Category Archives: News

New Light Art Prize calls for entries

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New Light Winners montage

Got northern soul? Now’s the perfect time to show it off as the New Light Art Prize is open for entries until 30th April 2023.

To be eligible for the biennial open prize exhibition, you need to be an artist who was born in, lives in or has studied in one of the historic counties of the North of England – Cumbria, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Yorkshire and – for the first time – Cheshire.

If that fits, you can submit your work online via www.newlight-art.org. Entry into the competition costs £20 for the first two pieces of artwork and £10 for any subsequent entries.

Awards up for grabs include:

  • The £10,000 New Light Valeria Sykes Award – open to all artists over 18 with a connection to the North of England, whether through birth, degree level study or residence
  • The £2,500 New Light Patron’s Choice Award – presented on the night of the private view where all exhibited works are considered
  • The New Light Emerging Artists Prize sponsored by The Saul Hay Gallery – offering mentoring, professional advice and exhibition opportunities including a solo show
  • The New Light Printmakers’ Prize sponsored by Zillah Bell Gallery – all forms of original printmaking are eligible; the winner will be offered a solo exhibition at the Zillah Bell gallery in North Yorkshire, host to some of the UK’s very best printmakers’ shows
  • The New Light Visitors’ Choice Award – visitors are asked to vote for their favourite work at each venue
  • New Light Purchase Prize – the winner’s work is purchased by the charity to add to its Collection

Some of the UK’s most renowned art experts will select the shortlisted entries, with judges including Curator of The Whitworth Gallery Olivia Heron, Director of Panter and Hall, London, Matthew Hall, renowned figurative artist Mark Demsteader and Development Director of New Light Art Rebekah Tadd.

Prize winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in September 2023 at The Williamson Art Gallery and Museum in Birkenhead, where the winning artwork will feature in a prestigious launch exhibition before embarking on the Prize’s biggest ever tour to Bankside Gallery, London, Rheged Arts Centre, Penrith, The Biscuit Factory, Newcastle, Northumberland and finishing at The Mercer Gallery in Harrogate on 31st December 2024.

Rebekah Tadd, Development Director at New Light says: “This is a wonderful opportunity for new and established artists to get their work seen by thousands of people in some of the finest galleries in the UK. Those shortlisted will exhibit their work across the UK, from Cheshire to Yorkshire, Northumberland, Cumbria and London.”

She adds: “At this time of financial uncertainty, it’s more important than ever to support artists by providing opportunities to exhibit their work. We are delighted to be working with The Williamson Art Gallery and Museum to create a fabulous launch and awards ceremony and the following tour is our biggest yet, spanning 14 months.”

Past New Light shortlisted artists who’ve had success with exhibitions across the UK and further afield include Norman Ackroyd CBE RA, Anne Desmet RA, Maxwell Doig, Mark Demsteader, Christopher Cook, Mandy Payne, James Naughton and Jo Taylor.

Sheffield-based artist Joanna Whittle, who won the Valeria Sykes Award in 2020 for her oil-on-copper painting ‘Sorrowing Cloth’, says: “It has been fantastic to be involved with the New Light Prize Exhibition and the support has been amazing. Winning the Valeria Sykes Award allowed me time and space to reflect on and develop my practice which has been invaluable and allowed me to take new and enriching steps in my work.”

For more info, visit www.newlight-art.org.uk

Image captions clockwise from left: Across Borge Bay by Ian Brooks (Winner Printmakers’ Prize), Sorrowing Cloth by Joanna Whittle (Winner Valeria Sykes Prize 2020), Forlorn by Vic Harris (Winner Patron’s Choice Award), Seen by Linnet Panashe Rubaya (Winner Emerging Artist Prize), Tree Sparrow by Christian Alexander Baily (Winner New Light Purchase Prize).

Got an event, challenge, competition or call for submissions you’d like to draw my attention to? Send me an email at JudyDarley (@) iCloud (dot) com.

