Free entry writing competition news.
Thanks to Alyson for sending the link to this climate related short story competition. (If it still says it's closed ignore that as it applies to last year.) There's a $3,000 first prize, you have between 3,000 and 5,000 words and until June to get it done. The weather should be better by then!
Thanks to Vivienne Moles for these two -
This is from the Evening Standard closing date 12th April inviting entries on the theme of belonging - 1000 words/2 minutes.
Fictionette are running some free entry competitions and also accepting submissions. However they've had to drop Lipstick & Lies due to a very poor response.
Vivienne also tells me that Secret Attic has a new owner - Jason Darrell - who at the moment is honouring existing members but there will be a fee for new members. They have more competitions coming out: https://www.secret-attic.co.uk/
Here's a playwriting competition with a £10,000 prize.
The organisers of this competition sent me the following email – "On this occasion you can participate by sending THREE stories per author instead of the usual two, and remember that the theme is FREE CHOICE.
The contest will be open for the reception of micro-stories until September 30, and the participation form can be accessed from the foundation's website and the regulatory bases can be consulted. Any questions that may arise in this regard can be sent to info@fundacioncesaregidoserrano .comThe endowment of the first prize —20,000 dollars to the winning story— makes it the best endowed contest per word in the world, in which three second prizes of 2,000 dollars each are awarded, for the best stories in each of the admitted languages. in the contest, and that have not been winners of the absolute prize. In addition to Spanish, micro-stories may be presented in English, Arabic and Hebrew."
Here's a poetry contest with a $500 prize.
The Sophie Coe prize offers £1,500 for an informative article or essay on food history.
Womag news
I received an auto response for a recent submission to TAB's Fiction Feast and noticed it mentioned they aim to give a decision within 12 weeks. That's usually my experience, but a few of mine have been out for longer, so I emailed to ask if that meant those were no longer under consideration.
She responded to say she does aim to make a decision within 12 weeks, but if we don’t receive a decision within that time the story is still on the list for consideration. She’s happy for us to remove any from the list as long as we let her know.
This week Alice accepted a summer holidays story from me, so I'm guessing she'll be looking for mid to late summer stories next.
If you currently have any stories under consideration with The People's Friend, you might find this post from Fiction editor Lucy of interest.
I've heard that Abbie, one of The People's Friend fiction team, has accepted voluntary redundancy and would like to wish her well for the future. I've not worked with her personally but I know those who have will miss her.
My news
I've finished the second draft of my next crime novel – Disguised Murder In Little Mallow. There's lots more work to do, but I like to celebrate each milestone along the way.
I've finished the second draft of my next crime novel – Disguised Murder In Little Mallow. There's lots more work to do, but I like to celebrate each milestone along the way.
31 comments:
Well done Patsy on all your achievements, no mean feat. Thanks for all the info on the various competitions, I must give some of them a go. Got a few stories sent off recently so that was an achievement in itself.
I was sad to learn of Abbie's departure from People's Friend not least because she was my assigned editor in recent times and I found her lovely to deal with. I guess this also means more work for the rest of the fiction team there so possibly slower turn around.
Congratulations on the womag sales and the novel, Patsy and thanks as usual for the competitions.
Very worrying times to The People's Friend. As Sheelagh says with one down on the fiction team its going to mean more work for the others. Very sad to see such a long established title taking a hit.
I have not heard back from April at the Best of WW despite her asking a couple of weeks ago if a story was still available. I'm trying to remain optimistic about it...
Alyson
Well done on a story sale, Patsy and thanks for all the info. I may give the playwriting project a go.
I'm so disappointed about Lipstick and lies.
It has taken me quite lot of effort to write 700 words and I had a brand new story ready for the April contest.
I assume, now the project has been closed down, that there's no winner announced for the March contest?
I have also entered 3 stories for the fictionette e-mag but I haven't heard anything.
April at BOWW does take some chasing. She does reply eventually, so don't lose heart!
I too, am sorry to see Abbie go and I'm wondering what direction the TPF submissions system will go.
Hints have been dropped on the TPF blog, that this will change.
