This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
By Cesca Major
Every other Tuesday we will be compiling a list of competitions, courses and opportunities on offer for wannabe writers and those of you who might want to work in publishing. If you have a competition, course or opportunity you would like us to shout about send info to: cesca@writingtipsoasis.com. If you can't see your comp here we might be saving it for a later date.
And please, Novelicious readers, let us know how you get on! We'd love to hear your success stories…
Competitions
There are some fabulous writing competitions still about. Here are just a few:
The first is a personal favourite of ours – it is the Bristol Short Story Prize, which is an annual competition. For short stories up to 4,000 words long and with cash prizes not to be sniffed at, this is one that serious writers should consider.
The closing date for entries is 30th April 2013. More info can be found here.
The Yeovil Literary Prize is another excellent annual competition. With a closing date of 31st May you still have plenty of time to get involved. There is a novel category, short story category and poetry category so plenty to encourage a wide range of writers. With excellent prize money and the chance for the start of your novel to be judged by Tracy Chevalier (jaw drop) this one isn't to be missed.
More info can be found here.
The Greenhouse Funny Prize looks fantastic. A far off deadline but a great competition for funny writers with brilliant prizes, you can win representation AND a weekend ticket to the York Festival of Literature.
Their website says they are open to un-agented writers writing funny fiction for children of all ages. To get a good sense of the voice and where the story is headed, they’d like to see the first 5,000 words PLUS a short description (a few lines) of the book AND a one page outline that shows the spine of the plot.
The closing date is 29th July 2013. More info can be found here.
Courses
As well as hearing about courses there are plenty of retreats or similar. These can be as useful as you are getting feedback on your own writing as well as building up ace contacts in the writing world. Here are a few:
Space to Write looks really fun. It's a residential writing weekend near Tonbridbge with Louise Swingler (@Wizzerandchips) from the 21-23 May. More info can be found here.
BookCamp: And now some shameless self-promotion for you to check out @Book_Camp on Twitter as they have a writing retreat coming up in July in Berkshire and have places left. Their website is here.
Lastly check out Urban Writers as Charlie runs some lovely looking retreats for people who want to mingle with other writers and eat nice sounding cake. More info can be found here.
Live in London? If you are looking for a course Rowan Coleman's course at the Faber Academy 'Write Better' starts on 23rd April and will be an excellent course for the more experienced writer. Having spent a few days with her at Book Camp I can highly recommend her tutorial skills. She gives brilliant feedback with a smile. More info on this course and the Faber programme here.
Opportunities
The Neon Magazine are looking for short story submissions for their magazine. Information here.
Production Company Box Fly are on the hunt for poetry! They want two poems for a new short film. Details here.
Go for it!