Writing on Water workshop

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Writing on Water. Photo of Bristol's Lightship.
I’m excited to let you know that I’m teaming up with brilliant poet Helen Sheppard again to teach our on-ship writing workshop Writing on Water. It will take place from 10am-4pm on Saturday 18th March.

Book here.

Whether you write about a raindrop or an ocean, you can harness water as a powerful writing muse.

Join us for a voyage of discovery aboard the historic John Sebastian Lightship, moored in central Bristol, this one-day workshop encourages you to draw inspiration from the setting alongside creative exercises designed to help you find original, meaningful ways to use water in your writing.
There will be plenty of time to write, and no pressure to share.

How do you write about water? Does it trickle? Surge? Roar?

Is it hungry? Foreboding? Volatile? Reflective? Tranquil?

The day at a glance:

10am – 12pm Helen and I start the day gently with two readings to ease you into the theme of water, followed by fun prompts, generative writing exercises, examples, time to write and the opportunity to share your writing if you wish. There will be time for hot drinks and biscuits (included in the ticket price).

12pm – 1.30pm Inspiration-gathering harbourside walk (less than a mile in total) with prompts to engage each of your senses, and lunch (not included, but lots of options around the venue in Bristol, or bring your own).

1.30pm – 3.30pm Generative writing exercises, hot drinks and homemade cake (included), plus the opportunity to work with other writers, and opportunity to share your writing from the workshop.

3.30pm – 4pm Your chance to ask questions about how to develop your writing, what to do with it next (such as performance or publication), and share any feedback on the day’s experiences.

“Judy and Helen led such a supportive and inspiring workshop, with the lightship as a unique venue. I loved the walk, prompts and time to explore ideas. My story that began on the lightship went on to win 2nd prize in the Retreat West Flash Fiction Competition!” Emma Phillips, participant in the first Writing on Water workshop in October 2022.

Book your ticket for Writing on Water.

Why write about water?

I’ve been drawn to this mercurial, enigmatic element throughout my writing career, opening my debut short story collection Remember Me To The Bees with a story titled ‘Never seen the Sea’.

Fiction, non-fiction and poetry can all swim into watery themes, whether that’s to add atmosphere, provide a setting or build an evocative metaphor.

As a taster, here’s a splash from ‘Never seen the Sea’ from my short story collection Remember Me to the Bees:

A triangle of blue sharper and brighter than the sky – that was the first of it. Then a tang in her throat like the savoury suck of a chip dipped in salt and vinegar. As she got closer, other sensations rang through her: a crack and crash like a glass falling and rolling and splintering again and again in a bathroom washbasin; a deep breath in, gasp out shuddering through the shore; the freshness of rain in the air, bursting against her skin from every direction possible.
And the triangle soared, spread out, transforming into a strip that hurtled all the way to the horizon, meeting the sky with a dazzle that forced her to glance away; a size too vast to comprehend; bigger than the confines of her mind could contain. But more than that was the endless movement, less like one vast thing than a mass of smaller things, heaving, jostling, vying for the surface yet never quite breaking through.

Who will be teaching you?

Judy Darley photo credit Jo Mary Bulter Photography_cropJudy Darley is a fiction writer, journalist and occasional poet from Bristol. Her fiction has been described as ‘shimmeringly strange’, possibly because she can’t stop writing about the infinite fallibilities of the human mind. Judy’s words have been published and performed on BBC radio and harbour walls, as well as in bookshops, museums, cafés, caves, pubs, a disused church and an artist’s studio. Judy is the author of three fiction collections: The Stairs Are a Snowcapped Mountain (Reflex Press), Sky Light Rain (Valley Press) and Remember Me To The Bees (Tangent Books). Find Judy at SkyLightRain.com and on Twitter as @JudyDarley.

