In its 2013 call, the contest “A Sea of Words” Anna Lindh Foundation

Introduction

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In its 2013 call, the contest “A Sea of Words” is being held for the sixth time with the objective of contributing to the promotion of dialogue between peoples and the exchange of knowledge and experiences between different local and international traditions. Within the framework of the European Year of Citizens, the contest addresses the vision and expectations of youths in relation to the issue of building citizenship in the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean area.

The contest focuses on the production of short stories whose content is linked to the creation or consolidation of dynamics aimed at fostering voluntary work, a key element of active citizenship that helps to promote intergenerational solidarity, the evolution of values and societies, and the expression of the different sensibilities and realities of youths in the region.
Literary creation is a fundamental means of expressing and describing events, ideas and emotions that can be directly transmitted to and by youths from the whole of the Euro-Mediterranean area. From this point of view, the objective is to produce literary accounts that are based on reality or are purely fictional.

  Organized with:

Within the framework of:

Bare Hands Poetry - Submissions .Deadline today

Submissions

These are the guidelines for submitting to our monthly journal -

Deadline today for our georgeous Bare Hands Poetry journal

Bare Hands Poetry - Submissions

barehandspoetry.tumblr.com

Submissions These are the guidelines for submitting to our monthly journal -

Poetry

To submit please send max five poems to barehandspoetry@gmail.com
Include poems in the body of the email rather than as attachments
Mark the subject field as ‘poetry submission’
Please include a short biography
We are now accepting voice recordings of poems. Please send us the text of your poem as above and attach the recording to the email. Mp3 files only.
Photography
Send max three photographs to barehandspoetry@gmail.com
Attach them as jpegs
Mark the subject field as ‘photography submission’
Please include a short biography and links to your work!

All copyright remains with the poets and photographers.

Novel Fair 2013 Competition Winners Announced

Novel Fair 2013 Competition Winners Announced!

The winners of the Novel Fair Competition 2013 have been announced! Judges Arlene Hunt and Maria Dickenson read 300 manuscripts, poring over each one to make sure that this year’s winners are of the highest standard. The finalists are (in no particular order):

White Feathers by Susan Lanigan
The Bee Orchid by Seán Mackel
Forfeit by Laura McKenna
The Ironman by Mairéad Rooney
Whitewater Church by Andrea Carter
A Soldier’s Wife by Marion Reynolds
The Fall of a Sparrow by Madeline B. Moran
Eleanor Grace by Betty Codd
Cliona’s Wave by Donal Minihane
Chasing the Tiger by Kevin Doyle

Jennifer Johnston, Dermot Bolger , Mary Costello In Converstion.2013 Bealtaine Festival

Jennifer Johnston, Dermot Bolger & Mary Costello In Converstion

Gathering around the table these three writers will discuss their work and ponder what the concerns for different generations of writers are - do they differ over time?

This event is part of the 2013 Bealtaine Festival In keeping with theme of this year's festival; the Irish Writers' Centre will celebrate "growth, spring and positivity by focusing on the sharing of influences and experiences.

As well as at shared looking literary influences, the trio will explore how writers engage with contemporary issues from different perspectives. These are issues like the economy (the "Boom-Bust Cycle"), aging and health. Writing has proven itself to be a powerful tool with which to share experience and communicate accumulated wisdom across the generations - we hope to tap it into this rich vein. Any instance of sharing insight is all to the good, providing as it does the entire community with the perspective necessary to face up to the today's challenges.

Admission is €5. To book call the Centre on 01-8721302
Or email info@writerscentre.ie

submissions invited for an ebook anthology of writing and artwork inspired by/in tribute to Anais Nin,

Sybaritic Press (www.sybpress.com) is going to publish an ebook anthology of writing and artwork inspired by/in tribute to Anais Nin, one of the 20th century's greatest writers/diarists/literary icons. It can be a poem, a short story, a photograph, am illustration; something that speaks to the kind of writer she was, what she stood for, or, how she inspired you. *Previously published works will be considered, provided that you include the name/date of the previous publication where the work appeared. Poe...ms: 3 poems max (no more than 50 lines) Prose: 2 pieces max (no more than 1,000 words) Artwork/photos/illustrations: 3 piece max, please send in jpeg format. The deadline is Sunday, May 5, 2013. A $3 honorarium, and a pdf of the anthology. will be provided to those whose work is accepted for publication. Authors/Artists will be provided a contract to sign, and return, no later than June 1, 2013. Send your work, or, queries, in the body of an email to: marie.lecrivain.pd@gmail.com

The South Circular 1st Birthday Party :: Friday 26 April 2013

The Difference Between Writers and Wanna-Bes

The Write Practice joebunting@thewritepractice.com
Does any of this sound familiar?-Interesting extract from article on The Write Practice -read the rest.

