Donna Collins' Blog

This weeks competitions that have caught my eye:

FICTION:

Write a Story for Bedtime
Category:   Fiction
Closes:   28th October 2011
Fees:   £0 for one entry.
Prizes:   £500 for first place. £300; £100.
Details:   For bedtime stories for grown-ups by UK writers over 18. 1,500-3,000 words.
Contact:   The A.Vogel Dormeasan Short Story competition, Your Healthy Living, JHN Productions Ltd, Unit2, Three Hills Farm, Ashdon Road, Bartlow, Cambridgeshire, CB21 4SD
Country:   United Kingdom
Website:   http://www.avogel.co.uk/story

Third Annual Short Story Contest
Category:   Fiction
Closes:   20th October 2011
Fees:   $0 for one entry. Donations appreciated for non-profit charity.
Prizes:   $0 for first place. up to $100. Or Free writing course.
Details:   1. Any genre, up to 1,750 words 2. No fee, but donations will help cash prize 3. Submit as Word attachment, or in .rtf format, or paste in email 4. No swearing or vulgar language. 5. Put WRITING CONTEST in subject line 6. Judged on originality, creativity, style, and technique. Cash prize or free writing course. See website for more guidelines.
Country:   United States
Email:   jopopek@gmail.com
Website:   http://www.creativewritinginstitute.com

StoryFeedback.com Short Story Contest
Category:   Fiction
Closes:   30th November 2011
Fees:   £3 for one entry. £6 to include crit; £15 to include crit and edit.
Prizes:   £100 for first place. 2nd prize £50, 3rd prize £25.
Details:   Previously unpublished stories of up to 5000 words required, in any genre and on any theme.
Contact:   StoryFeedback.com Short Story Contest, 7 Offley Street, Worcester WR3 8BH
Country:   United Kingdom
Website:   http://www.storyfeedback.com

Moving Stories
Category:   Fiction
Closes:   12th December 2011
Fees:   £0 for one entry. Free to enter
Prizes:   £750 for first place. 2 x Runner Up prizes of Ł125
Details:   The theme is moving home.
Contact:   946 Green Lanes, London N21 2LL
Country:   United Kingdom
Email:   movingstories@peterbarry.co.uk
Website:   http://www.peterbarry.co.uk/blog/2011/oct/06/moving-stories-peter-barry-short-story-competition/

Blue Earth Review Flash Fiction Contest
Category:   Fiction
Closes:   1st December 2011
Fees:   $5 for one entry. One entry consists of up to three pieces.
Prizes:   $100 for first place. $75; $25.
Details:   For flash fiction up to 600 words.
Contact:   Blue Earth Review, 230 Armstrong Hall, Minnesota State University, Mankato, Mankato, MN 56001
Country:   United States
Email:   blueearthreview@gmail.com
Website:   http://english.mnsu.edu/blueearth/contests.htm

Great American Novel Contest 2011
Category:   Fiction
Closes:   31st October 2011
Fees:   $35 for one entry.
Prizes:   $300 for first place.
Details:   Looking for the next Great American Novel! With $1350 in total prize money, our contest seeks the best unpublished work in 7 different areas of fiction including Literary, Mainstream, Young Adult (YA), Science Fiction/Fantasy, Romance, Suspense/thriller, and Historical. Deadline is Oct 31, 2011. Entry fee $35. Please visit the contest page of our website for more information and contest submission guidelines.
Contact:   TAG Publishing 2618 S Lipscomb Amarillo, TX 79109
Country:   United States
Website:   http://www.tagpublishers.com/Contest_FK0G.html

Fantasy Short Story
Category:   Fiction
Closes:   25th October 2011
Fees:   $0 for one entry.
Prizes:   $0 for first place. Publication in our magazine.
Details:   Submit your fantasy or medieval short story, up to 6000 words. We are looking for stories that grab a readers attention and lure them in, leaving them craving for more. Great grammar and flow are important. We accept both new and published authors.
Country:   United States
Email:   adam@tavernsvault.com
Website:   http://www.tavernsvault.com

