Tag Archives: prize money

Is Your Work Too Intense?

Posted
Filed under call for submissions, Lit mag

deadline 10 janIf it is, we’d like to see it. The A3 Review and Press is seeking flash fiction or short stories that overshare, are deeply lyrical, and say something about what it’s like to be alive at this point in time. Deadline is 10th January 2020.

For examples of the kind of prose The A3 Press publishes, check out MASH by Lena Ziegler, Jason Jackson’s The Unit, and My New Car by Alan Sincic.

Selected titles receive £200 and 10 copies of the published work.

For more details and how to submit, visit their Submittable page here.

The A3 Review’s New Contest Themes

Posted
Filed under Lit mag

issue_11_cover_grandeThe A3 Review has recently launched Issue 11. We’ve also just posted new themes for our monthly contests. Publication and cash prizes for winners. To enter and for more details, please visit our Submittable page by clicking here. The next few themes will be included in our “T” issue, so we’re looking for short stories (as well as poems and artwork) about : Tablets, Transformations, and Thanatos.

The two winning entries from September 2019 to February 2020 will make up the list of contributors to Issue 12 (The “T” Issue). From this list, three overall winners will receive cash prizes: 1st = £250, 2nd = £150, 3rd = £75. Issue 12 will appear in April 2020.

The word limit is 150 words, so we’d particularly like to see flash fiction and mini essays. Our $5 (approx £3.50) submission fee helps us cover admin and printing costs and makes sure we can keep offering cash prizes.

Visit The A3 Review’s website to see some back issues. The A3 Press also publishes chapbooks and is open for submissions until December the 10th.

Shooter seeks submissions for Identity issue

Posted
Filed under Lit mag

Shooter Literary Magazine has opened submissions for its summer issue (#10), which will be Identity.

The biannual lit mag (recently reviewed in the TLS) wants stories, essays, reported narratives and poetry on anything to do with the sense of self, whether personal or cultural. What defines someone – character, actions, associations, appearance? Why is identity important? What happens when it’s threatened? Shooter particularly seeks content that addresses topical issues of gender, sexuality, race, nationality, religion and occupation, but the theme is open to wide interpretation.

For anyone with stories outside that theme (and keen to reap a rather larger cash reward), Shooter’s 2019 Short Story Competition is also open for entries. The winner will collect a £500 prize, with publication online and in the summer issue, while the runner-up receives £100 and online publication.

Deadline for both general and competition submissions is April 21st. Please visit Shooter’s Submissions or Competition pages for guidelines on how to submit.

Thieves and New Contest Themes

Posted
Filed under Competitions, Lit mag

new themes 2 copyOur next contest deadline is July the 28th, and we also have new monthly themes for other A3 Review contests till November. We’re looking for short fiction, mini essays, poetry and artwork on the theme of Ears, Hats and Triangles, for example.

Visit our Submittable page for all the details.

The next theme is Thieves. Hearts, heists, identities, or apricots from a neighbour’s tree. We like work that feels immediate and edgy, so check out the prompts and start creating now! We welcome submissions from around the world.

Three winners per issue receive cash prizes, and all monthly winners receive contributor copies, back issues and Writing Maps. All the details are here.

You can read some of the work that we feature in The A3 Review on our Instagram page.

Any questions, please do write to us at a3 [at] writingmaps.com

Shooter seeks “Dirty Money” for issue #8

Posted
Filed under Competitions, Lit mag

Shooter Literary Magazine invites submissions of short fiction, non-fiction and poetry on the theme of “Dirty Money” for its summer 2018 issue.

Writers should submit stories, essays, reported narratives and poetry on anything to do with dough, whether rolling in it or scrounging for it. We want to read about playboys and girls, corrupt bankers, hard-up students, entrepreneurs, gamblers, thieves, grafters – anyone affected by money in any compelling way. Are riches really the root of all evil, or the key to the world’s delights?

Please visit https://shooterlitmag.com/submissions for guidelines; deadline is April 8th, 2018. Successful writers will hear from us within a few weeks of the deadline, if not before, and receive payment and a copy of the issue. Due to the volume of submissions we no longer send rejection emails.

The 2018 Shooter Short Story Competition is also now open, with a newly reduced entry fee for those wishing to submit more than one story. Find guidelines for entering the competition at https://shooterlitmag.com/competition.

 

UK/Turkey Short Story Competition

Posted
Filed under Competitions

UK/Turkey Short Story Competition

The British Council in Turkey aims to build a bridge between Turkish and UK writers, facilitate dialogue between literary professionals in both countries, and create a platform to showcase works by Turkish and British writers to new audiences.

To support this initiative, the British Council is launching a short story competition, on the theme of ‘diversity’, in partnership with two literary institutions: ITEF -Istanbul Tanpınar Literature Festival in Turkey, and Word Factory in the UK.

