Opportunities!
The cream of writing competitions with imminent deadlines
Established, well-regarded competitions have deadlines coming up, and there are some other choice chances over the next month to be considered for publication (and prize money!) in short forms or at book length.
Spring submissions window now open for essays and short fiction – no agent required. Submit a proposal and writing sample. Deadline 17th May.
Inkspot flash fiction competition
£500 prize for a 500-word story, judged by a literary agent. £10 entry, or £20 to receive brief feedback. Deadline 17th May.
Submission of short stories for paid publication in anthology series. For new or established writers, anywhere in the world, writing stories with a supernatural or speculative edge. £5 submission, for stories 1k-15k words. Deadline 29th May.
Blue Pencil Agency first novel award
For unpublished, unrepresented (no agent) writers. Submit up to 5k words and synopsis of a novel in any genre except children’s fiction. Entry fee £25. Win up to £1500 plus agent introduction. Deadline 31st May.
Well established competitions for short stories, flash fiction, memoir, poetry and first novel. Prizes up to £5000. Deadline 31st May.
The Masters Review: Best Emerging Writers
Submit short fiction or nonfiction up to 8k words, for print publication and $700 prize. Entry $20. Judged by the wonderful Ramona Ausubel. Deadline 7th June.
Established competition for short stories up to 3k words. Prizes up to 3000 euros, plus print publication. Judged by the fabulous Wendy Erskine. Entry fee 17 euros. Deadline 15th June.
Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize
Worldwide competition seeking new voices in fiction, poetry and life writing. Win £1000 and print publication in Wasafiri. Entry fee £12 (or £16 for two); subsidised £6 entries also available. Deadline 30th June.
Our next Evening Lab is Between the Lines with Julia Bell on Tuesday 19th May. Julia will then be teaching three masterclasses on creative writing – see below for links.
Now open for booking at London Lit Lab
Between the Lines: Paying Attention, 23rd May, 11am – 1pm. Explore attention as the foundational creative skill, and the quality of noticing that underpins good writing.
Between the Lines: Finding your Voice, 30th May, 11am – 1pm. Locate and develop your instinctive register through practice, specificity and courage.
Between the Lines: The Workshop as Community, 20th June, 11am – 1pm. Explore how to give feedback generously and usefully, workshopping work in progress.
Between the Lines combination ticket
Autofiction Introduction, with Susanna Crossman, 21st May, 6-8pm. Explore the history of autofiction, experiment with voice, and interrogate ethics and emotional truth when writing the self.
Autofiction, à la française, and writing autofiction as resistance, with Susanna Crossman,18th June, 6-8pm. Explore autofiction as resistance, the French tradition in this genre, and its links to social history.
Autofiction and breaking the rules, with Susanna Crossman,16th July, 6-8pm. Experiment with forms of autofiction, from speculative to essay to sci-fi, and get inventive.
Autofiction combination ticket. Buy a ticket for all three masterclasses at an overall discount.
Memoir Bootcamp: Get Submission Ready with Lily Dunn, starts 14th September and runs for 14 weeks. Application only. Only a few spots left for this so do get in touch
Writing Our Way Back: Masterclass in Therapeutic Writing with Katie Watson, 26th September, 3-5.30pm.