Womag news
In case you missed Liz's comment on last week's post, she said – "A heads-up that a couple of writers have had stories accepted by Woman's World over a year after they submitted them. Until the past few weeks, writers could assume rejection after around 3 months. Also, recent acceptance emails have been sent out around publication time rather than a few weeks before. This probably isn't an issue for the solve-it-yourself mystery writers as there are no other outlets that accept that format. But the romance writers will need to be aware of it."
I wonder why that is? Could they be short of submissions? The magazine's website is here. I couldn't find any official submission guidelines, but this blog might be of interest.
Free entry competition news
The Tom Grass Prize is for 'a short piece of stand-alone prose in either Fiction or Non-Fiction (1,500 - 3,000 words). It can be adapted from a longer work but must be satisfying to read by itself. '
• Open to emerging writers over the age of 25 from around the world
• £1000 for first prize, and two runners-up prizes, each £500
• Judged by a panel including literary agents
• Submission deadline 31st March 2025
• Fiction, non-fiction or journalistic writing
The current Best competition is for a crime or thriller story of up to 1,200 words. Quite a few followers of this blog have won or been runner up in this competition (I was runner up in the last one), so it's definitely worth a try.
If the t&cs are too small to read, right click on them and save to your desktop - you should then be able to enlarge them (works with any online image of sufficient resolution).
22 comments:
Thanks for the competitions, Patsy.
Interesting Best say, ‘We’d love to hear from previously unpublished authors’.
I hadn’t noticed that before.
HB
Thanks Patsy great information as usual. That's very strange about Woman's World though, publishing after so long without notifying the authors in advance. Could be messy.
Also don't they take all rights? If you've sold the story elsewhere, it could be, as Shelagh says, very messy. I mentioned last time that TPF were also accepting stories after their cut off rejection time of a year.
Thanks for the competition info. It's always good to know the current theme for the Best competition, although this one probably isn't for me. Might have a go at the Tom Grass one.
Thanks for the competitions and information, Patsy.
Yes, fed up with winter here as well. Just spent a couple of hours in the garden but its still really muddy and rain and wind forecast for tomorrow...
@HB I had a look back over some of Best's previous calls for entries and they often use to say 'we'd love to hear from budding writers' but not always! The phrasing is different on each of the competition pages.
Thanks for the comp info Patsy. I'm never clear though with Best's comp if your contact details should be on the story or if it should be anonymous and contact details given separately. I do both which is probably incorrect!
Thank you, Patsy. I might have a go at the Tom Grass too. When I did my Best entry (Christmas), I had my name/contact details on the front page and then started the story just below that, if that helps, Elizabeth. Comps will usually/should say if they want anonymous. In a not unrelated question, would love to know how many they get :) I imagine it's 'a lot', but I have no idea what that is! Since June 21st is 'Midsummer', my reckoning is March 21st is mid-spring, which make it well in to the start of spring now :) That's what I keep telling myself anyway!
Thanks, Alyson.
It made me wonder re your previous post about not being picked a second time.
HB
Thanks Marguerite, I'll try doing it that way if I decide to give it a go.
Thanks for all the info Patsy.
I looked at the Tom Grass entry details and spotted this hidden away.
“Entrants can be previously unpublished writers or, if published, with no more than 1 major work to their name, usually considered to be a book-length work. Please provide details of the work with your submission.”
So the opening info on their website “The Tom Grass Prize is open to all writers from all over the world who are over the age of 25 and writing in the English language” is a bit misleading.
I've entered it and I didn't state what I'd had published, so I've probably broken their rules. I haven't had a book published or self published. Never mind. I'll take it off my spreadsheet.
Certainly is! Not great clarity in writing....
I just had a look at the details of the Tom Grass Prize. Don't think I will enter but it prompted a question that people here may know the answer to. Do competition entries have to be previously unpublished? Some do address this in the entry rules but others don't always say.
@HB – I can't recall seeing that before either. I suppose they're just making it clear that anyone can enter.
@ Sheelagh - yes, it's very odd.I'm surprised they even keep 'out of date' submissions.
@ Sharon – I think you're right about the rights.
I thought TPF gave a cut off of 3 months, but then said that didn't apply to those they'd already published? Maybe I'm mixing them up with a different publication, or they've changed that since? Either way, like you, I've heard of people having stories accepted after they'd assumed there was no chance of that happening.
I REALLY wish all publications would give a definite cut of period, so we know where we stand.
@ Maisie - I find competition themes and prompts interesting. Even if I can't / don't want to enter, they might encourage me to write something else.
@ Alyson - varying the phrasing suggests they really are trying to attract new writers, doesn't it?
@ Elizabeth – I put mine on and was runner up. I'm sure it would be stated in the rules if it was important for entries to be anonymous.
@ Marguerite – Yes, I'd be interested to know too. Like you, I imagine it's a lot.
I like your thinking re spring!
@ Fiona - Yes, that is misleading!
@ Sharon – I should think you're OK. It sounds as though either no books or just one is OK. You can't give details of a book which doesn't exist.
@ Sue – Unless something is stated in the rules, I assume it's OK to do what we think. If the organisers want unpublished work, anonymous entries, a particular theme or word count, work to be produced in a particular font etc etc, then they'll say so.
The only things I think should always apply, whether stated or not, is that we should have produced the work ourselves and hold the copyright.
Does anyone know if the Best comp is an 'all rights' one please? Sue A
This is Sue A again, from just above! I have managed to enlarge the t and c's for the Best comp and they do take all of the rights from both winner and runners up on an exclusive and perpetual basis.
It's the same with the ongoing Prima short story competition. They take the rights to the winning story only. 800 words & open genre. The prize is publication and £100 (I think!).
So, in the best comp, all the runner up and winning stories by the writers have lost the rights to their stories.
The UK magazine circulation figures for 2024 were released the other day and make grim reading. TPF's circulation has plummeted and you wonder how some magazines - including Best - keep going. https://pressgazette.co.uk/media-audience-and-business-data/media_metrics/magazine-abc-news-current-affairs-2024/
All very sobering. Liz
To Sharon at a Quick Read - re Best comp. - in the small print - not only exclusive and perpetual rights but also future right to publish and republish or as part of a printed book, create a digital version for an e book and an audio version broadcast on radio and produced in other mediums including films and tv.
Think I'll pass - no that I would have won anyway! Sue A
Just this month, I had a PF story accepted that had been sitting with them for just over eleven months - I had noted the 12 months in my phone diary intending to send it elsewhere at that point. On a good note, by the time it was accepted, I'd had no many (during 2024) that I was now on the top rate of £, so that worked out lol. It will be published in the summer.
The PF cut off is 12 months if you haven't heard - but I usually have heard well within this timescale, and if the story is relevant to timing (seasonal etc) I've heard back within a week or two, and certainly well within three months. My latest acceptance though was for one submitted last year (11 months ago!!) - that story mentioned summer sun, and although I had offered to edit it out so it could be used any time, it does suit the seasonal spot it will get, so bear that in mind when submitting (f you miss a spot in one year, it may take months for it to be considered for next time around).
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