People are talking about them possibly bringing in a closed list.
If they don't re-fill Abbie's role (and I don't think they will) they will need to find a way of managing the huge amount of material they receive, with 3 fiction based staff.
Are they still working from home and only going into the office once a week? Maybe this reduces office costs, such as heat, electric and lighting.
I'm not a TPF published story writer, so if they bring in a closed list, I won't be able to submit anymore.
We'll have to keep an eye out on any further announcements.
Some of these look interesting. I do wish I could get in to the climate change stories as there seems to be several avenues for these. I had to stop a small grin when reading the TPF post - one ricocheted back to me within 24 hours this week (longer than the usual hour, then). I am guessing it is just not my market. I look forward to your next crime novel, Patsy - I expect it will be a while yet, though.
The Lipstick and Lies March results are on the site. I too have subbed one story for the magazine. It does say 6-12 weeks. I am currently in a big pickle with word counts - all the - 750, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 1800, 2000 etc...,. Some you simply cannot pare back (or add to). Driven me up the wall this week.
Ally27
I'm sorry for not commenting before now. I have very much enjoyed reading about all of your achievements. I also sympathise with those who have received rejections from TPF. I am still waiting for the day when one of my stories will be accepted. That will be cause for celebration indeed! Cake and Champagne for starters.
@Patsy Many congratulations on finishing the first draft of your next Crime novel. I agree that each milestone should be celebrated. I would also like to say thank you for all the hard work that you put into this blog and for the invaluable information you share with us. On that note, more thanks are in order because I have just been informed that I am one of the winners of the recent poetry competition from The Horse's mouth. I'm thrilled, especially as I don't tend to enter many poetry competitions.
Wishing everyone the best of luck with your writing endeavours. Here's hoping that there will be many more successes to report.
I hope that everyone has a wonderful Easter!
Ally
Good news on the acceptance and novel, Patsy. I'm disappointed about Secret Attic has become a members' only publication opportunity, but I can see that their existing financial model wasn't sustainable. I've pretty much given up on TPF. I managed to get one poem in there, but have had zero success with my short stories. On a brighter note, I have also found that April Madden at BoWW does reply, but I think she's very pressed for time.
A while back I submitted a poem to 'From the Horse's Mouth' (thanks again to this blog) and was happily surprised when I heard this morning that my poem was one of the winners, and £50 was paid instantly into my bank account!
Thanks for all the info and links Patsy and congratulations on your success and completing draft of your new novel.
Congratulations also to Ally and Maisie on their From the Horse's Mouth wins what a fabulous achievement.
I am also sorry Abbie has left TPF she was so nice to work with, as indeed all the editors are in my experience. I guess it's a sign of the times we are living through, hopefully things will improve soon.
Thanks Patsy for all the info. Competitions aren’t really my thing sadly. Have noticed how things are changing and the short story market is shrinking. I have three stories currently on file with woman weekly so keeping my fingers crossed for those and one that I revised for best of woman’s weekly, but heard nothing back as yet! I’m also putting together my first collection of short stories that I will publish using kdp platform and finishing off my debut romcom novel - so trying to keep busy whilst waiting for acceptances, as that’s all I can do! Charlie.
Thanks for all the usual competition info, Patsy, and on reaching a major milestone with your novel. Treat yourself to a slice of cake! Re TPF, I immediately thought, are they about to close their list? It would be a shame if they went down this road. Like Maisie, I’ve almost given up with them, especially as two of my stories that I’ve had rejected by them have gone on to be accepted elsewhere.
Regarding April at BOWW, I know a few of you have subbed stories to her and had acceptances recently. I just wanted to ask, does she acknowledge submissions? I know Andrew still does. (He did with a submission of mine a few weeks ago.) Just wondering if she received it. I used her email address as shown on an earlier blog - lower casing.
I had an unexpected acceptance from Sharon Reid at YF for a story I’d given up hope on, to be published in their 2024 Year Book in September, which was a nice surprise.
Hope everyone has a nice Easter
Michael Donoghue
Thanks for all the info Patsy and well done on your own progress.
