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Archive for the ‘Writing News’ Category

Congratulations to Annemarie Neary – who took part in Microfictions in 2008 and the first Novelists’ Club in 2009 –  for her fine story in February’s edition of Litro.

Annemarie’s work has been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize for the past three years and she was a prizewinner in 2009. She was a prizewinner in the Fish and Bryan MacMahon short story competitions (Ireland), and had an Honorable Mention in the Lorian Hemingway contest (US). Her stories  have been published in anthologies, including, in 2010, 50 Stories for Pakistan, Ways of Falling and Stories of Loss and Deception. Click here to read her story ‘Endless’ in The Litro Anti-Love Edition

The Bridport Prize has launched a new venture designed to ‘investigate the relationship between books and films’. Curated by novelist Jonathan Coe, the scheme is inviting  people to submit film adaptations of some of last year’s winning stories in Bridport’s flash fiction category. For more details of how to enter visit the From Page to Screen website

A new company called First Draft is offering playwrights the chance to showcase new work in central London this April.  They’re looking for submissions of between 5 – 20 minutes long, unpublished and not yet staged. There is no fee to enter. If selected your play will be performed as part of First Draft’s April Showers festival at The Horse, in Waterloo

The deadline for submitting work is 11th March 2011.

More details from First Draft

February 5 has been designated as ‘Save Our Libraries Day’, in an effort to bring greater attention to the crisis facing many public libraries.

Many local authorities are slashing funding to libraries in the wake of government funding cuts. Warwickshire County Council, for example, has just announced plans to close almost half of that county’s 34 libraries.

If you can spare the time this Saturday, call in to your own local library and show that they have your support. More information on these sites:

Bookseller Library Campaign on Facebook

Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals

Voices for the Library

BBC writersroom and BBC Comedy Commissioning have joined forces in a nationwide competition to find new comedy gold.  The challenge is to write an original narrative comedy script with series potential.

Write it, send it in – and you could be in line not just for a comedy masterclass, but also an intensive week away developing your idea hand in hand with BBC comedy producers and established comedy writing talent.

For more information, and to find out how to enter, visit the BBC Writers’ Room

Women are well represented, both behind the scenes in publishing, and at the checkout in terms of fiction sales. So why is it that when it comes to lists and prizes, novels written by men still dominate?

A fantastic panel will assemble at the ICA on Wed 16 Feb, 7pm, to debate this question: Kate Mosse, best-selling author and co-founder of the Orange Prize, Lennie Goodings from Virago Press, Baroness Helena Kennedy, QC and judge of the Orange and Samuel Johnson prizes, Antonia Byatt, Director of Literature at the Arts Council and former Director of the Women’s Library, and Professor Mary Evans researcher in literature and gender at the Gender Institute.

Click here to book a ticket for this event.

The Arts Council England is backing a bid by the independent publishers Route to find “Yorkshire’s next great author”. The company has launched a competition for 18-30-year-old aspiring authors with the prize of a book deal for the winner. The Bookseller quotes Yorkshire-born author David Peace (Red Riding, The Damned United) as saying, “As the major London publishing houses close their doors and eyes to unsolicited manuscripts this opening provides a rare opportunity for young unpublished novelists to have their work actually read and considered for publication.” Applicants, who must be living in Yorkshire, should apply including a synopsis and sample text up to 10,000 words by 31st May. More info on the Route Online website.

Jackie Kay is the judge for Mslexia Magazine’s 2011 Short Story Competition, which offers a £2,000 first prize and publication in the magazine for all five winning stories.  Previously unpublished short stories of up to 2,200 words by women writers are eligible. Deadline: January 24.

See their excellent website for more information: Mslexia 2011 Women’s Short Story Competition

The Bristol Short Story Prize is now officially open for entries. The prize money for the 2011 contest has doubled: the winning writer will receive £1,000 and all 20 writers whose stories are published in Volume 4 of The Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology will receive at least £100. The winning story will, also, be published in Bristol Review of Books and Venue magazine. And short story fans can look forward to ShortStoryVille- a day-long festival celebrating short stories, to be held next July.

The 2011 judging panel includes Maia Bristol (former UK Sales Manager at Faber & Faber), award-wining short story writer Tania Hershman (highly commended in the 2009 Orange Prize for her collection ‘The White Road and other stories’) and author, illustrator and cartoonist Joe Berger. The competition closes 31st March 2011. The picture shows last year’s winner Valerie O’Riordan, signing a copy of the 2010 anthology.

Inspired by the example of Dave Eggars’ highly successful Pirate shop at 826 Valencia, San Francisco, Nick Hornby and friends have established The Ministry of Stories in Hackney North London.

The aim is to provide a safe, fun space where 8 – 18-year-olds can go to write stories, take part in workshops and word games, and receive one-to-one mentoring from adult writers who volunteer their time.  The Ministry of Stories opened its doors in November with a lively programme of activities and events designed ‘to inspire [young people] to transform their lives through writing’. Visit the MoS website for more details.

The Ministry of Stories is at 159 Hoxton Street, London N1 6PJ. Opening times:  Saturday and Sunday, 11am – 5pm.