Poetry Competitions
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Poetry on May 23, 2011
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The library was full of leaflets for poetry competitions. I only do poetry very badly so I won’t be entering but here are the details for the rest of you:
- Sonnet or Not organised by Cannon Poets. Choose one of the traditional sonnet forms or experiment with alternative 14 line forms. First prize £250 and entry fee is £4 for the first poem and £2.50 for each additional poem. Closing date is 31st October 2011. For full details email martin@cannonpoets.co.uk.
- Nottingham Open Poetry Competition. First prize £300 and entry fee is £3 per poem or £10 for 4 poems. Closing date is 6th September 2011. Full details plus last year’s winners are here.
- Torbay Open Poetry Competition. This is organised as part of Torbay Poetry Festival and has a huge £800 first prize plus a Prizegiving Party in Torquay. Entry is £4 per poem or £10 for 3 poems. Closing date is 31st August 2011. An entry form is required and I suggest you use the contact form on the Festival website to request one.
In case you’re wondering – the illustration is William Blake’s poem ‘The Tyger’.
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Competition Entry Fees
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Uncategorized on May 16, 2011
How much are you prepared to pay to enter a writing competition?
Entry fees can range from nothing to £10+ and if you enter a lot of competitions (which many of us do due to the dearth of short story markets) it can get very expensive.
In the June issue of Writers’ Forum, Sally Quilford writes that she thinks in terms of 10 per cent i.e. if the entry fee is £5 then she expects the first prize to be over £50.
Personally, I prefer a smaller percentage ratio given the large amount of entrants that most competitions attract – if I’m paying £5 then I’d like the first prize to be £100. However, if the money is going to charity or a critique of each entry is included in the fee then I am happy to make an exception and pay more.
Paying a fee to enter a competition does sharpen the mind. If I’m paying for entry then I won’t send an existing story that ‘almost’ fits the requirements – I will write a new one that fully embraces the theme of the competition and, as far as I can tell, fits the style required.
But there’s nothing to beat the gay abandon induced by free competitions with email entry. There is literally nothing to lose with these comps (not even the price of a large letter stamp and A4 envelope). It is a terrible shame not to enter them – so if there’s no time to write something new then I dig an old story out of the archives and give it a quick polish.
Yesterday I did just that and sent an entry in to this competition:
Write a story for bedtime – this is sponsored by A. Vogel Herbal Remedies and it is an Adult bedtime story they are after (no, not that sort of adult). The story must be between 1500 and 3000 words and four prizes will be awarded – 1st: £500, 2nd: £300, 2 x 3rd: £100 each. Additionally, there is an extra £50 to be had if your entry is chosen as ‘Story of the Month’.
Womag writer Della Galton is one of the judges and ‘due consideration will be given by the judges on the appropriateness of the short story for bedtime’. The current ‘Story of the Month’ is written by one of the judges and fits neatly into the Womag mould with a nice, happy ending.
Closing date is 28th October 2011.
Opportunities in Prima Magazine
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Markets on May 12, 2011
Prima is a monthly women’s magazine that offers several slots for the aspiring writer to see their name in print:
- The letters page – every letter published wins a year’s subscription to the magazine and the star letter wins a skin care set worth £64. All the letters referred to previous items that had appeared in the magazine.
- Each month the letters page also features a poem. In June’s issue this was written by a man in praise of his wife.
- The Home life page ‘is your chance to pass on good ideas for the benefit of other Prima readers and, in doing so, encourage the highest quality service and great value for everyone’. Each contribution to the page receives £25. In June’s issue the contributions included a reader’s favourite shop, a picture of grandchildren, a suggestion for a day out and a couple of product recommendations.
- The Readers’ Kitchen page wants your recipes and tips plus recommendations for a favourite cafe, food shop or gadget. Recipes receive a year’s subscription to the magazine, tips and cafe or other recommendations earn £25.
- Picture Perfect – £25 for each photo printed on this page. June’s page is a Father’s Day Special and each picture includes a dad with young children.
- Do you have a winning story? – this page asks for 400 word stories. Reading the June winners, it looks like either fiction or real life experiences can be submitted. The winner receives £200 and two runners-up each receive a year’s subscription to Prima.
- Reader’s tips are dotted throughout the magazine – each one receiving £25. Plus the best tip receives £50.
- Wise Words – each month Prima is looking for wise words on a set theme. The June issue sets the theme ‘The best things in life are free, such as…’ and offers £25 for those chosen.
Why not nip out and buy a copy of the magazine? Study the style of your chosen section and then compose your contribution to fit. If you don’t try you won’t succeed!