Everyone has a book inside of them–you and me included.
However, the more I talk to wanna-be-authors the more I realize few of them are actually writing books.
They’ve got plenty of excuses to avoid writing the book they want to write someday:

• lack of time
• bad grammar and spelling
• one-finger typing skills
• awful handwriting
• too many ideas
• incomplete ideas
• unsure how to find a publisher
• no publishing contract

The problem goes deeper than these self-proclaimed inadequacies. The root of the problem is often fear.
There is always a possibility of failure. Rejection in a guarantee in the writing world. The “what if” realm of possibilities can be more stifling than liberating.
Instead of letting creative juices flow freely, we approach writing with excuses, alternatives for our limited time, and conversations about writing. We should be utilizing this time to actually write.

Live like someone left the gate open......

THE SEÁN Ó FAOLÁIN SHORT

THE SEÁN Ó FAOLÁIN SHORT
STORY COMPETITION

Now open for submissions through 31 July 2013. Read guidelines below carefully before submitting.

Open for submissions from May to July annually.The Munster Literature Centre is a not-for-profit organisation; all moneys raised from the competition benefits writers and writing. Click here to view winners and longlisted/commended authors from previous years, and access links to the winning stories.

First Prize: €2,000 (*approx $2602.11/£1700.04), publication in the literary journal Southword,
AND a week-long residency at Anam Cara Writer's and Artist's Retreat. 

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.

*Currency exchange amounts via XE.com, calculated 10.04.13. If the winner is from outside Ireland, the amount paid will be the equivalent of €2,000, subject to market changes as determined by the bank in September 2013.

Submission deadline: 31 July, 2013. Judge: Joyce Russell

On books and literature.Famous writers comment

• "A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading."
William Styron

"That is part of the beauty of literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you're not lonely and isolated from anyone. You Belong"
 F. Scott Fitzgerald

• "In the highest civilization, the book is still the highest delight. He who has once known its satisfactions is provided with a resource against calamity."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

‘We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.’
Toni Morrison

• "There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them."
Joseph Brodsky

• "To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life."
W Somerset Maugham

• "Every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant, and interesting."
Aldous Huxley

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers."
 Charles W. Eliot

• "Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself. You bring to a novel, anything you read, all your experience of the world. You bring your history and you read it in your own terms."
Angela Carter

"Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures."
 Ralph Waldo Emerson

• "The dearest ones of time, the strongest friends of the soul – BOOKS."
Emily Dickinson

• "We don't need a list of rights and wrongs, tables of dos and don'ts: we need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon forgotten, but Once upon a time lasts forever."
Philip Pullman

• "Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another's skin, another's voice, another's soul."
Joyce Carol Oates

"Lord! when you sell a man a book you don't sell just twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue - you sell him a whole new life. Love and friendship and humour and ships at sea by night - there's all heaven and earth in a book, a real book."
 Christopher Morley

• "I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound or stab us. If the book we're reading doesn't wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for? So that it will make us happy, as you write? Good Lord, we would be happy precisely if we had no books, and the kind of books that make us happy are the kind we could write ourselves if we had to. But we need books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. That is my belief."
Franz Kafka

"There is something called the rapture of the deep, and it refers to what happens when a deep-sea diver spends too much time at the bottom of the ocean and can't tell which way is up. When he surfaces, he's liable to have a condition called the bends, where the body can't adapt to the oxygen levels in the atmosphere.
All of this happens to me when I surface from a great book."
- Nora Ephron

2013 Cúirt Over The Edge Showcase Reading

2013 Cúirt Over The Edge Showcase Reading

Thursday, April 25th, 4:30pm

Town Hall Theatre

All welcome

There is no cover charge

The 2013 Cúirt Over The Edge showcase reading takes place as part of this year's Cúirt International Festival of Literature at the Town Hall Theatre, Galway on Thursday, April 25th, 4:30pm. The writers showcased this year are Dearbhaile Houston, Damian Cunniffe & Eimear Ryan. The reading will be introduced by regular Over The Edge host, Susan Millar DuMars.

