Green Stories Superhero Competition
In this competition your superhero must save the planet!

Designed by brgfx / Freepik

It sounds a fun brief to play around with: ‘this contest challenges you to create an uplifting short story of superheroes that respond to climate change. Imagine your target audience to be teens and young adults that enjoy watching superhero films‘.
The prize is £500 plus a scene from your story turned into a 1 page comic strip.
The competition is open to adults, and teenagers aged 14+. The deadline is 15th April 2023.
As always, don’t forget to read the full terms and conditions.

Evening Standard Stories Competition
The theme for this competition is ‘belonging’ and it’s not limited to short stories. You can submit a piece of spoken word or performance, for example a monologue, a script or a self-contained episode of a narrative podcast. Entries can be submitted as written, audio, or film.
The winner will get a masterclass with Evening Standard Stories Editor, Lotte Jeff, a one year mentorship in their chosen field by management and production company, 42, plus the chance to perform their piece and other extras!
Closing date is 12th April 2023 and it is a 1,000 word limit. Again, read the terms and conditions, they do include: Work from previously published authors or writers cannot be accepted.  It doesn’t indicate what their definition of ‘published’ is.

Talking of short stories, I was delighted to be invited, last month, to talk to author Tony Riches and to give my top 6 tips on short story writing. Did I cover everything or have you got a tip to add?