And don’t forget to sign up for a free email subscription to this blog if you want a chance to be the next home for my World Book Night books.
Versatile Blogger Award (Part 2)
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Resources on May 9, 2011
Now it’s time to pass on the Versatile Blogger Award to some of my favourite blogs. Here they are:
- Patsy Collins’ blog is full of writing and reading related competitions. They range from prize draws to win a book through to more challenging writing projects. Patsy’s entry into the Readers’ Digest 100 word story competition was selected to appear on the Readers’ Digest website and can be found here (6 May 2011 story).
- Tracy Fells’ blog ‘The Literary Pig’ offers ‘a safe haven for all those afflicted with the unbearable urge to write’. Tracy has just completed the first draft of a children’s novel and has had various successes with short stories and flash fiction. In case you’re wondering, ‘The Literary Pig’ is a red cuddly toy with a starring role in Tracy’s blog.
- Julie Phillips’ blog Article Antics is devoted to those of us who write magazine articles. Julie is currently doing a Journalism course and her blog charts the ups and downs of her own writing career as well as giving useful advice and inspiration to anyone else interested in writing short non-fiction.
- Marilyn Rodwell’s blog God of the Cocoa is about her writing journey towards completing a trilogy of books. The books are set in Trinidad where Marilyn was born and brought up. Marilyn is also the organiser of the Romantic Novelists’ Association Birmingham Chapter – which is how I met her.
- Helen Yendall’s blog is full of information on market opportunities, writing events and other snippets. Helen was the Warwick Poet Laureate for 2006 – 2007 and she also writes fiction for women’s magazines and articles. Helen is a creative writing tutor and also my writing buddy.
I hope that, like me, you’ll find some interesting and useful things on the above blogs. Since I started this blog 6 months ago, I’ve discovered a whole new community of writers on the web. Most of us are unlikely to ever meet face to face but there is a supportive camaraderie amongst the writers I’ve come across which can be most comforting when things aren’t going well and the rejections are coming thick and fast!
I did promise you (under the terms of the Versatile Blogger Award) 7 favourite blogs and I’ve only listed 5. This is because 2 of my selected bloggers haven’t yet replied to my invite to accept the award. If they accept the award in the near future then I’ll give them a mention in a later post.
Don’t forget to sign up for free email updates to this blog (see the box on the right) if you would like the chance to be the next keeper of my World Book Night Books.
Passing on World Book Night 2011 Books
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Books, Competitions on May 5, 2011
Regular readers of this blog will know that I attended a World Book Night event in Birmingham back in March. Several different books had editions specially printed to be given away on World Book Night (there were one million volumes in total). At the back of each book it states:
“Once you have read it, please pass the book on to someone else.”
So, now I intend to send the books I received on the next stage in their journey and I’d like them to go to a subscriber to this blog.
The books are:
- Killing Floor by Lee Child
- Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
- New Selected Poems by Seamus Heaney
I will choose the lucky recipient by picking a name on June 1st from everyone on my email subscription list as at midnight May 31st.
If you are an existing email subscriber to this blog then you will be automatically entered into the draw to receive the 3 books. If you are not an existing email subscriber and would like to be in the draw for the books, please use the box on the right-handside of the screen to register for an email subscription – it is free of charge and you can un-subscribe at any time.
If the winner has anything writing-related that they wish to promote then I will also give that a mention when I announce the winner.
The winner will be contacted by email to obtain their postal address – if I get no reply within 14 days then I will draw another winner. The winner must have a UK postal address.
I’m looking forward to sending the books on their way!
P.S. The World Book Night event will be repeated again in 2012 but the date will be moved to 23rd April – the international day for celebrating books.
The Versatile Blogger Award
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Uncategorized on May 2, 2011
Many thanks to Susan Jones for sending me this great award!
The rules of the award state that I have to tell you 7 things about myself and then pass the award on to 7 more deserving bloggers. So here goes!
- I am a campanologist (church bellringer) and have rung 2 peals in my ringing career (a peal is 3 hours of non-stop ringing).
- I’ve been writing on and off for around 17 years but only started taking it more seriously two and a half years ago when I teamed up with my writing buddy Helen Yendall.
- I have run 2 Half Marathons (both in Birmigham – 2008 & 2010) – I think they were the result of some sort of panicky mid-life crisis!
- In my day job I am a computer programmer – so often don’t fancy writing in the evening when I’ve stared at a computer screen all day.