Graphic Short Story Prize
Category:   Fiction
Closes:   14th October 2011
Fees:   £0 for one entry.
Prizes:   £1,000 for first place. £250. Also publication.
Details:   For four-page graphic stories.
Contact:   The Observer/Jonathan Cape/Comica Graphic Short Story Prize, 2nd Floor, Random House, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA
Country:   United Kingdom
Email:   CapeCompetition@randomhouse.co.uk
Website:   http://www.vintage-books.co.uk/about-us/jonathan-cape/Graphicshortstoryprize

SCRIPTS:

2011 TWNOLF One-Act Play Contest
Category:   Scripts
Closes:   1st Nobember 2011
Fees:   $25 for one entry
Prizes:   $1,500 for first place. Staged reading 2012, full production 2013, VIP Festival Pass, Publication.
Details:   See our website for full submission guidelines. We are accepting unpublished, original one-act plays of any theme that run no longer than one hour in length. Deadline is November 1, 2011. The top ten finalists of each contest will receive a panel pass ($75 value) to attend the 2012 Festival, and their names will be published on our website.
Country:   United States.
Email:   contests@tennesseewilliams.net
Website:   http://www.tennesseewilliams.net/contests

iChallenged Script Writing Contest
Category:   Scripts
Closes:   20th Nobember 2011
Fees:   $45 for one entry
Prizes:   $1,000 for first place.
Details:   Looking for scripts of any genre. Top six entries will have a webisode of one scene filmed in front of a live audience to be aired and voted on at our website. First Prize is $1,000 plus audience vote dollars. Winner grants the right of first refusal allowing to negotiate a license to produce a feature length film based on the winning script.
Contact:   Online entry preferred – Collaborative Movies, LLC -iChallenged Script Competition, 19785 W 12 Mile Rd. #470, Southfield, MI, 48076
Country:   United States.
Website:   http://www.producemyfilm.org/Contests/Script/Dec2011/Default.aspx

The Sitcom Mission
Category:   Scripts
Closes:   31st January 2012
Fees:   £10 for one entry. Final Deadline price after 24th January £15.
Prizes:   £5,000 for first place. Showcase in front of UK comedy commissioners.
Details:   15-minute sitcom-writing competition. Send us something Funny, Interesting, Marketable and Stageable. the shortlisted entries will go through to a public knockout stage and the Grand Final will be judged by the UK TV commissioners.
Contact:   12 Rushcliffe Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 8ED
Country:   United Kingdom.
Website:   http://www.sitcommission.com

RWA Competitions

Great Expectations
Sponsor: North Texas Romance Writers of America
Fee: $30 for RWA members, $35 for non-RWA members ($5 “early bird” discount for entries received by December 10)
Deadline: December 30, 2011
Eligibility: Open to entrants who (1) are unpublished or uncontracted in book-length romantic fiction; (2) are unpublished or uncontracted in the category entered; OR (3) have not been published, sold, or contracted in the category entered for the past three years.
Entry: All electronic. First 25 pages + micro-synopsis (300 words max).
Judges: Three preliminary-round judges (trained, one published). A fourth judge will be used for any entry whose two lowest scores differ by 30 or more points and the entry might final; under these circumstances, the lowest score of the four will be dropped.
Categories/Final Judges: Contemporary Series ~ Denise Zaza, Harlequin; Single Title Contemporary ~ Meredith Giordan, Berkley; Erotic Romance ~ Katherine Pelz, Berkley; Historical Romance ~ Sue Grimshaw, Random House; Inspirational Romance ~ Natalie Hanemann, Thomas Nelson; Specialized (FFTP) ~ Talia Platz, NAL; Mainstream with Romantic Elements ~ Emilia Pisani, Pocket Books; Romantic Suspense ~ Adam Wilson, MIRA; and Young Adult ~ Elizabeth Bistrow, NAL.
Top Prize: Cash prizes in each category ($50 for first, $30 for second, $15 for third).
FMI, visit www.ntrwa.org or e-mail Wendy Watson at gecoordinator@ntrwa.org.

Please remember to check out all contests before you enter and to copyright all work.

Good luck and let me know how you get on.

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