This event has grown since its inception in 2006 to become one of Ireland's premier platforms for showcasing new poets and fiction writers. Participating writers have previously been Featured Readers at Ireland's most successful reading series, the Over The Edge: Open Readings in Galway City Library. Hugo Kelly, the winner in the fiction section of the Cúirt New Writing Prize will read with the Over The Edge writers. We also congratulate Caoilinn Hughes, the winner in the poetry section, who is now living in New Zealand and will be unable to make it to read at Cúirt. The Cúirt New Writing Prize is kindly sponsored by Tigh Neactain in memory of Lena Maguire. http://www.cuirt.ie/Site-Content/cuirt-new-writing-prize-submissions-2013.html

The $4,000 Narrative Prize

Narrative Prize

The $4,000 Narrative Prize is awarded annually for the best short story, novel excerpt, poem, one-act play, graphic story, or work of literary nonfiction published by a new or emerging writer in Narrative.

The deadline for entries for each year’s award is June 15.

The winner is announced each September, and the prize is awarded in October. The award, citing the winner’s name and the title and genre of the winning piece, is widely publicized, and each winner is cited in an ongoing listing in Narrative. The prize will be given to the best work published each year in Narrative by a new or emerging writer, as judged by the magazine’s editors. In some years, the prize may be divided between winners, when more than one work merits the award.

www.narrativemagazine.com.

The Bridport Prize poems short stories flash fiction

April 2013 Newsletter The latest news from the Bridport Prize If you haven’t already entered, there are just over 37 days left to submit your winning poems, short stories and flash fictions! Judged by Wendy Cope for poetry, Michèle Roberts for short stories and David Swann for flash fiction, there is a prize fund of £15,925 to be won. For full details, please see our competition rules and entry instructions.  Have you re-registered? If you haven’t yet registered on the new site you will need to do so before you can enter the competition. We were unable to transfer the accounts from the old website, so even if you were registered there, you will need to start again, setting up a new username and password. If you have any difficulties with the website, please contact our web manager, Graham Shackleton: graham@bridportprize.org.uk Should you have any queries about the competition, check our frequently asked questions, or contact the competition administrator, Frances Everitt: frances@bridportprize.org.uk Time is running out - don't miss your chance to enter! Closing date - 31st May 2013

poeticdiversity welcomes submissions

rules for submissions: 1) poeticdiversity welcomes all styles of poetry, from academic to spoken word. We also welcome prose (fiction and nonfiction up to 2,000 words), reviews on books, spoken word CDs, essays on literary-related topics, and author interviews. 2) poeticdiversity will only accept submissions via email or using our online form. Submissions sent by email must be in the body of the email, rich text format preferred, no attachments please. 3) For poetry submissions, please send three poems at a time, and a brief bio, in the text of an email. We require three poems a) for our selection process, and b) to keep on hand for possible publication in future issues. Poetry submissions that do not contain three poems and a brief bio will not be considered. For prose submissions, please send two pieces at a time, and a brief bio, in the text of an email. Prose submissions that do not contain two pieces and a brief bio will not be considered. Reviews and interviews must also be accompanied by a brief bio for consideration of publication. If you have photos to send, please email in JPEG format to the webmaster at webmaster@poeticdiversity.org, along with the tag-line "photo of ------," so we can keep track. If you have merchandise to sell, please send JPEG files to the webmaster, and the contact information on where to purchase the merchandise. 4) Deadline for all submissions is 30 calendar days prior to the next publication date. Example: the next issue is due August 1, 2010, the last date to submit is July 1, 2010. Any work submitted between periods will be held over in consideration for the next issue. 5) Please PROOF your work before sending it to poeticdiversity. This means punctuation, spelling, and our least favorite thing, run-on sentences. You're all writers, and we want to publish your work, but it must read and look its best. We appreciate it - really. 6) All copyrights revert back to the author upon publication. 7) Previously published work will be considered for publication, but with the following caveat; please cite where the work was published for the former, and contact us if your submission was accepted elsewhere for the latter. This will not bar submissions from getting published in poeticdiversity, it's just that every publication has its own rules and we don't want to step on anyone's toes. Simultaneous submissions will not be considered. And yes, we do check! 8) We cannot afford to pay anyone for their work, but sometime in the future, hope to do so. 9) Inquiries may be emailed to marie@poeticdiversity.org.

submit your work using our online form

please send your submissions to:

submissions@poeticdiversity.org

please send your mp3 files and bio jpegs to:

webmaster@poeticdiversity.org

Gemini Magazine Flash Fiction Contest.

