Category Archives: News

Hidden River Arts invites submissions

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Hidden River by Judy DarleyHidden River Arts, an independent literary, visual and performing arts organisation based in Philadelphia, US, is inviting submissions in a range of categories, including anthology, numerous contests, and the possibility of publication in the Hidden River Review.

The organisation is named after the Schuylkill (Dutch for “Hidden River”), which winds its way through the region, and is committed to nurturing the artistic community by providing varied and supportive services to writers and artists of all genres.

They say: “We will search for the writers who are finishing their novels while working as Emergency Room nurses, sculptors working as steam-fitters, song-writing dairy farmers or choreographer cowboys. We want the creative talent that is grown, nurtured, and matured in the kiln of real life experience. It is our belief that many, many talented people go unheard because they labor in obscurity or isolation, working with little or no support for the practice of their art.”

This support includes writing workshops and classes, writing awards, outreach and live arts events, and the Hidden River independent small press.

Find details of all opportunities here, but note that submission fees apply in most cases.

Got an event, challenge, competition or call for submissions you’d like to draw my attention to? I’m always happy to receive your news, as well as reviews of books, art, theatre and film.Send me an email at judydarley(at)ICloud(dot)com.

The Aesthetica Creative Writing Award

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MShed cr Judy DarleyThe Aesthetica Creative Writing Award celebrates outstanding short fiction and poetry from around the world. The deadline for entering the award is 31st August 2018.

Prizes include publication within Aesthetica Creative Writing Anthology and £1,000 for each category winner. Winner of the short fiction competition will receive a consultation with literary agency Redhammer Management, while the Poetry winner will have a Full Membership to The Poetry Society. To whet your appetite for creating more literary works, the winners will also receive, a subscription to Granta and books courtesy of Bloodaxe Books and Vintage Books.

There’s no theme – just submit your finest story or poem offering your own unique window on a slice of the world!

Fiction entries should be no more than 2,000 words each and poetry entries should be no more than 40 lines each. Both short fiction and poetry entries should be written in English. It costs £12 to enter the Poetry category and £18 to enter the Short Fiction category.

Timeline

  • Now until – 31 August 2018: Entries open
  • September 2018: Judging begins
  • December 2018: Winners and finalists are announced
  • December 2018: Publication of winners and finalists in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual

For full details, visit www.aestheticamagazine.com/creative-writing-award
.

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Show your art at the RWA Annual Open Exhibition

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RWA Open Exhibition 163

RWA © Alice Hendy

The Royal West of England Academy in Bristol is currently preparing one of my favourite cultural events – the RWA Annual Open Exhibition.

Submissions are open until 5pm on Tuesday 21st August, so if you get a wriggle on you still have a chance of being part of it!

The 166th Annual Open Exhibition will be open to the public from 7th October to 25th November 2010. Artists of all ages and experience are invited to submit.

They say: “A selection panel assesses every entry and last year 624 works by 421 artists made it into the final exhibition. All work is for sale, and the exhibition attracts art-lovers and art-buyers from far and wide. Submissions are welcome from unknown, emerging and established artists, including RWA Academicians.”

Tempted?

All applicants must apply online, submitting images using the Online Exhibition Submission System (OESS).

Find full details here of how to apply here. Good luck!

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Enter The Bare Fiction Prize 2018

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Almunecar cr Judy DarleyThe excellent folks at Bare Fiction are inviting submission to their creative writing awards. This year Deborah Alma judges the Poetry category (max 40 lines), C.G. Menon judges the Flash Fiction category (max 500 words), and Luke Kennard judges the Short Story category (max 3,000 words).

First, second and third prize winners in each category will receive £500, £200 and £100 respectively, plus two highly commended entrants will receive £25 each.

Fee per entry is £5 for poetry, £6 for flash fiction, and £8 for fiction, however, Bare Fiction is offering free entry to the Bare Fiction Prize 2018 for 50 UK low income writers. To be eligible you must be in receipt of benefits such as Job Seeker’s Allowance, Working Tax Credits, Universal Credit, Disability Living Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, or Employment and Support Allowance, or earn less than the London Living Wage of £9.45 per hour.

Eligible applications for free entries will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, and must be received by Tuesday July 31st 2018.

Click here to submit your application for free entry.

There’s no theme, but bear in mind that the British periodical aims to “offer a platform for new creative writing across poetry, fiction and plays to encourage writers who are testing their boundaries to stretch themselves creatively.”

The deadline for all non-free entries is 31 October 2018. Find full competition details here.

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Edinburgh Book Festival welcomes word-lovers

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Edinburgh book festival gardensThis year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival is on from 11th-27th August, bringing writers and thinkers from across the globe to an avid lit-loving audience.

They say: “Take a journey of discovery through fact, fiction, poetry, personal stories and world affairs.”

Speakers include broadcaster and comedian Susan Calman on kindness, author Matt Haig on how to feel whole, plus discussions with graphic novelist Isabel Greenberg and Adele Patrick, the Lifelong Learning and Creative Development Manager at Glasgow Women’s Library. Look out for interactive theatrical experience The Hidden, and a celebration of Muriel Spark.
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Wasafiri New Writing Prize

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Terra Nostra Tropical plants cr Judy Darley
Wasafari magazine invites submissions of Poetry, Fiction and Life Writing for its New Writing Prize. Each category offers a top prize of £300 plus publication in Wasafiri.

