A ration party of the Royal Irish Rifles in a communication trench during the Battle of the Somme. The date is believed to be 1 July 1916, the first day on the Somme, and the unit is possibly the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles (25th Brigade, 8th Division). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As you’re probably all aware, next year is the centenary of the start of the First World War.

I’m sure that as the date gets closer there will be a lot of publicity about the multitude of events arranged to mark the occasion.

There’s going to be plenty of opportunity for us, as writers, to get involved with this anniversary – as long as we don’t leave it too late to get started!

I’ve just done a quick trawl of the internet and found the four writing competitions listed below with a ‘war’ theme.

• Mardibooks First World War Centenary Short Story Competition – winners will be published in an anthology and up to 12 entrants will receive feedback on their stories. Word count 1,200 to 5,000. Closing date 29th November, 2013. Entry is FREE.

• Bard and Muse War Poetry Competition – prize money is currently under review and the closing date is March 24, 2014. Line count: 40

• Tower Theatre First World War Play Writing Competition – closing date is September 27th, 2013 – so you need to get your skates on! The winning play will be performed in London in November 2014.

• Curry Mallet First World War Short Story Competition – this competition is not yet open for entries but watch the website or use the contact form on there, to get more details. But this gives you plenty of time to do some research!

Also, don’t forget all the opportunities for magazine articles with a nostalgia or unusual factual slant.

Why not pick up your pen and have a go?

Remember all those men who gave their lives in muddy, wet, stinking trenches so that we might live in peace.

Related articles

• Harrogate’s Lessons from the First World War (weayorkshireandhumbertutorblog.wordpress.com)
• News story: One year to go to First World War centenary (gov.uk)
• The poppy: still a potent symbol after all these years (telegraph.co.uk)