entry only. 

Vestal Review Ten Years in Flash Fiction contest deadline Feb 28th (extended)

£100  1st prize, 2nd prize £ 50. Guest judge Steve Almond will award the first prize of $100, the second prize of $50, and the third prize a signed copy of Mark Budman's novel “My Life at First Try” [I interviewed mark about his fabulous "novel-in-flash" here] and publication in Vestal Review. Results will be announced at Vestal Review website on or about March 1, 2011.Entry fee $4. Open to all. Online entry only.  

Redivider Journal First Annual Fiction Contest deadline March 1st
1st prize: $1000 +publication; 2nd prize: $250; 3rd prize: $100. Max word count 8000. Entry fee is $15 and includes a one year subscription to Redivider. Open to all. Online or postal entry.  

Fish Publishing One Page Story Prize deadline March 20th
1st prize:  €1000 +publication; 9 runners up published in anthology. Max word count 300.Entry fee is €14 online or  €16 postal entry. Open to all

Bristol Short Story Prize deadline March 31st [I am one of the judges] 
PRIZE MONEY HAS DOUBLED THIS YEAR! 1st prize: £1000 +£150 Waterstone's Gift Card: 2nd prize: £700 + £100 Waterstone's Gift Card; 3rd prize: £ 400 + £100 Waterstone's Gift Card; 17 finalists £100. Max word count 3000, no minimum. Entry fee £7. Open to all. Online or postal entry.  

The Collagist 2011 Chapbook Contest deadline April 15th

1st prize: publication by Dzanc Books, plus $250 and 25 author copies; 2 Honorable mentions, possible publication. Entries will be accepted in all genres, including short stories, flash fiction, novellas, poetry, and non-fiction. Manuscripts for all genres should be between 35 and 80 pages in length. Previously-published excerpts or individual pieces are acceptable as part of your entry, but the manuscript as a whole must be unpublished. Entry fees: $15:; $20: Includes contest entry fee plus a copy of the winning chapbook (only available to U.S. entrants) Includes contest entry fee only. Open to all except relatives, close friends, and former students of the judge, Matt Bell.

Addendum: A few more!
Treehouse Press Three-in-One Chapbook Contest deadline March 15th

First, second and third prize winners will each be published in a chapbook by Treehouse Press in September 2011. Winners will receive £100, £75 and £50 respectively, as well as 20 copies of their chapbook. Each entry must contain 3 short stories by the same author (between 10,000 and 15,000 words in total). Winning entries will each have their own chapbook published. Stories can be in any genre. We welcome experimental work, cross−genre work, work that combines text and image, graphic short stories (ie. comics). Treehouse Press will not select winning entries based on race, sex, gender identity, sexuality, religion, age, nationality, physical ability, or geographic location. Quality of work is what we're looking for, as well as work that reflect our ethos.. Entry fees: £10/$15. Open to all.


Short FICTION's short story competition, deadline is 30th April
First prize £500. Word limit is 6,000. Judge: Gerard Donovan. Here's the link. Open to writers at any stage of their career, so ones with books out too. Entry fee: 2 stories for £10, which includes copy of the journal's next issue (which costs £10).

A prose poem and some upcoming deadlines

I am now officially a writer of prose poems! My first one has just been published by the Prose Poem Project, and that's how I found out that it actually was a prose poem. Sometimes it's wise to leave the labels to other people.

I wanted to say enormous congratulations to my writer friends - online and offline - who have been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize in all three categories, short story, flash fiction and poetry. The official shortlists won't be unveiled til Oct 31st, so for the moment, you know who you are!

On that note, a few upcoming deadlines, in all three of those categories:

Opium magazine's Shya Scanlon 7-line contest, October 4th: "The rules? Write a story or prose poem that is seven lines or less (8.5" x 11" paper with 1" margins). The winning story along with runners-up — and as many as 10 finalists — will be featured in Opium11, slated for release in March 2011. (We will not accept previously published work.) Grand prize of $1,000 (or the second- and third-place prize of $100)"  The wondrous Amy Hempel is judging!


