Month: September 2023

October 2023 Competitions

September 23, 2023

Here are the writing competitions I might enter with deadlines in October. 

  • The Jeffrey E. Smith award from the Missouri Review has a maximum word count of 8,500, an entry fee of $25 and a top prize of $5,000: the deadline is 1 October.
  • The Chilling Pen award is for stories of up to 1,000 words: it’s free to enter and you could win $500 – again the deadline is 1 October.
  • Zoetrope want stories up to 5,000 words: entry is $30 and first prize is $1,000. Deadline: 2 October.
  • Ink of Ages is from the World History Encyclopaedia and OUP: they are looking for historical or mythological stories between 1,500 and 2,000 words, with a deadline of 7 October. It’s free to enter, and the prize is $200 to spend in the WHE bookstores plus a choice of some books from OUP.
  • Sleek City Press want up to 1,500 words on the theme ‘I faked my own death’: the entry fee is $20, top prize $2,000 and the deadline is again 7 October.
  • The annual Calvino Prize looks for up to 25 pages of prose in the style of Italo Calvino. It’s $25 to enter with a prize of $2,000 and the deadline is 15 October.
  • Iron Horse want a long story rather than a short one: 20 to 40 pages, in fact. Your $15 entry fee gets you a subscription as a bonus and you could win $1,000. Enter by 15 October.
  • The Wenlock Olympians are again looking for stories up to 2,500 words: £6 to enter and you might win £150 plus a medal! The deadline is 30 October.

The rest of the list have a deadline of 31 October.

  • Eyelands is looking for a full-length novel up to a massive 250,000 words. Entry is $35. If you win your work will be translated into Greek and published, and you will enjoy a five-day stay in Athens.
  • The Bedford competition has a limit of 3,000 words, an entry fee of £9.00 and a prize of £1,500.
  • Fiction Factory is back, asking for maximum 3,000 words, with a fee of £7 and a prize of £500.
  • Sheila-Na-Gig wants literary pieces up to 5,000 words, entry $3, prize $100
  • Southport Writer’s Circle want up to 2,000 words, entry £3, prize £200

If you get somewhere with any of the contests above, do let me know!

Catton’s Telling

September 4, 2023

I am reading Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood. I am only a short way into it, but it’s very good, and I should say, very well written.

The thing is, there are great slabs of text, weighty paragraphs, in which she does absolutely nothing but tell you directly what characters are feeling, how their personality works, and what their inner perceptions and experiences are.

Does she lose us? Do these passages lack an essential vividness? No, they are clever, interesting and skilfully done, like good portraiture. Is the book a failure? No, it’s the Sunday Times Bestseller by the Booker Prize Winning Author. Maybe, though, reviews pick up on her weak writing style? On the contrary. The Guardian says Technically, it’s another virtuoso performance.

Yet you and I know that if I presented anything like this to a writing tutor or an editor, either of whom would charge substantial fees for their expert advice, I’d be told Oh dear, Peter! Let me explain the concept of ‘show, don’t tell’. Here are a couple of remedial exercises to help you grasp it.