- I love watching ‘murder’ drama serials on TV such as Midsomer Murders, Waking the Dead, Silent Witness etc. If you throw in some red wine and dark chocolate then I’m really in heaven!
- On William & Kate’s wedding day I attended (& helped organise) my first ever street party. It was great fun and our road is now looking forward to another for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee next year.
- I love routine! All the bank holidays over the last few weeks have played havoc with my writing time so now I’m looking forward to getting back to normal!
Next week I’ll announce the 7 worthy blogs that I’m passing this award on to.
Bits and Pieces
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Successes on April 28, 2011
Hope you all had a good Easter and are dusting off your best frocks and morning suits for tomorrow’s royal nuptials. In the meantime here are a few bits from my world of writing over the last 10 days or so:
- Those of you who subscribe to The New Writer will have seen Simon Whaley’s piece about receiving 12 rejections from the same magazine, on the same day – each in its own stamped addressed envelope. This made me feel a whole lot better about my own rejections – my personal record being 4 stories turned down by My Weekly in the same email, which made me feel pretty bad at the time I can tell you.
- The results of the Readers Digest 100 word story competition are now out here. They are also showcasing several of the entries on a daily basis on their website – if yours has been selected please leave a comment with the link here so that we can all share your success!
- I had a phone call from the David St. John Charitable Trust this week to tell me that I had won a competition that I entered in November 2009 ! It just goes to show that you should never give up hope.
- If you’re feeling lucky there are 6 sets of 6 nature/outdoor books to be won in a Telegraph Prize Draw.
- Finally, I have a story in the April 30th issue of The Weekly News (2 short story acceptances within a month is something of a record for me!)
West Country Writers’ Association 60th Congress
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Events, Resources on April 25, 2011
The weekend before last I attended the West Country Writers’ Association 60th Congress in Plymouth as the winner of their 2011 bursary.
It was a great luxury to be away from all the domestic disturbances for the weekend and to be able to completely immerse myself in chat about writing, publishing and related topics. It helped that the Congress was held at the lovely Elfordleigh Hotel which has a pool, sauna and steam room!
The weekend started on a high with the presentation of my certificate by Angela Rippon. She also gave an extremely interesting and enthusiastic talk about her career to date and revealed that, amongst other things, she is the author of a series of children’s books featuring the character Victoria Plum.
During the weekend I talked to writers of romantic fiction who were able to give me some advice about the world of My Weekly Pocket Novels:
- Include some adventure
- Try an exotic setting
- Have a foreign love interest
I was also told not to forget the possibilities of publication as a large print book too. The two main players are Chivers and Ulverscroft – the first of these pays royalties and the second pays a fee. And apparently there’s always the US market as well…
I also managed a few words with agent Dorothy Lumleyand asked her about writing the dreaded synopsis. She told me that writers always stress about this unnecessarily. She said that she always reads the first 3 chapters before the synopsis and it was imperative to grab the reader within the first page or two of these chapters. The best way of doing this is to open with a character that the reader immediately cares about. The reader must want to turn the page to find out what happens to this character. Dorothy added that the synopsis should always include the ending of the novel otherwise it is little more than an extended blurb – which will make you look unprofessional.
And one final titbit to put you off writing forever. I spoke to one novelist with a string of published titles to her name and she told me that she once calculated that she was writing for 40p an hour!
Call for Royal Wedding Submissions
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Markets on April 21, 2011
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Louise Gibney is compiling an anthology of pieces about royal weddings. It might be about how you celebrate William and Kate’s nuptials at the end of this month or your thoughts about the event. Alternatively recollections about previous royal weddings are welcome. Can you remember what you were doing in 1981 when Charles and Diana got married or were you around in 1947 when the Queen and Prince Philip tied the knot? Did you have a street party or watch all the excitement on a brand new TV bought especially for the occasion?
I remember watching the wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson through the window of a television showroom in my lunch hour from work (no bank holiday for them!) and when William’s parents got married I was part of a band that rang a quarter peal on our local church bells to mark the occasion.
Proceeds from the anthology will go to UNICEF and all successful entrants will receive a copy of the book.
Entries should be between 500 and 2,000 words, double-spaced in 12 point, typed in a Word document. Don’t forget to include your name, address, telephone number and email.
Post your submission to:
Louise Gibney
100 Avenue Road
Winslow
Bucks.
MK18 3DB
or email: louisegibney88@hotmail.com
Closing date is 29th June 2011.
Alternatively, if you’re a poet (and can work to a tight deadline) have a look at the Royal Wedding sonnet competition mentioned on Helen Yendall’s blog.
Sally Jenkins 