Helen Sheppard_cropHelen Sheppard is a Bristol-based writer and worked as a midwife. Her poetry explores themes of birth, health loss, and those whose voices are often unheard. Helen has performed her poetry at Milk Poetry, RTB, Torriano Meeting House and Harvard Medical School. Helen’s work has been published widely, including These are the Hands and Under the Radar magazine. Her debut poetry collection Fontanelle was published in 2021 by Burning Eye Books. Helen interviews extraordinary poets for her podcast Health Beat Poets. Find Helen on Twitter as HelenSheppard7 and on Instagram as helensheppard58.

Green Stories seeks superhero tales with a climate twist

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Northern Slopes stream and woodland by Judy DarleyThe Green Stories’ team invites you to create an eco-Superhero for their latest creative competition.

They say: “‘Saving the world’ is the basic job description of most superheroes, but who on Earth is going to help ‘save the planet’? Maybe that’s where you come in! As part of the Green Stories Competition, this contest challenges you to create an uplifting short story of superheroes that respond to climate change.”

Your target audience should be teens and young adults who enjoy watching superhero films.

The winner will receive a £500 prize, plus a scene from their winning story will be turned into a one-page comic strip, created by a professional artist.

The competition is free to enter.

The deadline is 15th April 2023. Entries should be no longer than 2,000 words, excluding title.

Imaginative prompts

  • What kind of superpowers would your heroes have?
  • What are your own experiences of climate change (and extreme heat) in the countries you’ve lived in? 
  • Are there any personal/ emotional barriers to your own efforts to address climate change in real life? Would your own heroes face similar challenges? 
  • What are the personalities of your heroes? What are their virtues and limitations? What about their backstory and occupation? 
  • How will they attempt to reduce, or adapt to, climate change (and extreme heat)? Will your audience be able to do similar in their own lives?
  • Which solutions will you include in the story? If possible, draw on the information provided below *. Will technology help or hinder their goals?
  • Will the character(s) take political action? If so, how effective would their campaigns/ activism be in addressing their fears for the future?
  • Is your story entertaining enough for the target audience?
  • If you have not lived in a country that’s particularly vulnerable to the climate crisis, are you able to listen to the experiences of people that have? 

You can download a free anthology of climate solution stories to inspire you here. You may also find the associated webpages a useful resource: https://www.greenstories.org.uk/anthology-for-cop27/solutions/.

The Green Stories website is packed with information on the topics they’d like you to consider, ranging from practices such as the sharing economy to advances such as nanotechnologies and green transport.

For full details of prizes and how to enter from 1st April, visit www.greenstories.org.uk/upcoming-competitions/superhero-competition/ 

Got an event, challenge, competition or call for submissions you’d like to draw attention to? Send me an email at JudyDarley (@) iCloud (dot) com.

Enter a comic poetry contest

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Possible wergleflomp spied at Art in Action

While I’m a fan of sensitive, thought-provoking poetry, there’s definitely something to be said for an intelligent comical poem. Just writing one can lift your spirits.

The Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest, sponsored by Winning Writers, seeks to celebrate the art of writing poems that make others smile. The creature at the top of is, I believe, a possible Wergle Flomp, spied in the wilds of Art in Action’s final year.

Submit a single poem of no more than 250 lines long. There’s no restriction on the age of the author. Both unpublished and previously published work is acceptable. This year’s judge is Jendi Reiter, assisted by Lauren Singer.

There’s no fee to enter the writing competition, so what have you got to lose?

Now in its 22nd year, the contest welcomes poems of any length. Have a read of last year’s winners, to get some inspiration, and then let your imagination run riot.

Prizes:

  • First Prize: $2,000 plus a two-year gift certificate from our co-sponsor, Duotrope (a $100 value)
  • Second Prize: $500
  • Honorable Mentions: 10 awards of $100 each
  • Top 12 entries published online

Make sure you upload your masterpiece to winningwriters.com/wergle before the submission deadline of 1st April 2023 (April Fools’ Day – how apt is that?).

Got an event, challenge, competition or call for submissions you’d like to draw attention to? Send me an email at JudyDarley (@) iCloud (dot) com.