Coming up to end of tax year I have realised this is the first year for 20 years that I haven't had a womag story published. Admittedly, I gave up on a lot of the UK mags when they changed their rights, and Allas no longer accepting English stories was a blow, but I was still getting the odd one in You South Africa - until they closed their lists! Have you heard any more from them about whether this is temporary and if they are still publishing fiction? It's been a long time!
Sorry, I meant to say that I subbed a summer themed story to April at BOWW last week. Hopefully, it has been received. Finger crossed.
Michael Donoghue
I didn't have an acknowledgement from April at BoWW, just an acceptance a couple of weeks after submitting. Good luck, Michael.
Thank you, Patsy, for another really interesting blog. Congratulations to those who have had acceptances. I won the last Lipstick and Lies competition to my complete surprise. Other than that, it's been quiet, but I have some submissions out and I'm trying to be more organised about getting seasonal stories ready in good time for when they need to be submitted, so now I have some ready in advance for different times of the year!
Thanks, Maisie.
Michael Donoghue
As always, thank you Patsy for these blog posts. I have had a little piece accepted by Fictionette (in one of their monthly competitions,) who I discovered through this blog. After lots of rejections that was a nice little boost to have one of my lighthearted pieces picked up.
Congratulations on the crime novel.
Thanks for all the competition info Patsy and congratulations on completing the first draft of your novel. I seem to have a big barrier about longer stuff. Maybe because I write a lot of poetry so short stories seem incredibly long compared to a haiku!
Congrats also to everyone else with publication and competition successes.
I saw that Lucy at PF said to send Christmas stories from April, so sent one off yesterday. It’s historical (my first) and was originally written for a Globe Soup competition. All the time I was writing it I kept thinking this is more like a PF story, but it got highly commended in that contest so I felt quite encouraged. With a few tweaks it’s off again and will see what happens.
Thanks for all the info, Patsy, and well done on the second draft, a definite cause for cake, I’d say.
Congrats to everyone with wins and acceptances.
Sadly, Lucie’s blog reads like TPF won’t remain open to all for much longer.
HB
That's great progress on your novel, Patsy - well done.
I was sorry to hear Abbie had left. She occasionally emailed me accepting my stories if Tracey was away, and she she seemed to be a really nice person. I wish her well for whatever she does next.
My news is that one of my long crime reads published in The People's Friend Special last year has made the shortlist for this year's Derringer Awards. They are run by the Short Mystery Fiction Society in the USA. It's well worth joining if you write short mystery/crime stories. There's no fee to join and only members can enter the annual awards for published short stories. I'm really stoked to have made the shortlist.
Liz Filleul
Sorry Patsy, just registered it was the second draft of your novel - even more congrats! (Should never post before my first coffee of the day!)
Hi Patsy
Have followed you from time to time, when you were travelling round in your camper van and I was on a boat.
Seem to be more able to concentrate on my writing so hopefully will drop by more often for inspiration etc
Read several of your books, loved Paint Me A Picture.
Congratulations on getting your second draft done!
It's April, so I'm focused on the #AtoZChallenge.
Proof of Existence, book two in my dark urban fantasy series, is out this month.
And I'm running a giveaway on my blog.
J Lenni Dorner (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Reference& Speculative Fiction Author, OperationAwesome6 Debut Author Interviewer, and Co-host of the #AtoZchallenge
Thanks for the short story opportunities. I never here of these things anywhere else.
Congratulations on the story sale and sending you positive vibes for the book.
@ Sheelagh – Thanks and congratulations on getting some work sent out. I imagine you're very busy in the garden at the moment.
Yes, Abbie leaving will mean more work for the other editors and even longer delays for writers unless their processes are streamlined somehow.
@ Alyson – Seems as though all editors are struggling to keep on top of things, not just those at TPF.
@ Sharon – It's so disappointing to keep losing potential markets.
I think there will have to be changes at TPF. People were already waiting in excess of two years in some cases. I hope they don't bring in closed lists and don't think they will as they've always prided themselves on encouraging new writers. Maybe they'll have submission windows? That would allow them to process all the submissions they have before inviting more.
