short story competitions-what judges want.Kate Dempsey for Boyne Berries

Here are some of the things I hope to find:

• I’d like some poems in form please, sonnets, pantoums, ghazals, rhubaiyats etc. Give it a try.
• I like pieces that make me see something in a new light.
• Pieces I haven’t read before umpteen times.
• Pieces that are multi-layered and take time to unwind.
• Having said that, I don’t have much time for writing that is so so obtuse, so obscure, it makes me feel frustrated or plain thick. It shouldn’t take a machete to get to the point.
• Pieces that love language, love words, make me fall in love with new words
• Show me something new, show me the feeling, let me picture the image.
• Leave some gaps for me to fill in myself.
• Pieces that are honest
• Pieces that are sly
• Pieces that catch me out, make me laugh out loud
• Pieces that leave me gulping
• Pieces with a subtle turn
• Pieces that come at me from left field
• Science pieces. Love Science. And Maths
• Pieces that take risks