The winner will have the opportunity to work with Word Factory and The British Council and have their story published on a new British Council digital platform, alongside specially-commissioned stories by established authors from Turkey and the UK. The winning writer will receive £300 and will see their short story translated into Turkish accompanied by a specially commissioned illustration.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Entry is free
  • Writers must be based in the UK, writing in English
  • One story submission per writer
  • Writers must be at least 18 years old, and ‘early-career’ (may have had single stories published on printed or online media, but not a full collection, or novel). Stories should be 1,500 words or less
  • Stories should be broadly themed on the concept of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (though we welcome original and unusual takes on this theme). Please check the British Council website for further information about the British Council’s approach to EDI. 
  • The competition is open to all fiction genres
  • By submitting a story, you agree that it may be edited (with your final approval) by Word Factory prior to publication
  • Submission deadline is midnight 31 December 2017
  • By submitting a story, you agree that you have read and accept the full terms and conditions (see below)

The winner will be chosen by a panel from The British Council and Word Factory and announced by 28 February 2018 on the British Council website.

Please fill out the form and submit your application.

CroppedImage1396770-turkey-uk-edit

 

The Gilded Lily & Gold Lamé Shorts

Posted
Filed under Competitions, Lit mag

The prompt for this month’s A3 Review contest is: Gold Things. We suggest writing about all that gliters and is gold. Submit flash fiction, brief essays and poems about lost wedding rings, edible gold leaf and hidden gold bullion. Tell the story of a heist in 150 words, or write a poem about a heist gone wrong. Tell the story of a day in the life of a detectorist. Write the story behind the gold medal you won, or almost won, or wish you’d won.

You could explore different idioms with “gold” in them: a heart of gold, good as gold, silence is golden. Write about rainbows and what’s at the end of them. You could write a non-fiction piece about the brutal reality of gold mines. Tell the story of a person looking back at the golden age of their life, or make it your story.

Be inspired by Rachel Hadas’ poem “Green and Gold” and Sandra M. Gilbert’s “Gold Tooth” – then write about your own golden fruit and gold tooth.

Some suggestions for opening words… start with “Gold is the colour of…” or “When I think of gold…”

This month’s contest is inspired by The Description Writing Map.

As always, The A3 Review welcomes short stories, flash fiction, poetry, comics, graphic stories, a snippet of memoir, photographs, illustrations, and any combination of the above. The only restriction is a word-limit of 150 and images should fit well into an A6 panel.

Come say hi on Twitter @TheA3Review

Agatha Christie in the Bath and Two Online Courses

Posted
Filed under Competitions, Workshops

The A3 Review hosts a monthly writing contest, and this month’s theme is Naked and Nude. We read here that Agatha Christie wrote in the bath while eating apples. We googled for images, but there weren’t any, so we’re wondering: Who’ll write the story of the bathing novelist who said she specialised in “murders of quiet, domestic interest”? We like a good title, so how about: “Agatha Christie in the Bath”? Click here for more naked inspiration.

Deadline is 23rd September. 150 words max, or if you’re sending us artwork, it should fit nicely into an A6-sized panel. Click here to see all the new themes for Issue 8, The Gold Issue.

In the meantime, Issue 7 is almost here. The Silver Issue. We have 12 contributors, plus a story from flash fiction writer extraordinaire, Kathy Fish. There’s a maritime theme running through the new issue. Flowing through it! Whales and shrimp, to be precise. As well as stories and poems about a nun who steals a cross, a boy scout who’s unprepared, a teacher who learns, and some people who revel in their own dirt! From the depths of the ocean to the moon and space, with some complicated earthly relationships in between. If you haven’t pre-ordered already, you can do that by clicking here.

Some details about the two online courses… New dates are up for The A3 Review editor, Shaun Levin’s How to Map Your Book online course. The current one filled up pretty quickly, so you might want to grab a place for the course starting in November. If you’re eager to join a course now, there are still a few places on the Write Around Town online course that starts next week. Both courses are practical and focused on your own writing. It’s a great chance to get detailed feedback on your work, too. Check out both courses by clicking here.

Any questions about the courses or The A3 Review, please contact maps [at] writingmaps [dot] com

Silver, Gold, and Some Hard Cash

Posted
Filed under Competitions, Workshops

gold thingsWe’ve got a silver-themed contest with a looming deadline; six new themes for Issue 8: The Gold Issue; and an increase in our cash prizes.

There’s still one last chance to be part of The A3 Review‘s Issue 7, The Silver Issue. This month’s theme is SILVER THINGS, so make sure to get your sparkly work in by Saturday the 26th August. Click here for glittery inspiration and to submit. The issue will also include a story by guest flash-fiction writer Kathy Fish alongside the winners of the last 5 months of contests, and this month’s winners, too.