GeminiMAGAZINE

 

We are pleased to announce the Fifth Annual Gemini Magazine Flash Fiction Contest.

 

GRAND PRIZE: $1,000. Second place wins $100 and four honorable mentions each receive $25. All six finalists will be published online in the October 2013 issue of Gemini.

 

Maximum length: 1,000 words. Deadline: August 31, 2013. Open to ANY subject, style or genre. Both new and established writers are welcome.

 

ENTRY FEE: just $4 ($3 for each additional flash). Enter by email or snail mail. Full details at www.gemini-magazine.com/contest.html.

 

Kudos to previous fiction contest winners: Beverly Akerman, who won our first Flash Fiction Contest in 2009 for “Pie,” has received multiple awards (the David Adams Prize, the CBC-Scotiabank Giller Prize “Readers' Choice Top 10” and others) for her collection, “The Meaning of Children.” The collection includes “Pie” and 13 other stories.

 

Seamus Scanlon’s “As Close as You’ll Ever Be” was named one of the best short story collections of 2012 by Library Journal. Scanlon won our 2011 Short Story Prize for “My Beautiful, Brash, Beastly Belfast,” which is part of the collection.

 

Look for our May issue in a few weeks, and in June, the winners of this year’s Short Story Contest.

 

Best,

 

David Bright, Editor

Women's Prize for Fiction 2013- Shortlist.

Women's Prize for Fiction 2013- Shortlist.

Announcement of the shortlist for the 2013 Women's Prize for Fiction (formerly the Orange Prize). The shortlist is;

       

        
http://www.womensprizeforfiction.co.uk/

Doire Press International Poetry Chapbook Competition

Doire Press International Poetry Chapbook Competition

Article by Site Editor © 11 April 2013 .
Posted in the Magazine ( · Writing Competitions ).

Winners will each receive 75 copies of their own professionally edited and printed chapbook published by Doire Press. Chapbooks will be perfect-bound, contain up to 40 pages, feature colour front and back covers, as well as their own isbn and barcode.
Ten shortlisted writers will be included in an anthology.
Entries: 3 poems per entry (6 pages max)
Deadline: May 29th, 2013
Judge: Kevin O’Shea, author of The Art of Non-Fishing (2012). Kevin won the 2012 Cúirt New Writing Prize for poetry and was twice shortlisted for the Over the Edge New Writer of the Year competition. He is also a member of the Skylight Poets.
Submission Guidelines:
€10 for first entry, €8 for each additional entry. Cheques or money orders to be made payable to Doire Press. Entry fees can also be paid via Paypal through the Doire Press website. Email submissions will also be accepted with an additional €1 printing fee per entry.
Send entries via postal mail to: Doire Press, Aille, Inverin, County Galway, Ireland.
Entries must include cover page with full contact information and title of first poem. Entrant’s name must not appear anywhere on the manuscript.
To read the full list of contest guidelines, submit via email or to pay by Paypal, please visit our website at www.doirepress.com. For any questions, email doirepress@gmail.com.

HUGH O’FLAHERTY SOCIETY MEMORIAL WEEK

HUGH O’FLAHERTY SOCIETY MEMORIAL WEEK

LITERARY AND ART COMPETITIONS - 2013

The 6^thHugh O’Flaherty Memorial Week will take place in Killarney between Sunday October 27^th and Sunday November 3^rd 2013.

The Hugh O’Flaherty Memorial Society has three elements to its Mission Statement – the third one of these is:

Through the Annual Hugh O’Flaherty Memorial Weekend we will ensure the continuous promotion of the inspirational story of the Monsignor, through various art forms i.e., Drama, Literature, Film and Art, etc.

For the past three years and again this year, the Memorial Weekend Programme will include a dramatic performance related to the event.  As in the 2012 Memorial Weekend, the Society is again going to extend further into its Mission Statement and include Literature and Visual Art. This will be done through a series of open and confined competitions

NB: This year we have extended the Essay Competition into the Primary School category.