Submit tiny flashes to Paragraph Planet

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Hot Water by Judy DarleyI’m growing increasingly addicted to Paragraph Planet. This fabulous website publishes a single 75-word flash fiction every day (word count includes title). The stories selected are brilliantly varied and thought-provoking. Visiting each day feels like pond dipping – you never quite know what wonders will appear.

They’re also a great place to submit to. Their online submission form is easy, and free, to use, and while there isn’t payment for writers, there is notoriety up for grabs. Each story is shared via Twitter to more than 3,600 followers.

The picture above is the one I created for my story Leavings, which is available to read in the Paragraph Planet archive section – just scroll to December 30th.

Isn’t there something satisfying about crafting a piece that exactly hits 75 words, including title, and ensuring it’s still meaningful? If you write, I urge you to give it a try, and if you read, swing by to read today’s tiny yet powerful offering.

Got an event, challenge, competition or call for submissions you’d like to draw my attention to? Send me an email at JudyDarley (@) iCloud (dot) com.

The Forward Prizes for Poetry invites entries

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Arnos Vale trees cr Judy Darley

More than thirty years after its launch by Bookmark, the Forward Prizes for Poetry welcome submissions from editors and publishers of books, magazines, online journals and competitions, published in the UK or Republic of Ireland, including works from the British Isles. There is also now one self-submittable category – ‘Best Single Poem – Performed.’

The submission deadline for all online entries is 5th March 2023.

Publishers entering the Forward Prizes for Best Collection and Best First Collection will have a further ten days to send physical copies of books, by 17th March 2023.

There are four prizes:

The Forward Prize for Best Collection

A prize of £10,000 will be given to the author of the best collection of poetry published in the UK or Republic of Ireland between 19 September 2022 and 18 September 2023.

The Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection

A prize of £5,000 will be given to the author of the best debut collection of poetry published in the UK or Republic of Ireland between 19 September 2022 and 18 September 2023.

This year there are also two new prizes for single poems:

The Forward Prize for Best Single Poem – Written
A prize of £1,000 will be given to the author of the best written single poem that has been published in a newspaper, periodical or magazine in the UK or Republic of Ireland between 5 March 2022 and 4 March 2023, or has been the winner of a poetry competition with a prize awarded between the same dates.

The Forward Prize for Best Single Poem – Performed
A prize of £1,000 will be given to the author of the best new performance or a new poem to camera performed or produced between 5 March 2022 and 4 March 2023.

Find the full entry guidance here.

Find full details here of how to enter.

Got an event, challenge, competition, opportunity or call for submissions you’d like to draw attention to? Send me an email at JudyDarley (@) ICloud (dot) com.

Enter National Flash Fiction Day’s microfiction competition

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Sweets by Judy DarleyNational Flash Fiction Day’s 100-word microfiction competition invites your submissions. Send something funny, something that resonates, is fresh and exciting, and leaves the judges lost for words.

The deadline is 15th February 2023. You’re invited to submit up to three flash fictions on any theme at no more than 100 words each. Titles aren’t included in the word count.

Last year’s winner was Jan Kaneen with her beautiful mini-tale ‘Just a Word to the Snowblind.’ Read it and the other winners here.

The microfiction competition prizes are:

  • £150 for first place
  • £100 for second place
  • £50 for third place

There are also seven awards of £20 for highly commended pieces. The winning and highly commended authors will be published in the National Flash Fiction Day 2023 anthology, and will receive a free print copy of this anthology.

This year’s judges are:

  • Tim Craig
  • Amanda Huggins
  • Fiona J. Mackintosh
  • Johanna Robinson

Read more about the judges here.

Please only submit work that is not and will not be under consideration elsewhere before 15 March 2023.  By submitting work to the NFFD Microfiction Competition, you are agreeing to publication online and in the 2023 NFFD Anthology if your work is selected as a prizewinner or highly commended flash.

Find full details here.

This year, National Flash Fiction Day is on Saturday 24th June. How will you celebrate?