Genomics Forum Poetry competition, Oct 7th:  "Write a poem of no more than 50 lines on the theme of ‘improving the human’. First prize is £500, second prize is £200, and third prize is £100." This sounds like fun, I might even have a go, prose poems count too, don't they?

PANK magazine's 1001 Awesome Words contest - new deadline 15th October: "Any form or formlessness, 1,001 words or less. You know who you are. Now go to it. 1st Place: $650* and publication in PANK 5.2nd Place: $150 and Publication in PANK 5 ." PANK loves wierd stuff, so if that's what you write, send it in!

Sunday Times EFG Private Bank short story competition, Oct 30th:  £30,000 first prize (yes, really! that's what happens when you run a competition in partnership with a BANK). "The award aims to honour the finest writers of short stories in the UK and Ireland. It is open to authors with a previous record of publication in creative writing. Entries may be previously unpublished, or first published or scheduled for publication after 1 January 2010. All entries must be under 6,000 words and entirely original."  And... entries by POST only. They publish the longlist, so if you're eligible to enter, it's worth it. I know two of those who were longlisted so it's not all star-studded Big Names, and in fact almost all the BNs didn't get from the longlist to the shortlist, so there.

Writers Digest short story competition, Dec 1st: "We're looking for fiction that's bold, brilliant...but brief. Send us your best in 1,500 words or fewer.First Place: $3,000 and a trip to the Writer's Digest Conference in New York City Second Place: $1,500 Third Place: $500 Fourth Through Tenth Place: $100 Eleventh Through Twenty-Fifth Place: $50 gift certificate for Writer's Digest Books" Lots of prizes on offer here and "only" 1500 words to wow them with. Get your entry in early, that's my ex-judge's tip. Who knows if it helps!

That's all for now, folks. Good luck to you all!

Addendum:

Thank you to Sarah for this: Troubadour Poetry prize, deadline 15 Oct: "Poems must be in English, must each be no longer than 45 lines, must fit on one page of A4, must be the original work of the entrant and must not have been previously broadcast or published (in print or online)- shortest turnround of any major competition: poems in on/by Fri 15th Oct, winners know by Mon 22nd Nov, results by e-mail to everyone else after announcement on evening of Mon 29th Nov;- no sifters/chuckers-out, both judges read every poem;- not just £1000 top prize but 22 other prizes and the chance for every prizewinner to read at Troubadour Prize Celebration on Mon 29th Nov;- every submission, whether one poem or ten, supports our fortnightly Monday night readings in London's liveliest, longest-running and best-loved literary landmark venue, now surviving without Arts Council support and relying increasingly on poets around the country and around the world to keep literature 'live' in London."

Addendum 2: And thanks to Nuala for this: Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Prize, Dec 15th deadline."first prize of €1,000 (on 1 October 2010 approx. US$1365 or UK£850) and publication in Southword Literary Journal. If the winner comes to Cork to collect their prize in February 2011, we will lavish them with hotel accommodation, meals, drinks and VIP access to the literary stars for three days during the Cork Spring Literary Festival. There will be a second prize of €500, third prize of €250, and ten runners-up will each have their poems published in Southword and receive Southword’s standard fee of €30. The current judge is Leanne O'Sullivan, who will read each and every entry herself". This competition is being run by the Munster Literature Centre, for whom I judged the Sean O'Faolain prize, so I can vouch for them - and I can say that Leanne's poetry is absolutely breathtaking, so even if you don't enter, check her out.

Memories and future memories

I am in Manchester, getting together with a few friends, chatting about writing and other stuff. And today, before I head back to Bristol, I thought I would go and wander around where I used to live when I was here as a student, 20 (!) years ago. I found the street I lived on in my 2nd and 3rd years, and as I wandered, bizarre snippets of memories came back to me. I couldn't remember exactly which tiny Victorian terraced house we lived in, so I wandered back and off to the Physics department, where I had spent so much of my time.