The Memorial Society invites entries across the five categories detailed below, embracing literature and visual arts (further categories may be added in future years).

All entries will be independently assessed and a shortlist will be selected in each category which will be exhibited as part of the 2013 Memorial Week Programme. From these short lists, one winner will be selected per category and the winner will receive a framed scroll and a cash award.

The Competitions open on Friday April 5^th and from that date, the Rules & Conditions for each competition will be available on www.killarney.ie and on www.hughoflaherty.com   Each entry must be accompanied by a completed Entry Form, a copy of which will also be available on www.killarney.ie or www.hughoflaherty.com

Hard copies will be available from the office of the Killarney Chamber of Tourism & Commerce, 2^nd Floor Tourist Office, Beech Road..

The Categories and basic requirements for this year are:

·         Hugh O’Flaherty Open Art Competition

o   Entrants are invited to submit a painting or drawing which they believe represents the Monsignor as he went about his humanitarian work in Rome during the latter years of WW2.

o   Entries should not be framed.

o   Open competition

o   Lower age limit of 16 years (On the closing date for entries Sept 20^th 2013)

·         Hugh O’Flaherty Secondary School Essay Competition

o   Entrants are invited to write an essay; no more than 750 words in length on a humanitarian theme in which you write about what you believe can be learned from Monsignor O’Flaherty’s selfless actions.

o   Confined to 2nd Level School Students (At date of submitting entry)

·         Hugh O’Flaherty Primary School Essay Competition

o   Entrants are invited to write an essay; no more than two handwritten or one typed page, onwhy Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty is considered a Hero.

o   Confined to Primary Level School Students –5^th / 6^th Classes (At date of submitting entry)

·         Hugh O’Flaherty Open Essay Competition

o   Entrantsare invited to write an essay on the theme of the Monsignor’s work and legacy and his inspirational example in today’s world. The adjudicators will be looking for entries that articulate a keen, imaginative sense of the Monsignor’s actions and your perspective on how his bravery of character can be pursued by a person, a community or by an organisation today. 

o   Lower age limit of 16 years.(On the closing date for entries Sept 20^th 2013)

·         Hugh O’Flaherty Open Poetry Competition.

o   In 1994, Poet Brendan Kennelly penned a poem titled “Hugh O’Flaherty’s Trees”. This poem was specifically written to mark the planting of a Grove of Italian / Mediterranean Trees in Muckross Arboretum to commemorate the Monsignor. Entrants are invited to compose a poem on the theme of the Monsignor’s work and his legacy.

o   Open Competition

o   Lower age limit of 16 years.(On the closing date for entries Sept 20^th 2013) 

·         Closing Date for Entries:

The Closing Date for receipt of entries for all categories is 5.00.p.m. onFriday September 20^th 2013.

·         Literary Entries:

Literary Entries together with completed Entry Forms must be delivered by the above deadline in a sealed envelope to:

Hugh O’Flaherty Competitions

c/o Killarney Chamber of Tourism & Commerce

2^nd Floor Tourist Information Office

Beech Road

Killarney

Co. Kerry, Ireland

Alternatively, Entries and completed Entry Forms may also be submitted by the above deadline to jerry@killarney.ie

·         Art Entries (No Online Entry Option):

Art Entries together with completed Entry Forms should be delivered by the above deadline to:

Hugh O’Flaherty Competitions

c/o Killarney Chamber of Tourism & Commerce

2^nd Floor Tourist Information Office

Beech Road

Killarney

Co. Kerry, Ireland

New Competition for Novelists

New Competition for Novelists Soon to Open for Entries

Are you writing a novel? Here's some news you might find interesting. We are going to launch a Novel Opening Chapters category to add to our site. Unlike the flash fiction and humour verse, this will NOT be run on a quarterly basis, but will be an annual competition with a six month entry period, opening on the first of May and closing at the end of October each year. Prize money, judge and rules will appear on the website shortly. Watch your inboxes for the next newsletter, which will contain more information.

 info@flash500.com <info@flash500.com>

Flash 500 Competition

Welcome to the Flash 500 Competition! When it comes to prizes, it often seems as though flash fiction is the poor relation of writing competitions. We have increased our first prize to £300, making this a flash fiction competition where the prize money truly reflects the skill required to encapsulate an entire story in just 500 words.

