Maximum of 2,500 words, excluding the title.
Judge: John Holland
Prize
£100 Cash
How to submit your entry
Pay online: pay via Paypal using the button below. PayPal will not pass your card details to the Festival organisers. PayPal will issue you a Transaction ID number.
Pay by cheque (adults only): please send a cheque for the value of the entry fee(s), payable to ‘Evesham Festival of Words’ to 20 Allardene, Evesham, Worcs. WR11 1EA. Please include your name, email address, other contact details, and the title of your short story/stories along with your cheque. The organisers will send you a Transaction ID number.
Email your story/stories to: info@eveshamfestivalofwords.org. Please include your name, address, contact telephone number, and the Transaction ID number with your entry.
Maximum if 500 words, excluding the title.
Judge: Ann Evans
Prizes
£20 – children (8 to 11);
£20 – children (12 to 15)
How to submit your entry
Free submission for children under 16, who should simply email their story/stories to: info@eveshamfestivalofwords.org. Please include your name, address, contact telephone number, and date of birth (if aged under 16 at closing date).
An acknowledgement email will be sent on receipt of your entry.
The work submitted must not have been previously published and must be on the theme of ‘An extra day’.
Closing date is midnight on Thursday 31st March 2016.
Entries received after the closing date will not be considered.
Online entries only will be accepted.
There will be cash prizes, as well as trophies, for winning entries.
Prizes will be presented by author Katie Fforde following her opening talk at the Festival in Evesham Town Hall, on the evening of Friday 1st July 2016.
John Holland (johnhollandwrites.com): “I’m looking for short stories which engage from the first line, have a consistent authorial voice, are in some way surprising (I don’t mean unpredictable twisted ending) – rather than mundane, include nice turns of phrase, a central idea and an ending that gives the reader at least a moment’s pause for thought. I am personally addicted to irony too. Of course few short stories hit all those buttons. There are really no rules, and short stories with none or few of these criteria can work brilliantly.”
Ann Evans (www.annevansbooks.co.uk): “I’ll be looking for a story with a beginning, a middle and an end. I’d love the start of the story to really grab my attention and make me want to read on. I’m hoping the characters are interesting, and there’s a good plot. Writing a story is all about re-writing. So my advice to everyone who enters this competition, is to go over your story once it’s written to see how you can improve it. Often this means cutting out unnecessary words and re-phrasing so it reads smoothly.”
If you have any questions (not covered by the Rules of the Short Story Competition) please email info@eveshamfestivalofwords.org.
Thank you for supporting Evesham Festival of Words Short Story Competition!