@ Marguerite – Word counts can be frustrating. It's a mazing how often the tone and subject will be right for one place, but the story just won't fit any of their word counts. Some can be modified, but it doesn't always work.
@ Ally – Congratulations on you poetry win! It always makes me happy to hear people read and appreciate the blog, but especially so when it's led to success for them.
@ Maisie – Well done for the poetry win. Two winners from my blog readers for the same competition is an excellent result.
@ Elizabeth – I hope so too!
@ Charlie – We seem to have a very similar approach – although I try a few competitions as well. God luck with your various projects.
@ Michael – Congratulations on the sale.
I think everyone (including those who'd potentially benefit) is hoping TPF don't close submissions to new writers.
Sorry, I don't know about BOWW as, because they take all rights, I don't submit there. Hopefully someone else can tell you.
@ Sherri – Sorry, I've not heard about those mags reopening for fiction submissions. If I do hear, I'll definitely post something here.
@ Marian – Well done for the win and good luck with the being organised thing. It's something I try, but don't always manage.
@ Lindsay – Well done. An acceptance really lifts the sprits, doesn't it? And it's lifting mine to learn how many people have had good news as a result of this blog.
@ Fiona – Starting a novel would seem very daunting after writing haiku! They're very different things, but that doesn't mean you can't do both.
@ HB – To me it looks as though TPF are considering their options. It's good that they realise things need to change in order to reduce waiting times, but I really hope they don't go down the route of closing to new writers. I'm hopeful they won't, as encouraging new writers is something they're known and appreciated for.
@ Liz – Wow, well done!
@ Ocean Girl – I'm still doing the travelling in the camper. I know call it the mobile writing retreat to encourage me to work more when I'm away. It's working I think.
I'm so pleased you enjoyed the novel.
@ J Lenni – Congratulations on the new release! I hope the giveaway generates a lot of interest.
@ Bubble – I do my best to hunt out less well known opportunities, and am fortunate that blog readers sometimes pass on details of others. There must be thousands of different competitions and publications.
Congratulations to all on acceptances - it's always such a lovely buzz isn't it :) And well done Patsy on your second draft - soooo hard writing full length novels!
I, too, am sad to see Abbie go as she was lovely to chat with, and wishing her good luck, happiness and success in the future. Having reread the email I see that information about our new editor (for those of us who were with Abbie) will be communicated to us in due course, and it also says that the rest of the fiction team will remain in place which is great news. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long to find out as though I appreciate things are difficult for them all, it leaves us writers on tenterhooks as to what will happen next.
What's happening with people who had Abbie as an editor at PF? Are they just not allowed to submit now?
VS
Abbie was my editor too and I've been feeling rather frustrated since she left.
I'm sad for her, obviously, but I rarely heard about submissions as it was and now she's gone and I'll have to join another really long queue.
My oldest sub is eighteen months old and I just keep waiting and waiting.
They're obviously going to have to do something so they can clear the backlog, and your suggestion of submission windows sounds like a good idea, Patsy, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
SAW
For people asking about April Madden at BoWW, she's just sent through my contract and I've raised an invoice via their freelance hub - so it does happen!
Thanks for all the great info Patsy and well done on completing the first draft of your novel. That definitely calls for cake to celebrate. I don't know what we would do without you keeping us all up to date. One day I will enter one of those competitions.
It's great to hear everyone's news. I received an acceptance from People's Friend today and am absolutely delighted. It makes all the rejections worthwhile!
I too am sorry to see Abbie at PF leave. She accepted a couple of my poems and was always so encouraging and lovely. I wish her well in her future.
Sharon H
@ Carrie – I see Lucy has made another post about submissions, but it doesn't seem to add anything to what we knew already.
@ VS - Presumably they can still submit, but it's not clear who to.
@ SAW - I guess waiting times will increase, at least for a while. Hopefully things will change for the better soon.
@ Maisie – I'm sure those who submit there will be reassured the system is working.
@ Sharon – Congratulations. The acceptances, when they eventually come, make up for a lot, don't they?
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