Now in its fourth year, this quarterly open-themed competition has closing dates of 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December. The results will be announced within six weeks of each closing date and the three winning entries each quarter will be published on this website.

Entry fee: £5 for one story, £8 for two stories

Optional critiques: £10 per story

Prizes will be awarded as follows:

First: £300 plus publication in Words with JAM

Second: £100

Third: £50

Highly commended: Choice of The Writer’s ABC Checklist or Bad Moon Rising (e-book)

Payment options and entry instructions can be found on the Competition Entry Page

Eleventh John Hewitt Spring Festival of literature and arts

Eleventh John Hewitt Spring Festival

This year's Spring Festival takes place on Friday 10th & Saturday 11th May 2013 at Carnlough’s Londonderry Arms Hotel on the Antrim coast.

  

This, the eleventh John Hewitt Spring Festival, offers an exciting day of literature and the arts with Ronan Bennett, Louise Doughty, Sarfraz Manzoor, Kim Lenaghan, Cherry Smyth, Kenneth Irvine, Michael McKimm, Elaine Gaston, Heather Newcombe, Cahal Dallat and Anne-Marie Fyfe.

The theme for this year's Spring Festival and Summer School is "Living Among Strangers".

Full Spring Festival programme (Friday 10th & Saturday 11th May 2013):

  

Friday 10th May 2013:

7:00pm - Creative Writing Workshop - Cherry Smyth

Saturday 11th May 2013:

11:00am Coffee

11:15am Great Northern Novel
2:30pm Race, Religion, Rock ’n ’Roll: Sarfraz Manzoor in conversation with C.L. Dallat

4:30pm Local Poets: Cherry Smyth, Heather Newcombe, Elaine Gaston and Michael McKimm  

6:30pm Drinks Reception

7:00pm Dinner

8:30pm Living Among Strangers: Ronan Bennett and Louise Doughty introduced by Anne-Marie Fyfe  

Link here http://www.johnhewittsociety.org/extra_page.php?id=102

THE SEÁN Ó FAOLÁIN SHORT STORY COMPETITION

THE SEÁN Ó FAOLÁIN SHORT
STORY COMPETITION

Now open for submissions through 31 July 2013. Read guidelines below carefully before submitting.

Open for submissions from May to July annually.The Munster Literature Centre is a not-for-profit organisation; all moneys raised from the competition benefits writers and writing. Click here to view winners and longlisted/commended authors from previous years, and access links to the winning stories.

First Prize: €2,000 (*approx $2602.11/£1700.04), publication in the literary journal Southword,
AND a week-long residency at Anam Cara Writer's and Artist's Retreat. 

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.

*Currency exchange amounts via XE.com, calculated 10.04.13. If the winner is from outside Ireland, the amount paid will be the equivalent of €2,000, subject to market changes as determined by the bank in September 2013.

Submission deadline: 31 July, 2013. Judge: Joyce Russell.

Bridport Prize Reminder £15,000+ prize money

Bridport Prize Reminder! Closing Date 31st May 2013

The mission of the Bridport Prize is to encourage emerging writers and promote literary excellence through its competition structure.
Over £15,000 in prize money
One of the richest writing competitions in the UK, the Bridport Prize is open to all nationalities aged 16 years and over.
Poems & Short Stories
The poem and short story categories each have a first prize of £5,000, second prize £1,000 and third prize £500. An additional 10 supplementary prizes (for each category) of £50 each are awarded.
The top winning stories, poems and flash fiction will be published in the Bridport Prize 2013 anthology
The winning stories and shortlist will be read by leading London literary agents with a view to representing writers
The top thirteen eligible stories are submitted to the BBC National Short Story Award (£15,000) and The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award (£30,000)
The top 4 poems are submitted to the Forward Prize for best single poem.
Flash Fiction
A new category for flash fiction with a prize of £1,000 was launched in 2010. There is a second prize of £500, 3rd prize of £250 and 3 supplementary prizes of £25. The top winning flash fiction, short stories and poems and will be published in the Bridport Prize 2013 anthology.
Flash fiction is a style of fictional literature of extreme brevity. There is no widely accepted definition of the length of the category. Some are as low as 250 words (such as ours), while others consider stories as long as a thousand words to be flash fiction.
Other names for flash fiction include sudden fiction, micro fiction, micro-story, short short, postcard fiction and short short story, though distinctions are sometimes drawn between some of these terms; for example, sometimes one-thousand words is considered the cut-off between “flash fiction” and the slightly longer short story  ”sudden fiction”. The terms “micro fiction” and “micro narrative” are sometimes defined as below 300 words.
Flash-fiction often contains the classic story elements: protagonist, conflict, obstacles or complications, and resolution. However, unlike a traditional short story, the limited word length often forces some of these elements to remain unwritten – that is, hinted at or implied in the written storyline.

