Writing Magazine April 2020

WRITERS’ NEWS

76 APRIL 2020 http://www.writers-online.co.uk

Your essential monthly round-up of competitions, paying markets,

opportunities to get into print and publishing industry news.

Grindstone Literary have four creative writing competitions

running this spring.

• Win £1,000 in the 2020 International Novel Prize for
  unpublished novels. Enter up to 3,000 words of the opening of an
  unpublished finished or part-finished novel in any genre aimed at
  readers from YA upwards. Also send a synopsis no longer than 300
  words. The Grand Prize winner gets £1,000 and the runner-up,
  £500. There are also four £50 shortlist prizes. The entry fee is £16.
  The closing date is 28 March.


• Win a £500 first prize for flash fiction up to 500 words in
  Grindstone’s Flash Fiction Prize. Enter original, unpublished
  short fiction, in any genre. The first prize is £500, and the
  second prize, £200. There are also four shortlist prizes of £50.
  The entry fee is £6.
  The closing date is 28 March.


• To enter the International Short Story Prize, send original,
  unpublished short stories in any genre up to 3,000 words. The
  first prize is £500 and the second, £200. Four shortlisted writers

will each get £50. The entry fee is £8. The closing date is 28 April.

• First prize is £500 for an unpublished poem in the Grindstone
  International 2020 Poetry Prize. To enter, send original,
  unpublished poems up to 40 lines. There is a first prize of £500
  and a second prize of £200. Four shortlisted poems will each win
  £50. The entry fee is £8 per poem. The closing date is 28 May.
  Website: http://www.grindstoneliterary.com/competitions

Tina Jackson

Writers put your noses to the Grindstone

Destination

dynamic drama

The Red Planet Prize 2020 is
inviting entries.
The winner of the biannual
competition for emerging
drama scriptwriters will get a
script commission.
The focus of this year’s
award, which is from
independent production
company Red Planet Pictures
and ITV, is on finding original
voices to bring into the
mainstream.
This year’s contest invites scripts for four-part contemporary
thrillers (crime, psychological, conspiracy, relationship, political)
and returning procedural series (crime, medical, legal).
Emerging scriptwriters from the UK and Ireland are invited
to submit an existing original full-length spec script for TV,
radio, film or theatre, a one- to two-page pitch for an original
TV series or returning serial, and a brief CV mentioning
writing credits if applicable.
Up to ten shortlisted writers will be invited to a one-day
pitching masterclass and then will have three weeks to write
up their pitch and series outline. The runner up will get
development opportunities with ITV and the winner will get a
script commission.
The submission window opens on 27 March and closes on
3 April.
Website: http://www.redplanetpictures.co.uk/the-red-planet-prize

Nothing to lose with Yeovil

Enter The Yeovil Literary

Prize 2020 in four

categories: novel, short

story, poetry, writing

without restrictions.

Since its launch

in 2002, the annual

international Yeovil

Literary Prize has

established itself as a

major event on the

writers’ competition calendar.

• The novel category is for the synopsis and opening chapters of an
  unpublished novel. The prizes are £1,000, £250 and £100. The winner
  will also have the opportunity to pitch their book to literary agents. This
  year’s judge is Paul Blezard. The entry fee per novel is £12.


• The short story category is for original, unpublished short fiction up to
  2,000 words. There are prizes of £500, £200 and £100. This year’s judge is
  Susan Sandon. The entry fee per short story is £7.


• The poetry category is for original, unpublished poems up to 40 lines.
  The prizes are £500, £200 and £100. This year’s judge is Caroline Gilfillan.
  The entry fees are £7 for one poem, £10 for two and £12 for three.


• The writing without restrictions category is wide open. Entries may be
  anything you have written that doesn’t fit into the other categories. There
  are prizes of £200, £100 and £50. This year’s judge is Jessica Axe. The
  entry fee is £5.
  There is also a special £100 Western Gazette Best Local Writer
  Award for a shortlisted entry by a writer living in the Western Gazette
  distribution area.
  The closing date is 31 May.
  Website: http://www.yeovilprize.co.uk