Tag Archives: creative writing prompt

The A3 Review Launches 6 New Writing Contests

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issue 3We’re almost ready to put together Issue #3 of The A3 Review. There’s still time to qualify, if you enter this month’s writing contest on the theme of HANDS.

Then it’s on to Issue #4! We’ve launched the six writing contests whose winners will make up the contributors of Issue #4. You can see the six new themes if you click here.

If you’re new to The A3 Review, you can read more about the fold-out lit mag here. Basically, it’s a lit mag that behaves like a map. All contributions are under 151 words. There’s a small entry fee, and the ultimate three winners receive cash prizes; all winners are published in the magazine and receive Writing Maps.

The themes for the upcoming Writing Contests are:

  • September: TALKING ANIMALS, Deadline 26 September
  • October: THE STORY OF A GARDEN, Deadline 24 October
  • November: TABLE MANNERS, Deadline 28 November
  • December: YELLOW THINGS, Deadline 26 December
  • January: PUNISHMENT, Deadline 23 January 2016
  • February: THE HEART, Deadline 27 February 2016

Read the full details here. And sign up to The A3 Review‘s newsletter here.

The two winning entries from each month will appear in Issue #4 of The A3 Review and will constitute the shortlist. The three overall winners from the shortlist will receive prizes as follows: 1st = £150; 2nd = £75; 3rd = £50. All winning entries will receive contributor copies, Writing Maps and other goodies.

Liberties Flash Fiction Competition now open!

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Liberties Festival Dublin’s first flash fiction competition is now OPEN!

We want your best 50-300 words on the theme “Liberties”. We are looking for entries from anyone living on the island of Ireland. Email your entry in the body of your email (no attachments please) to libertiesflashfiction@gmail.com by 13 July 2015. Full rules can be found here.

It’s free to enter – overall prize for best entry is a Kindle. Best entry about The Liberties area of Dublin wins two tickets to the Nighthawks event in Guinness Storehouse! Check out the festival programme, it’s going to be fun!

Cambridge Fiction Award – Just Launched

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Cambridge_University,_King's_CollegeThe first Cambridge Fiction Award, a rolling monthly flash fiction competition, opened for submissions this month.

The competition is free and open to all with the aim of encouraging more writers to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard on a regular basis. Entries must be under 200 words which means you don’t need a huge amount of time to take part – perfect for your train commute or coffee break. Let your imagination run wild in a bite sized story.

If you have always fancied trying to write stories but don’t know where to start or if you love writing but need a bit of help finding inspiration each month, don’t worry, we’ll be providing a monthly writing prompt to get you started. Simply include the prompt word in your story and stick to the word limit – there are no other rules. The deadline for entries is the 25th of each month when the next prompt word will be announced.

This month’s prompt is our home town, the beautiful city of Cambridge. You could write about any time period, any genre, from any perspective, use the city as a setting or take inspiration from the amazing residents throughout the ages. It’s completely up to you.

Winning and runner up entries will be published on the Cambridge Fiction Award website.

This is a brand new competition and we’re really excited about the response so far – thank you Short Stops for telling your readers about us. In just a few days we’ve had some amazing entries from all over the world. Whether you’re an experienced writer or this is your first attempt we want to read your stories.

For more information and to enter this month’s competition visit CambridgeFictionAward.com and follow us on twitter @camfictionaward

London StorySLAM:Live – Thursday 02 July – 7.30 – 9.30pm – Southbank Centre

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Rose quartz heart on pebbles

Discover if you have the literary X-Factor at StorySLAM:Live. Bring along your five-minute flash fiction story on the theme of ‘LOVE’ for your chance to read on the night in front of industry judges, including Liar’s League founder, Kate Darby, Literary Agent of Rocking Chair Books, Samar Hammam and celebrated flash fiction writer, Femi Martin.

Venue: Southbank Centre

Date: Thursday 02 July

Time: 7.30 – 9.30pm

BOOK HERE.

Also see our WEBSITE for events and resources for writers.

Word Factory Short Story Competition: DEADLINE EXTENDED

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wordfactory-logo-300x88
Don’t miss the chance to win a year of entry to the Word Factory salon as well as online publication!

longago500

Word Factory will publish ten stories inspired by these opening lines, penned for us by Neil Gaiman. Along with publication, the winners can attend salons for a year for free. Stories will be published online and may be included in a future anthology. The competition will be judged by Toby Litt and Cathy Galvin.