The competition is open to anyone worldwide who has not published a complete book in their chosen category.

Entries for Fiction and Life Writing should be no longer than 3,000 words, and Poetry submissions should comprise no more than five poems.

The closing date is 5pm GMT on 13th July 2018. Prize winners will be announced on 25th October, 2018.

Entries cost £6 each.

Find full details of how to enter at www.wasafiri.org.

Get a feel for the kind of thing Wasafari likes, read Anubha Yadav’s short story, The Beauty of Reality.

This year’s judges are include Malika Booker, who will be judging the poetry, Kerry Young, who will be judging the fiction, and Elleke Boehmer, who will judge the life writing category. Wasafiri Editor-in-Chief Susheila Nasta will chair the judging panel.

It’s worth bearing in mind the international ethos of the magazine. ‘Wasafiri’ is Kiswahili for ‘travellers’ and, as the Editor explains, “the name was chosen because many of those who created the literatures in which [Wasafiri was] particularly interested … have all in some sense been cultural travellers either through migration, transportation or else, in the more metaphorical sense of seeking an imagined cultural ‘home.’”

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

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Fancy a Flash?

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FlashWalk2016_Actors JoButler TomParker

National Flash Fiction Day UK 2018 erupts tomorrow – Saturday 16th June – with events across the UK and a special trio of celebrations in Bristol.

The day unfolds with the #FlashWalk organised by yours truly.

We invited competition entries on the theme of Urban Landscapes, between 40 and 400 words in length. Wonderful submissions arrived from all over the world, and we managed to narrow it down to 12 winning entries, which will be performed by our talented actors, Ashley Green, Christopher Ryan and Poppy Hocken, during the #FlashWalk.

Ashley Green, Christopher Ryan and Poppy Hocken.

Actors Ashley Green, Christopher Ryan and Poppy Hocken

The fully guided #FlashWalk begins at 10.30am on 16th June, outside the harbourside entrance to Bristol’s M Shed. It will finish at the GreenHouse, Hereford Street, BS3 4NA (just under a mile’s stroll away), between an hour and an hour and a half later.

The GreenHouse will be the venue for the afternoon’s free writing workshops. There will also be an evening of flash fiction performances at Bedminster Library, and the launch of the 2018 National Flash Fiction Day anthology.

You can find more details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/178868469594679/,
here https://www.facebook.com/events/177406499633651/
and here: https://www.facebook.com/events/2106124046323877/

Hope to see you there!

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Ledbury Poetry Festival 2018

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Ledbury cr John EagerSome British towns seem better suited to literary festivals than others, and Ledbury in Herefordshire is ideal – with reams of streets and architecture that the word ‘picturesque’ could have been invented for. From 29th June till 8th July 2018, Ledbury welcomes back its annual Poetry Festival, which promises ten days of written and spoken riches.

This year’s highlights include poetry and mediation day retreats with Maitreyabandhu, Fiona Sampson and Matthew Sweeney, plus workshops led by Sara-Jane Arbury, and salons featuring poet Yvonne Green, with short reading slots available.

Don’t forget to enter the LPF Poetry Competition. The closing date is 5PM British Summertime on Thursday 12th July, 2018. Top prize is £1,000 plus the chance to attend a writing course at Ty Newydd (pictured below), the National Writers’ Centre for Wales.

All winners get to read at the Ledbury Poetry Festival 2019 – if abroad there is the possibility of Skyping at the winners’ event.

Ty Newydd

The image at the very top of this post was supplied by John Eager of www.visitledbury.info. The other image was supplied by the Ledbury Poetry Festival team. Many thanks!

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Wells Festival of Literature competitions

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City of Wells cr Judy Darley

Wells Festival of Literature takes place from 19th-27th October 2018, but before that they hold their annual writing competitions, with entries being accepted until 30th June 2018. As well as the usual three categories – short stories, poetry and books for children – this year sees the launch of a new category: Young Poets, open to anyone aged between 16 and 22 inclusive.

Prizes in the Young Poet category consist of 1st: £150, 2nd: £75, 3rd: £50 plus a year’s membership of the Poetry Society.

Prizes in the existing categories of Short Story, Book for Children and Poetry are 1st: £750, 2nd: £300 and 3rd: £200. There are also dedicated prizes for local authors up for grabs – the Hilly Cansdale prize of £100 for Poetry; the Wyvern Short Story prize, also £100, and £100 to the best local author of a Book for Children.

Short Story Competition
Entries may be on any subject and should be between 1,000 and 2,000 words in length.

Poetry Competition
Entries may be on any subject but must not exceed 40 lines in length.

A Book for Children Competition
Stories in this category may be on any subject, providing they are aimed at readers aged 9 and up, including young adult. Submit your first three chapters, plus a synopsis.
Young Poets Competition
Entries may be on any subject but must not exceed 35 lines in length.

The judges will also present prizes at a special ceremony in the Bishop’s Palace during the Festival in October. Immediately preceding this, the shortlisted poets will be invited to read their entries.

Read the full terms and conditions.

The closing date for all entries is 30th June 2018.

Find full details at www.wellsfestivalofliterature.org.uk/2017-competitions

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

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