Manchester has changed almost beyond recognition since I lived here - the Maths Tower where I spent half my time has been torn down! But... in Physics, time stands still. Exactly exactly the same. I sat at the back of one of the lecture halls, dark and silent except for an odd buzzing, and was quite overwhelmed. I let feeling emotional, and not in a good way. The whole experience made me think of the choices I made then and since. Risks I could have taken then but insecurities that held me back. I was so so young. Weren't we all. I think that will be my last trip down that particular memory lane. Done.

Anyway, onto more positive news: The White Road and Other Stories is now available for the Kindle! Yes, I've gone all e-book-ish. I have no Kindle, never even seen one, so if you do have one and fancy purchasing TWR, I'd love to know how it looks, how it reads....







A Few Writers' Service Announcements:
The V S Pritchett Memorial Prize is looking for entries: 2000-5000 word short story, postal entry, deadline 30th June. Ist prize £1000. (I just wrote to them suggesting they follow the Sunday Times short story competition's lead and publish a longlist, so fingers crossed...)

The BBC Short Story Award closes this Friday, June 18th... and the Bridport Prize, which this year has a FLASH category for the first time, closes on June 30th.

If you want some stimulation and guidance to get you writing that winning story, my friend and writing colleague Vicky Grut, is running just the workshop you need on June 26th, just in time!

WRITING SHORT STORIES: June 26, 10.30-4pm

What makes a great short story? Do short stories need a plot? What about a ‘twist’ at the end? Where can you publish? We’ll look at these and other questions, and, using writing exercises, will explore elements of short-form storytelling in practice. Participants will be asked to read a couple of short stories in advance (texts will be supplied).

What people said about this workshop last year:

· Somehow, seeing the variety and quality of what other people – and you yourself! – can come up with on the spur of the moment, restores one’s faith in the human ability to be immensely creative.

· Vicky’s chairmanship was excellent. She kept firm hold of what we were doing and where we were going (so we didn’t waste time), at the same time as drawing everyone out and getting us all participating fully. She knows her stuff.

· A very supportive environment. Great balance between practical and talking and discussing - feel I learned a lot from both. You were probably altering what you did to fit the group and choreographing madly but were so calm and effortless that there was no pressure to do things or feelings of being rushed / incompleteness

· Thank you for today's class. I wish we had one every Saturday!

Workshop leader Vicky Grut’s awards for short fiction include the Chapter One International Short Story prize in 2006, and an Asham Award in 2009. Her stories have appeared in magazines and collections including Random Factor (Pulp Books, 1997), Reshape Whilst Damp (Serpent’s Tail, 2000), Valentine’s Day: Stories of Revenge (Duckworth, 2000), two volumes of the British Council anthology New Writing: 13 (Picador 2005) and 14 (Granta, 2006), and Waving at the Gardener (Bloomsbury, 2009). She is a reader for The Literary Consultancy and has taught for the Open University, The Arvon Foundation and London South Bank University.

The workshop costs £70, which includes tea, coffee and a sandwich lunch. Central London venue. Small group.

For moreinformation or to book visit the website or e-mail londonwritingworkshops@googlemail.com

I'd better sort my submissions out. Just getting used to my new laptop! (Cleo is doing well, improving every day, thank goodness). And the sun is shining! Not the Manchester I remember :)

Bristol: Stories, Books and Science!

Bristol is a really great city for things writing-related. First, you have SEVEN hours to get your entry in for this year's Bristol Short Story prize - deadline midnight tonight, UK time (British Summer Time, we just turned the clocks forward). Stories 3000 words maximum or much shorter (wow us in 1000 words, or even 300). Anonymously judged, of course. Open to any writer anywhere in the world!

To entice you, the prizes are: 1st-£500 plus £150 Waterstone’s Gift Card, 2nd -£350 plus £100 Waterstone’s Gift Card, 3rd -£200 plus £100 Waterstone’s Gift Card. Each of the 17 remaining shortlisted finalists will receive a cheque for £50. Not to be sniffed at! Enter now!