Rules: Please use the opening sentence in full or as a springboard (i.e. use the fable as the platform to launch your ideas from, using your own interpretation of the fable) for an inspiring fable of 3000 words maximum.
Submissions deadline has been extended to 31st July. UK entry only.
You may send more than one story but the entry fee of £5 must be purchased for each story.
The stories will be judged anonymously so please ensure only the title and page numbers are included on your submission.
Submissions will be accepted in Word (.doc/.docx) or PDF (.pdf) format.

Submissions: Once you have paid your entry fee via eventbrite, the instructions for entry will be emailed to you.
The ten winning short stories will be announced at the September Word Factory Salon, and the winners will be contacted before the salon.

If you have any queries, please contact Alison via alison@thewordfactory.tv

ENTER YOUR STORY HERE

The A3 Review: Green Things Contest

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9781910289228This month’s Writing Maps Writing Contest is all about green things. Write a short story, flash fiction, poem or graphic story inspired by the colour green, or the word green. Make a creative list of green things. Think the green green grass of home, or the green of envy. Think fruit and veg, mojitos and a shot of blue-green algae. Healthy or additive-packed, fresh or mouldy. The green of newness. The green of the dollar. Green hills and green light to go.  Follow us on Twitter for regular #greenthings inspiration.

Deadline is 27th June 2015.

Winners of each monthly contest are published in The A3 Review, and will make up the shortlist to win cash prizes in August 2015. All winners receive Writing Maps and other goodies. You can read more about The A3 Review here. It’s a lit mag that behaves like a map. All contributions are under 151 words. The themes for the upcoming Writing Contests are:

  • July: JOURNEYS, Deadline 25 July
  • August: HANDS, Deadline 22 August

Read the full details here.

The A3 Review is brought to you by the folks who make Writing Maps. We’re giving away copies of our greenest Writing Map, Writing Art, until the end of this month’s contest, 27th June. Just pay postage, and enter discount code GREEN when you check out. Click here to see the Writing Art Writing Map.

Writing Maps: The Tea and Coffee Contest

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New Cafe Writing MapThis month’s Writing Maps Writing Contest is all about tea and coffee. It coincides with the launch of our revamped Cafe Writing Map and also with UK Coffee Week. That’s a little preview on the left of the new Writing Map, and if you click here, you’ll get more details about this month’s contest. There are still a few copies left of the original Cafe Writing Map, so grab yourself a copy by clicking here. We’re donating £1 from every map sold to UK Coffee Week’s Project Waterfall. Winners of each monthly contest are published in The A3 Review, and will make up the shortlist to win cash prizes in August 2015. All winners receive Writing Maps and other goodies. You can read more about The A3 Review here. It’s a lit mag that behaves like a map. All contributions are under 151 words. The themes for the upcoming Writing Contests are:

  • May: TEA & COFFEE, Deadline 23 May
  • June: GREEN THINGS, Deadline 27 June
  • July: JOURNEYS, Deadline 25 July
  • August: HANDS, Deadline 22 August

Read the full details here.

Writing Maps Launches 6 New Contests and a New Issue

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The A3 Review, Issue 2It’s all happening! Spring has got us sprung. We’re launching 6 new Writing Maps Writing Contests all at once AND we’re launching Issue #2 of The A3 Review.

You can read more about The A3 Review here. It’s a lit mag that behaves like a map. All contributions are under 151 words and up until now have been written in less than a week. But things are changing – we’re giving you more time to write, more time to tweak, more time to procrastinate. The next six Writing Maps Writing Contests are being launched in one go. There’s a small entry fee, and bigger cash prizes.

The themes for the upcoming Writing Contests are:

  • March: SUPERSTITIONS, Deadline 28 March
  • April: PLAYGROUND GAMES, Deadline 25 April
  • May: TEA & COFFEE, Deadline 23 May
  • June: GREEN THINGS, Deadline 27 June
  • July: JOURNEYS, Deadline 25 July
  • August: HANDS, Deadline 22 August

Read the full details here.