Aesthetica Creative Writing Competition

Aesthetica Creative Writing Competition
The Aesthetica Creative Writing Competition is now open for entries! The competition celebrates and champions creative writing, nurturing talent and bringing work to international attention. Aesthetica is inviting all writers and poets to submit to the Aesthetica Creative Writing Competition 2013. There are two categories for entry, Poetry and Short Fiction, and a selection of fantastic prizes including:

• £500 prize money – Poetry winner
• £500 prize money – Short Fiction winner
• Publication in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual
• Complimentary copy of the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual
• A selection of books from our competition partners

Submissions previously published elsewhere are accepted. Deadline: 31 August 2013.
Entry is £10 and allows for the entry of two works into any one category. For more information and to enter please visit: http://www.aestheticamagazine.com/creativewriting

just think about it

Invitation to Cúirt New Writing Prize Reception - Naughtons pub, 12 noon, 18th April

After the difficult narrowing of a field of incredibly high-standard entries, the winners of the Cúirt New Writing Prize for 2013 have been selected. Congratulations to Hugo Kelly in the fiction category and Caoilinn Hughes in poetry. A food and wine reception for these winners will take place on the 18th of April in Naughtons pub, Galway at 12 noon and all are welcome to attend. 

Submissions for Pan Macmillan Australia.

Pan Macmillan Australia

What we are looking for:

Commercial fiction – women’s fiction, thriller, crime, historical, humour, paranormal, fantasy; a story can have romantic elements but romance will not be assessed
Literary fiction and non-fiction – novels, short stories, and narrative non-fiction only
Children’s books and young adult – junior and middle grade fiction, young adult fiction; we are not accepting picture book submissions
Commercial non-fiction – history, memoir, mind body spirit, travel, health, diet, biography.

Every Monday we will accept submissions between 10am and 4pm that are sent electronically and comply with the guidelines set out below.

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Extracts from Paris Review interview with Anne Proulx by Christopher Cox.Read full interview.Wonderful article

Paris Review - The Art of Fiction No. 199, Annie Proulx by Christopher Cox http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/5901/the-art-of-fiction-no-199-annie-proulx

In a rough way the short story writer is to the novelist as a cabinetmaker is to a house carpenter. Although I said that the short story is a superior literary form, there are plenty of exceptions of great novels that could only be novels. All the same, the short story deserves more honor and attention than it gets. It can be a powerful reading experience. One can go back to a good one over and over and always learn something new about technique.

Short stories are often very difficult and demanding, drawing on deep knowledge of human nature and the particulars of pivotal events. Every single word counts heavily. The punctuation is critical. Finding the right words and making honorable sentences takes time. The general reading public has no idea of what goes into a short story because it is literally short and can give the impression that the writer sat down and rattled the thing out in an hour or two.

 To me architecture in a story is very important.

I’ve always felt very sorry for writers who don’t read anything because they’re afraid of hurting their style. I know quite a few of them. Many writers are extremely poor readers.

You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different worlds on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write. I read omnivorously—technical manuals, history, all sorts of things. It’s a relief to get away from your own stuff.

A lot of the work I do is taking the bare sentence that says what you sort of want to say—which is where a lot of writers stop—and making it into an arching kind of thing that has both strength and beauty. And that is where the sweat comes in. That can take a long time and many revisions. A single sentence, particularly a long, involved one, can carry a story forward. I put a lot of time into them. Carefully constructed sentences cast a tint of indefinable substance over a story. 

The hard works pays off.

There is difficulty involved in going from the basic sentence that’s headed in the right direction to making a fine sentence. But it’s a joyous task. It’s hard, but it’s joyous. Being raised rural, I think work is its own satisfaction. It’s not seen as onerous, or a dreadful fate. It’s like building a mill or a bridge or sewing a fine garment or chopping wood—there’s a pleasure in constructing something that really works.