Second, 18 months after the book came out, I finally got to be a guest at a book club! Here is the wonderful Brislington Library Book Group, with my book (nicely plasticized in that way libraries do):

 
That was already a thrill, it really made me feel like a proper Author all over again. The book group, half of whose members are also in the library's writing group, were delightful, they were interested and interesting, asking questions and also sharing their thoughts about my stories, about writing in general, about books. They made me think about a lot of things - am I a romantic? Why do I go in for short story competitions? What is my next goal? And then, the biggest compliment - when they gave the library copies back, they bought 5 copies of my book to take home.

Chris from Bristol Libraries whisked my books off to the next library, where I'll be chatting in a few weeks, a few days after I read at the 40th birthday celebrations for another of Bristol's libraries, in Henleaze, a great honour. I love libraries, I can't quite get over the idea of free books. Not having that for the past 15 years, it's like walking into a sweet shop! Not that many short story collections on the shelves, but I recommended some other books to this book group and said I'd be happy to let them know about even more, and maybe a short story shelf?

Third, today was Science Day. I spent the afternoon with the members of a fascinating biochemistry lab at the University, being shown around the lab, with me asking silly questions about cells and microscopes, and also about how the life of a scientist works. It was so interesting, and I am going back at 10am tomorrow (yes, bit early for me) to watch an experiment. This is the start of my "embedding" and I will be blogging about it on the Science Faculty website shortly, will link from here. 3 1/2 hours was so much stimulation, my brain was whirring with ideas. I can't wait to see what comes out of it!

Cold cold cold

Ok, so England has a lot going for it - every week I am delighted to find an invitation in my Inbox asking me to read here or there, talk about short stories, eat cake. What more can a girl want? But it's COLD and I have my second cold in a month, just after having recovered from 3 weeks of flu. Feeling rotten.

The nice things are: two stories in this month's Climate issue of Litro. I've long wanted to crack this one, the literary mag that's distributed on the London underground, and in Cafe Rouge too, apparently! Let me know if you see it around. Feel free to leave a comment on the online version, if you are so moved.

Also: I'm reading at Short Fuse's Hair-themed event tonight  in Brighton, which I am so excited about. Luckily I'm reading Plaits, which is very short! For a sneak preview (or post-view), here's my reading it at the Frank O'Connor fest in sept 2008:



Instead of me moaning about my cold, which could go on and on, let me get excited about friends' achievements instead. Whoo hoo to Adam Marek, getting onto the shortlist for the £25,000 (yes, that's 000) Sunday Times EFG short story award! Kudos to the Sunday Times for several things:

1. They published a longlist of 20 stories, thus giving 14 writers a chance in the spotlight, not just the 6 who were shortlisted.
2. The longlist was a mix of Booker-Nominated Names and Real People - and the shortlist had no BNN, and almost all Real People so clearly this is a prize that, while not judged anonymously, was not just about using BNNs to publicise the prize.

Congrats to all the shortlist: Will Cohu, Joe Dunthorne, Petina Gappah, CK Stead and David Vann!

A Few Deadlines:

March 20th FISH One Page prize: 300 words.

March 30th Short FICTION's New Writer competition: open to writers who haven't published a collection of fiction. Any length short story is accepted.

***March 31st Bristol Short Story prize: 3000 words max, no min. I am one of the judges for this comp.

March 31st Commonwealth Broadcasting Association Short Story Competition: 600 words, general, or children's story or story about science, tech & society


March 31st Yellow room Short Story Competition: 2500 words, prize for best story under 800 words.

Upcoming Deadlines etc...

It's been a while since I did one of these so here's my Writers Service Announcement about some upcoming deadlines of interest:

JUST ADDED**
25 January Mslexia Women’s Short Story Competition
Max length 2200 words. You have to be a woman to enter - from anywhere!  1st Prize £2,000 plus a one-week writing retreat* at Chawton House Library (accommodation only) and a day with a Virago editor** 2nd prize £500 3rd prize £250 3 other finalists will win £100 each. Postal entry - online for non-UK writers. £8 fee per story.