The two winning entries from each month will appear in Issue #3 of The A3 Review and will constitute the shortlist. The three overall winners from the shortlist will receive prizes as follows: 1st = £150; 2nd = £75; 3rd = £50. All winning entries will receive contributor copies, Writing Maps and other goodies.

The Writing Maps February Writing Contest: Bicycles

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Patti Smith and her bicycle in the Meatpacking District, New York City, 1999. Photograph by Steven Sebring.This is the last contest to qualify for Issue 2 of The A3 Review, due out next month (March 2015).

The prompt for February’s Writing Contest is: Bicycles. The story of your favourite bike; a memorable bike ride; teaching someone to ride a bike; a road trip; bicycles in strange places; bicycle accidents; fixing a bike; a meditation on parts of a bike (frame, brakes, chains, etc); bicycles and suffragists; bike, bicycle, cycle, racing bikes, mountain bikes, Choppers, tandems, portable scooter quarter pipes. Write about bikes as a poem, or in the form of a short story, a graphic story or a snippet of memoir. Fiction or autobiography, SF or mis mem, erotic or academic. Think bike shops, hectic cities, cycle paths, and the open road! Maximum 150 words.

For cycle-writing inspiration, visit us on Twitter throughout the week. Check out some writers and their bikes here.

Please make sure to view our full guidelines here. In brief, the main rules are:

Entry is free. One entry per person.
All genres welcome. All writers welcome.
150 words max.
Deadline is 28 February 2015, which is just a few days from now.
The two winning entries will be published next month (March) in The A3 Review, the Writing Maps Journal. Winners will also receive copies of the 3 City Writing Maps: City of Inspiration, Writing People, and Writing the Love.
Submit your writing through Submittable, here.Good luck and good writing!

image: Patti Smith and her bicycle in the Meatpacking District, New York City, 1999. Photograph by Steven Sebring.

Writing Maps January Contest

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BlueWrite about Blue Things.

The prompt for January’s Writing Contest is: Make a creative list of blue things. Write this list as a list poem, or in the form of a short story, a graphic story or a snippet of memoir. Fiction or autobiography, SF or mis mem, erotic or academic. Think blue skies and the deep blue sea, think music and the blues, think blue movies, blue collar, and blue plasters in restaurant kitchens. Think literally and metaphorically, what has been and is blue in your life or the life of a character. Maximum 150 words.

For list and colour inspiration, visit us on Twitter throughout the week. In the meantime, check out Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, watch Derek Jarman’s Blue, read Julie Maroh’s Blue is the Warmest Colour.

Please make sure to view our full guidelines here. In brief, the main rules are:

Entry is free. One entry per person. All genres welcome. All writers welcome. 150 words max.

Deadline is 31 January 2015.

The two winning entries will be published in The A3 Review, Issue #2, and will receive a set of our new #iamwriting Notecards.

Good luck and good writing!

The Survival Kit for Writers & a New Contest

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The Survival Kit for WritersThis month’s Writing Maps Writing Contest coincides with the official launch of The Survival Kit for Writers.

The prompt for November’s Writing Contest is: Write a piece called “How to Procrastinate”. We all find ways to avoid writing! Teach us how to do it in style, or slothfully, or in never-before-imagined ways. Take inspiration from your own modes of procrastination, or from the techniques of others. Check out Lorrie Moore’s book Self-Help for great examples of “How To…” stories. Write your “How to Procrastinate” as a short story, a graphic story, a snippet of memoir, a poem, or a prose poem. In 150 words.

The Survival Kit for Writers includes 3 Writing Maps, a Notebook, a pen, some postcards and stickers, and a bar of organic chocolate by award-winning chocolate-makers, Seed & Bean.

Please make sure to view our full guidelines here. In brief, the main rules are:

Entry is free. One entry per person. All genres welcome. All writers welcome. 150 words max.

Deadline is 22 November 2014.
The two winning entries will be published in The A3 Review, Issue #2. Winners will also receive The Survival Kit for Writers.
Good luck and good writing!

Writing Maps Launches New Map and October Contest

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Writing the Family AlbumThis month’s Writing Maps Writing Contest coincides with the official launch of the new Writing Map, Writing the Family Album, inspired by Sergei Dovlatov’s book Ours.