Got an event, challenge, competition or call for submissions you’d like to draw attention to? Send me an email at JudyDarley (@) iCloud (dot) com.

Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook Short Story Competition

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Heart leaf by Judy DarleyWriters’ & Artists’ Yearbook Short Story Competition is one of my favourites on the literary calendar.

Your story must be no more than 2,000 words long. For the first time in a while, there’s a theme – so your story must involve the theme of ‘love’ in some way.

The deadline for entries is midnight BST on 14th February 2023.

The winner of the competition – along with two runners-up – will be announced on the W&A blog pages in March 2023.

Entry is free, but don’t forget to register (also free) with the website www.writersandartists.co.uk before submitting your story.

This year’s judge is Naomi Booth, the author of Animals at Night, Exit Management, Sealed and The Lost Art of Sinking. Her work has been longlisted for the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award and included in the Guardian’s Best Fiction of the year 2020. Her story, ‘Sour Hall’, was adapted into an Audible Originals drama series. Naomi lives in York and teaches at Durham University.

Prizes of this writing contest

Find full details and competition rules at www.writersandartists.co.uk/competitions/writers-artists-short-story-competition-2023 

Got an event, challenge, competition or call for submissions you’d like to draw attention to? Send me an email at JudyDarley (@) iCloud (dot) com.

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Enter the Lucy Cavendish College Fiction Prize 2023

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Bud. Photo by Judy DarleyThe Lucy Cavendish College Fiction Prize 2023 invites entries from women over the age of 18 who have written a novel “that marries literary merit with unputdownability.”

Deadline for low-income writers’ submissions: 12 noon on 8th February 2023.
Deadline for paid submissions: 12 noon on 10th February 2023. 

The judges say they’re open to literary fiction and genre fiction, as well as to young adult fiction and children, providing they are primarily word-based.

Your submission must be previously unpublished, and you must not have had other full-length novels published. However, having short stories, poetry, non-fiction or picture books published previously does not exclude you.

To be considered, you need to submit the first 40 to 50 pages of the novel via the online form and a three to five-page synopsis of the remainder. You must not have agent representation at the time of submission.

If you accept agent representation after your submission and before the judging is complete, you will no longer be eligible to take part in the competition and your entry will be discounted.

The entry fee is £12. Sponsored entries for low income writers are available – simply tick the appropriate box on the entry form. You will need to be able to provide proof of financial eligibility such as Jobseeker’s Allowance, Disability Benefit, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, proof of being a full-time student, Housing Benefit or proof of being a full-time carer.

The winner of the 2023 prize will receive guidance and support from literary agent and sponsor Peters Fraser Dunlop as well as a cash prize of £1,500.

The 2022 winner of the Fiction Prize was Hannah Stapleton with her novel Blue Tears.

For full details, visit www.lucy.cam.ac.uk/fictionprizewww.fictionprize.co.uk, and make sure you follow the competition Terms and Conditions.

Got an event, challenge, competition or call for submissions you’d like to draw attention to? Send me an email at JudyDarley (@) iCloud (dot) com.

Jaipur Literary Festival

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Jaipur Literary Elephant

Image © Steppes Travel www.steppestravel.co.uk

Founded by William Dalrymple and Namita Gokhale sixteen years ago, Jaipur Literature Festival takes place from 19th-23rd January 2023. From Nobel Laureates to local language writers, Man Booker prize winners to debut novelists, the annual event brings together more than 400 authors, thinkers, politicians, journalists and popular culture icons from India and from around the globe.

Events to look forward to include talks and insights from authors ranging from Abdulrazak Gurnah to Bernadine Evaristo, Katherine Rundell to David Olusoga and Shobhaa Dé to Edmund de Waal. Set alongside discussions on global issues including climate crisis, geopolitics, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Indo-China relations, agriculture, and energy, there will be plenty to fire up your synapses, whet your imaginative appetite and send your spirits soaring!

Keen to take part yourself next year? Contact the organisers through the website to find out more.

Find full details of Jaipur Literature Festival here.

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