Feb 5th: The Verb's Chekhov short story competition:
The radio programme on BBC Radio 3 is celebrating 150 years since Chekhov's birth with a Chekhov-themed comp open to all UK resident non-professional writers (i.e. writers who derive no more than 50% of their income from writing - so, basically, only JK Rowling is  disqualified! - over the age of 16 at the closing date of the competition). The prize is having your story read out on air. Details:

"The Verb would like you to send us an original short story of 1000 words, using one of the following Chekhov titles:

1. The Lady with the Dog
2. Difficult People
3. The Lottery Ticket

Please don’t call your story Difficult Dogs, or The Lady with the Ticket! These will not be considered. You don’t have to use the same characters, or setting – you don’t even have to have read the original story - but we will be awarding points for a certain Chekhovian spirit. Please check our terms and conditions, below, before sending your entry to: theverb@bbc.co.uk"

Feb 8th: Succour mag 400 words Feb 8th:
I like this: Succor's latest call for submissions is a little different:

For Succour 11, our Spring/Summer 2010 issue, we would like to invite submissions which pertain not to a theme, as has hitherto been the case, but which adhere to a pair of conditions.
Condition 1: All submissions should be written on Saturday February 6th, 2010.
Condition 2: What you write should not be an attempt to execute an idea – for a story, for a poem, etc – that has previously occurred to you. Rather, we would prefer you to write whatever happens to come into your head at that particular time.

We will be accepting submissions to February 6th, 2010 from Saturday February 6th 2010 until Monday February 8th 2010 – thereby allowing a couple of days for typing up etc.

Maximum word count: 400

Feb 15th: Ambit's 200 word comp:
To celebrate UK mag Ambit's 200th issue, they want 200 words of prose or poetry - which actually means no shorter than 196, no longer that 204 including the title. Nice prizes for 200 words: 1st prize: £500, 2nd prize: £200, 3rd prize: £75. Open to anyone, anywhere, over 16. Postal entry only, sadly. £4 for the first entry and £3 for subsequent entries

Feb 28th: Summer Literary Seminars' Unified Contest:

One short story or novel excerpt, maximum 25 pages per entry, or up to three poems.

Contest winners in the categories of fiction and poetry will have their work published in Fence, as well as the participating literary journals in Canada, Lithuania and Kenya. Additionally, they will have the choice of attending (airfare, tuition, and housing included) any one of the SLS-2010 programs – in Montreal, Quebec Vilnius, Lithuania; or Nairobi-Lamu, Kenya. 2nd place winners will receive a full tuition waiver for the program of their choice, and third-place winners will receive a 50% tuition discount. A number of select contest participants, based on the overall strength of their work, will be offered tuition scholarships, as well, applicable to the SLS-2010 programs. $15 per entry, online and postal entry.

March 20th: Fish One-Page Comp: 300 words or less.Nice prizes:First Prize - €1,000.Nine runners-up will be published in the Anthology and will each receive €50 plus five complementary copies of the Anthology. Open to anyone, anywhere.  Online entry €12, postal entry €15. Bit steep but great prizes and great exposure.

March 31st - entries accepted from Feb 15th: Commonwealth short story Comp:
600 words or less. First prize of £2,000 Special and Regional prizes of £500. No entry fee. And this year: special prizes for the best children's story and the best story concerning Science, Technology and Society, the Commonwealth Day theme for 2010.(yes, that one got me excited...!)

Also: the two comps I am on the judging panel for are:
26 Feb  Brit writers awards:
For one-off admin fee of £10.95, you can submit an unlimited number of entries. Short stories (minimum 1,000 and maximum 5,000 words).

March 31st  The Bristol Short Story Prize: 
3000 words max - but can be much shorter. open to anyone, anywhere:

The 20 shortlisted writers will be invited to an awards ceremony hosted by Waterstone’s in the centre of Bristol when the winners will be announced and the 2009 Anthology launched. Prizes : Ist- £500 plus £150 Waterstone’s gift card, 2nd- £350 plus £100 Waterstone’s gift card, 3rd- £ 200 plus £100 Waterstone’s gift card. Shortlisted writers get £50. All 20 shortlisted stories will be published in Volume 3 of the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology. Entry fee of £7 per stor. Stories can be on any theme or subject and are welcome in any style whether it be graphic, verse or genre-based.