In other news… The A3 Review‘s founding editor, Shaun Levin, is launching a new online writing course, How to Map Your Book. The course is suitable for writers at all stages of a book project, so if you’re putting together a collection of short stories, you might want to check out the details here.  There’s an early-bird rate for bookings up until the 20th August.

Do please spread the word about our new themes for Issue 8: The Gold Issue. Naked and Nude, Windows, and Betrayal are just some of the dramatic themes coming up! And, because our submission numbers are up, we’re able to increase the prize money from this issue. Click here for inspiration and more details.

Ruth Rendell Short Story Competition 2017

Posted
Filed under Competitions

Tuesday 1st August 2017 sees the launch of the sixth biennial Ruth Rendell Short Story Competition hosted by the award-winning charity InterAct Stroke Support.

The short story competition was first launched in 2008 and the challenge remains the same: writers are requested to write a piece, in any genre, in no more than 1000 words. The winner of the competition will write four further stories for InterAct Stroke Support over the course of one year and will receive £1000.

The closing date for submissions is Friday 22nd December 2017 and first place will be awarded at the winner’s ceremony in 2018 (date and venue to be confirmed).

IMG_4242

Baroness Ruth Rendell, a beloved patron, judge and friend of InterAct put her name to the award after the first short story competition in 2008 and sadly passed away in 2015. The competition continues to inspire writers in her honour.

 

InterAct Stroke Support is the only UK charity dedicated to supporting stroke recovery by using professional actors to deliver hospital readings and community projects. InterAct specialises in delivering stimulating and inspiring short stories specially selected to suit the needs of stroke patients.  The readings are designed to assist recovery by improving mood, stimulating the brain and providing a much-needed creative outlet.

Stories of any genre can be submitted by email or post and the submission fee is £15.00 per story. Please find more details and terms and conditions of entry on the InterAct Stroke Support website: www.interactstrokesupport.org/news

 

Davy Byrnes Short Story Award 2014

Posted
Filed under blog

The Stinging Fly are delighted to announce the return of the Davy Byrnes Short Story Award — Ireland’s biggest short story competition.

Prize fund: €15,000 for the best short story, plus five runner-up prizes of €1,000

Competition Judges: Anne Enright, Yiyun Li and Jon McGregor

—The competition is open to Irish citizens and to writers who are resident or were born in the thirty-two counties.

—Entries must consist of a previously unpublished short story written in English. The maximum word count is 15,000 words, no minimum. Only one story per entrant.

—We will be accepting entries from December 1st 2013. No online entries. Entries must be posted/delivered to Davy Byrnes Short Story Award, c/o Dublin UNESCO City of Literature, Dublin City Libraries, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.

—The deadline for receipt of entries is Monday, Feb 3rd 2014. There is a €10 entry fee, payable online or by cheque/postal order.

—The six short-listed writers will be announced in late May/early June 2014 and the overall winner announced in June 2014.

The competition is sponsored by Davy Byrnes and organised by The Stinging Fly in association with Dublin UNESCO City of Literature

For further information about the award — and to enter your story! — please visit our website.

What the judges say:

The Davy Byrnes Award is given to a story that has the writer’s name removed, the judges of the prize have been more international than local and the prize money is substantial. These three things meant the world to me when I won in 2004, a time when I felt washed up on the shores of the Irish boom. The short story yields truth more easily than any other form, and these truths abide in changing times. As a writer turned judge, I am looking for a story that could not have been written any other way; that is as good as it wants to be; that is the just the right size for itself.

—Anne Enright

I am a staunch advocate for short stories, and respect any organisation/effort that supports stories and story writers. I am thrilled to be serving as a judge for the Davy Byrnes Award. As for what I look for in a short story, to borrow from Tolstoy: ‘Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.’ There are stories written like happy families, which one reads and forgets the moment one puts them down. But the stories that belong to the category of unhappy families, they can do all kinds of things: they touch a reader, or leave a wound that never heals; they challenge a reader’s view, or even infuriate a reader; they lead to a desire in the reader’s heart to be more eloquent in his ways of responding to the story yet leave the reader more speechless than before. A good story is like someone one does not want to miss in life.

—Yiyun Li

I’m both thrilled and slightly daunted to be taking part in judging the Davy Byrnes Award this year. Thrilled, because it’s a prize with an astounding track record of unearthing great talent and excellent stories; the previous judges have clearly had a very sharp reading eye. Daunted, for pretty much the same reasons. There’s a lot to live up to.

What I look for in a short story is a kind of intensity of purpose and a clarity of expression; something which holds my attention and rings clearly in my reading mind. For me, this is mostly something in the voice on the page; something in the control of the syntax, which immediately puts me in the world of that story. If it’s there, it usually kicks in within the first few lines; after that, it’s just a matter of seeing whether the writer can really keep it up.

—Jon McGregor