The prompt for October’s Writing Contest is: Write about a cousin, then and now. In no more than 150 words tell the story of a cousin, yours or a fictional character’s, as they were then and as they are now. As always, you can write this as a short story, a graphic story, a snippet of memoir, a poem, or a prose poem. Fiction or autobiography, SF or mis mem, erotic or academic. In 150 words.

The contest prompt coincides with the launch of our latest Writing Map, Writing the Family Album, in which you’ll be inspired to turn the family album – your own, or the characters you create – into a rich collection of stories.

Please make sure to view our full guidelines here or on the Writing Maps website by clicking here. In brief, the main rules are:

Entry is free. One entry per person. All genres welcome. All writers welcome. 150 words max.

Deadline is 25 October 2014.
The two winning entries will be published in The A3 Review, Issue #2. Winners will also receive two copies of the Writing Map, Writing the Family Album.
Good luck and good writing!

Writing Maps’ July Writing Contest & The Big Gay Writing Map

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The Big Gay Writing MapThis month’s Writing Maps Writing Contest coincides with the official launch of The Big Gay Writing Map: Story Ideas for Anyone Who’s a Little Bit Different.

The prompt for July’s Writing Contest is our toughest challenge yet! Write a sex scene without using gender-specific pronouns and without using any punctuation (except a full stop/period at the end, if you want to). This could be a story, poem, graphic story or snippet of memoir. Fiction or autobiography, SF or mis mem, erotic or academic. In 150 words, gender-neutral and punctuation-free. Enjoy!

Please make sure to view our full guidelines here or on the Writing Maps website by clicking here. In brief, the main rules are:

Entry is free. One entry per person. All genres welcome. All writers welcome. 150 words max.

Deadline is 26 July 2014.
The two winning entries will be published in A3, the Writing Maps Journal, and winners will receive 2 copies of the new Writing Map.
Good luck and good writing!

Writing Maps June Contest and Pack of Notebooks

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Writing Maps NotebooksWriting Maps, the illustrated posters with creative writing prompts and story ideas, launches its 4th monthly Writing Contest. The June contest coincides with the official launch of the Writing Maps Pack of 5 Notebooks, and this month’s two winners will receive a complete pack of notebooks, along with publication in A3, a new fold-out literary magazine. The first issue will appear in September 2014.

The challenge is to write a 150-word piece in response to the Prompt of the Month.  June’s Writing Maps Writing Contest opens on 21st June 2014. Deadline is: 28 June 2014. Did you know we’re the quickest contest in town – one week between announcement and deadline!

The prompt for June’s Writing Contest is a title. Write a story, poem, graphic story or snippet of memoir called “Ode to My Notebook”. For some extra inspiration, check out Pablo Neruda’s “Ode to My Suit” or Gertrude Stein’s Tender Buttons. As always, we’re looking for pieces that are quirky and intense, that give us a glimpse into private worlds, and that make us feel nicely awkward. In 150 words, show your notebook (or a character’s notebook) some love!

Please make sure to view our full guidelines here or on the Writing Maps website by clicking here. In brief, the main rules are:

Entry is free. One entry per person.
All genres welcome. All writers welcome.
150 words max.
Deadline is 28 June 2014, which is just a few days from now.
The two winning entries will be published in A3, the Writing Maps Journal.

Writing Maps: May Contest and Box of Maps

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Writing Maps Box SetWriting Maps, the illustrated posters with writing inspiration and story ideas, launches its 3rd monthly Writing Contest. The May contest coincides with the launch of the Writing Maps Box Set, and this month’s two winners will receive the box set, along with publication in A3, a new fold-out literary magazine to be published every six months. The first issue will appear in September 2014.

The challenge is to write a 150-word piece in response to the Prompt of the Month.  May’s Writing Maps Writing Contest opens 17 May 2014. Deadline is: 24 May 2014. Yes, we’re the quickest contest in town! Click here to visit the site for submission guidelines and the May prompt.

April’s prompt was inspired by the new Write Up Your Street: A Neighbourhood Writing Map. The prompt was: Write about something someone told you about your neighbourhood: a rumour, an urban myth, an event, a local hero/villain, a landmark or a building that’s no longer there. Tell the story in their voice or your own, or the voice of a fictional narrator. The winning entries were: Mark Bicton’s “Grave Robbers” and Francesca Brooks’ “I Came to Find You”.