For even more.. check out Sally Quillford's excellent new Writing Calendar.
May all your submisssions be sent with joy and come back to you with more joy!

Short Story Stuff

It's very hot here today, a sharav or hamsin, a hot desert wind, so I am staying in. I shall retreat to my cool cellar/workroom shortly, even though it means navigating the heat of the garden. Wish me luck. In the meantime, fellow Salt author and blogger Elizabeth Baines has an excellent article about the short story in the Writers Guild magazine:

...stories seem to me more like poetry than novels, and, having written both stories and novels, I’d also say that in this way they are harder (but also wonderfully satisfying) to write. And the experience of writing them is very different, I find. Writing a novel feels like an ongoing forwards rush (however non-linear the novel), but writing a story is like dropping a stone into water and watching the ripples as they form outwards in every direction.

Elizabeth ends on an optimistic note about the short story (and mentions me, thank you Elizabeth!). Read her article here.

A few more deadlines:

1. I got an email this morning from the lovely folk at the City of Derby Competition, so I am assuming entries haven't been as plentiful as they had hoped. Here's your chance! £500, £250 and £150 for first, second and third places. Deadline is 31st May, word length 5000 words, previously unpublished stories only. £4 for the first entry, $3 for any subsequent entry, postal and online. International entries welcome!
   
2. Also with a 31st May deadline is the VS Pritchett Memorial prize, offered by the Royal Society of Literature, which this year is in collaboration with Prospect magazine, and the winner will be announced at the Small Wonder short story festival in Charleston. Only open to citizens of the UK and Republic of Ireland, or those who have been resident for at least 3 years. Winner receives £1000, last year four runners-up were also announced. Entries must be unpublished and between 2000 and 5000 words. Postal entry only, £5 for each story, click here for the Entry Form (PDF).
3. A competition to start writing a story for now is the Flatmancrooked short story competition, judged by the wondrous Aimee Bender. Word limit 7000 words, deadline Aug 15th, first prize $1000. The first 50 entrants receive a free copy of the magazine's Winter issue. Online entries only, $15 per entry. Entries must be "previously unpublished and unawarded, and not accepted by any other venue at time of submission or at any other point when the contest is open."

Also, writer service announcement: for those of you who entered the Binnacle Ultra-Short Competition, if you didn't get the email this morning, they are apologising for the delay and will have results by June 15th instead of May 15th. How kind of them to let us know, well-deserving of Vanessa's Courteous Editors Award!

Wigleaf Top 50 and Upcoming Deadlines

I woke up this morning, back in Israel, with a heavy cold, and, inspired by a friend, said to the Universe: "Surprise and delight me!". And, what do you know? It did. I was utterly bowled over to discover that my flash story, Come Back Tomorrow, originally published in Dogzplot, has been selected by Darlin' Neal for Wigleaf's Top 50 Very Short Fictions of 2009 (stories under 1000 words published in 2008 in US-based journals are eligible).

I remember looking at their first Top 50 last year with great envy! What a nice thing to happen of a morning. I am in amazing company in the Top 50, and in the long shortlist of 200 from which the 50 was picked, including Sarah Hilary and Aimee Bender! This is not just an honour but these lists are a wonderful resource for flash writers, providing a wealth of literary journals to read and submit to. Do go and have a look.

On that note, here are some upcoming deadlines - always worth getting your entry in early (which I never manage to do but always aspire to!):

Only 4 more days! May 11th: Commonwealth Short Short Story competition: Commonwealth citizens only. No entry fee, up to 3 entries, 600 words. Prize is £2000 for the overall winner, and £500 each for regional winners. I can personally recommend this competition (!). Free entry, online!!

June 15th: BBC National Short Story Award 2009: UK citizens or residents only. Judged this year by singer-songwriter Will Young (!!), broadcaster and journalist Tom Sutcliffe (chair), author Dame Margaret Drabble, Orange Prize winner Helen Dunmore and BBC Radio 4’s Editor Di Speirs. No entry fee, 8000 words, must have publishing track record. Prize is £15000 for the overall winner, and £3000 for the runner up, £500 for three further shortlisted stories. Free entry, but postal only

June 30th: Bridport Prize: Judged this year by Ali Smith (Fiction) and Jackie Kay (Poetry). Entry fee £7 per story, £6 per poem as many as you want to enter, maximum 5000 words (no minimum), poetry 42 lines max. Prize is £5000 for the overall winner of either category, £1000 for 2nd place, £500 for third. Online or postal entry.

July 31st: Sean O'Faolain Short Story Prize: Judged this year by Philip Ó Ceallaigh. Entry fee €15, up to 3000 words. Prize is €1,500 for the overall winner, €500 each for the runner-up and €100 for four shortlisted stories. Online or postal entry.

August 9th: Happenstance Short Story Competition: Judged this year by Janice Galloway (Read Sara's review of her book here.). Entry fee £5 (£6 online entry), up to 2500 words. First prize: £150, Second prize: £75, Third prize: £50. Online or postal entry.

August 31st: Juked 2009 Fiction and Poetry Prizes: Judged this year by Dan Chaon (Fiction) and Dora Malech (Poetry). Entry fee $5 per story or oer 5 poems, no length requirement for fiction, ten pages max for poetry. First prize: $500. Online or postal entry.

Some paying lit mag submission deadlines:

May 31st: Going Down Swinging: Poetry, short fiction or non-fiction, flash, comic art, graphic art. GDS pays contributors AUS $75 per short poem / comic or graphic art; $100 per short story / poem / comic over 4 pages. These fees are subject to funding, and may change without notice.

August 15th: Etchings: Theme: Love and Other Things. Fiction, personal & creative essays, poetry, art, and photography for issues 7 and 8. Payment AU$75.


Also: a new blog post on The Short Review blog about the recently-announced Edge Hill Prize for the Short Story shortlist and how it compares to last year.

Coming back down to earth + some deadlines

I'm still floating, still grinning to myself, scaring the cats, still wondering what on earth this all means, how to integrate it into my life. I have asked some trusted advisers for their advice, regarding an agent for example. This makes me more attractive, right? (In publishing-speak only!). Even if I am that dreaded short-story-writer-no-not-planning-to-write-a-novel! But I would like to have an agent, someone interested in my writing, someone nudging me a little every now and then, someone who knows what the next steps might be. There is so much here that is a mystery to me. When I tell people I studied physics, they look at me with wonder, as if it is another planet whose language is known only to the select few. Well, I feel that way about the publishing industry: I don't know the culture, don't know the signs and symbols. A great agent is a translator, explaining what certain gestures mean, what the words and phrases stand for. I would be very happy to have that in my life. Will keep you updated.

Update: OK, that was quick, the universe works in scary ways: just got a message from my lovely publisher, Jen, that an "agent scout" has been in touch to ask for my book. Exciting! Something about "if she writes a novel...". Ah yes. No comment!

In the meantime, a few deadlines for you:

Comps

Extended to April 30th: Short FICTION Third Annual New Writer competition: Prize is £300 plus publication in Issue 3 of Short FICTION (due out September 2009). Writers without fiction book publication (of novel or short stories) are eligible. Entries must be of previously unpublished work (in magazine or online). Submitted stories must be under 5000 words. There is no theme restriction.

May 11th: Commonwealth Short Short Story competition: Commonwealth citizens only. No entry fee, up to 3 entries, 600 words. Prize is £2000 for the overall winner, and £500 each for regional winners. I can personally recommend this competition (!). Free entry!!

Some paying lit mag submission deadlines (coincidentally, both are Australian!):

April 15th: Etchings: Theme: From Dusk til Dawn. Fiction, personal & creative essays, poetry, art, and photography for issues 7 and 8. Payment AU$75.

May 31st: Going Down Swinging: Poetry, short fiction or non-fiction, flash, comic art, graphic art. GDS pays contributors AUS $75 per short poem / comic or graphic art; $100 per short story / poem / comic over 4 pages. These fees are subject to funding, and may change without notice.


And thanks to Tom for this, in honour of National Poetry month. Love it.

PS One more competition deadline

Today has been a long and intense one, and I will blog about it at some point, but in the meantime, one more comp:

March 30th: Short FICTION Third Annual New Writer competition: Prize is £300 plus publication in Issue 3 of Short FICTION (due out September 2009). Writers without fiction book publication (of novel or short stories) are eligible. Entries must be of previously unpublished work (in magazine or online). Submitted stories must be under 5000 words. There is no theme restriction.
.

Writer Service Announcement: Upcoming Deadlines

What do you think of the new look? I just discovered (after the rest of the world, it seems) that Blogger's own templates are not the only templates... there are loads of free templates out there for the taking. This one is called Rotterdam and is designed by Pannasmontata. I love the picture, something very calming about it.

On to the Writer Service Announcement. Here are some upcoming short story competition deadlines you might want to know about. (As usual, all links open new windows/tabs, so feel free to click all of them without fear.)

Feb 14th: Writers & Artists Yearbook: 2000 words, win £500 and a place on an Arvon Foundation writing course worth £575. Online entry. No fee.

Feb 15th: The Binnacle 6th Ultra-Short competition: 150 words, $300 in prizes, min $50. All finalists published in beautiful ultra-short edition. (See my blog post). Online entry. No fee. 2 stories max.

Feb 28th: Summer Literary Seminars: 25 pages (approx 5000 words), winners receive publication in Fence magazine, as well as the participating literary journals in Canada, Russia, Kenya, Italy, and Lithuania. Additionally, the winner will have the choice of attending (including airfare, program fee, and housing) one of the SLS-09 programs – in Vasto, Abruzzo, Italy (May 15-30); Vilnius-Nida, Lithuania (July 20-August 4); or Nairobi-Lamu, Kenya (December). Online entry. $15 fee.

March 6th: Symphony Space Selected Shorts: 600 words, "a single short story that contains a surprise", win $1000 will be read as part of the Selected Shorts performance at Symphony Space on May 20, 2009. Online entry. $10.

March 20th: Fish One-Page Short Competition: 300 words, win €1000, nine runners-up €50, publication in Fish anthology. Online entry. €12.

(opens Feb 15th) March 31st: 10th Raymond Carver Short Story Comp: 6000 words, "a single short story that contains a surprise", win $1000, $750, $500, 2 Editor's Choice prizes $250, publication in Carvezine. Online entry. $15.

March 31st: Press 53 Flash 750 words, short short 1500 words, short 5000 (see site for other categories). previously published pieces are accepted. Win glass trophy and publication in anthology. Online entry. $15.

March 31st: Bristol Short Story Prize 3000 words. Win £500, £300, £250 (plus Waterstone's gift cards), 17 runners-up receive £50, publication in annnual prize anthology. "We also welcome stories in any style- graphic, verse, genre-based, etc., etc." Online entry. £7.

March 31st: Jane Austen Short Story Award 2000-2500 words, inspired by Jane Austen or her writing. Win £1000, 2 runners-up £200, all three win week's writing retreat at Chawton House, 15 shortlisted win £40, publication in annual prize anthology. " Postal entry. £10.

There is no harm getting your story in early, as Women Rule Writer mentioned in her very useful post about judging a short story comp. That said, I am always a last-minute-entry kinda gal. That's just the way I work..


Other news: It has been Rejection City over here at TaniaWrites since the new year began. I never mention all the rejection just so you can think I have a 100% success rate! Duotrope, the best friend of any writer who loves statistics that may or may not mean everything or nothing, tells me my acceptance rate is actually 25%, which sounds about right. So, anyway, this morning I woke up to a rejection and an acceptance, which just sets the day up beautifully! The rejection was for a flash story that was one of the five accepted for publication by Pank, a new magazine I found a few weeks ago and mentioned in my Source of Lit a few weeks ago. A new venue, I am delighted... but am dubious as to whether they have actually accepted all five flashes, which were sent in one document. I am sure they will set me straight later on, but for the moment let's assume it's all of 'em, yippee!

Addendum: I just heard back from Pank, they are accepting all five flashes for publication. Wow! That makes up for January's rejections.