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Short story competition opportunity - 3into1
The following may be of interest to some of you. Four cash prizes (the 1st being £1,000). The best 20 stories are to be published in an anthology. Closing date 31st July 2012.
http://3into1storycompetition.co.uk/
Just hope my first attempt at posting a link has proved successful. ;)
http://3into1storycompetition.co.uk/
Just hope my first attempt at posting a link has proved successful. ;)
Comments
Just had a look and it's not clear if the contributors to the anthology get a free copy. With an entry fee of £7 and an anthology of £10 (incl post) - that's quite steep if you're shortlisted and don't get any sort of cash prize. Just a thought.
Having said that - I might still have a proper look with a view to giving it a go. :)
" We have been very lucky to enlist the services of two well-known authors as judges. Adele Geras has written more than 90 books for both children and adults, and Michael Dobbs is very well known as an author, especially for The House of Cards, which was turned into a TV play and is currently being filmed in Hollywood with Kevin Spacey.
First prize is £1,000 and the best 20 stories will be published in an anthology and it is open to people over 16 years of age."
Carol, are you tempted? I have to admit that I have never read anything by the judges (although I knew of Michael Dobbs) but I was quite impressed when I googled them.
Good luck to anyone who decides to give it a go.
I suspect this 3into1 comp is expecting everyone to pay for a copy of the anthology, even shortlisted entries, so it will be interesting to see what they say, Debby.
[/quote]
Thanks, Debby, I'd be interested to hear their reply.
I am very interested in entering though. The fee doesn't put me off wholly, as I don't really see competitions as competitions. They are target practice. Can I write a good enough story? To the spec? Yes? Bonus!
I like this samperkins. ;) It's very much how I'm viewing competitions at the moment. They seem to be the incentive I need for now. Someone else providing the kickstart for my imagination, with a deadline to work to.
It's a good way to practice with the added excitement of maybe gaining feedback, a shortlisting, or, dare I say it, a win! If I get nothing I just dust myself off and file the story away with a view to improving it as I learn and sending it off somewhere else in the future.
I've only entered a few comps to date and I don't mind the fees if the prize reflects them. My writing is something I'm really enjoying so I tend to weigh it up with other less important things that I might otherwise be spending the pennies on. I agree with Claudia re the anthology costs though (and have yet to hear back from the organisers), but I guess I missed that fact as actually making it to that level at this stage in my writing seems more of a dream at the moment! :)
"The judges will decide the best 10 and these will get free anthologies. We will also include the next 10 in the anthology. As we are trying to raise money for our chosen charity(TAG), we are trying to keep our costs under control. I am sure you will understand."
I take your point Claudia, as before. As I said, I didn't even get as far as thinking about the possible costs of the anthology as I'm just starting out and use the comps as practice with the possibility of an added bonus of being short listed etc. It depends on chosen charities etc, but this is a comp sent to me by a friend who holds this charity close to her heart so, if a small miracle was to happen and I was placed (!), in this case I wouldn't mind the cost. I understand others will feel differently about this cost and other competition costs.
Seems like an interesting competition. Just need to think of an interesting way to connect those three items...
Having read your anthology, I'm sure your story will be unique and a great read. Have you to thank for the intro to flash fiction via your book. Where have I been?!
I've attempted flash twice now and have lots to learn - perhaps starting with those blogged flash bug bears of yours. Enjoyed your post but left a tad worried...well, maybe a lot worried :)
I'm going to have another look at those three words... :)
I'll keep these extra 'hidden' costs in mind for other non-charity related competitions before posting though. My post was meant purely in the spirit of being new to the forum and making a friendly gesture by sharing info that might or might not interest for whatever reason.
Congrats on the previous anthology success :)
Now, what to do with that chess piece...
That's a great objective, so keep it up. And thank you. :D
Sadly there are too many competitions around that put nasty 'all rights by entering' clauses in the t&c's, so always worth checking through the rules before posting details. :)
And taken as such - I hope you didn't feel disheartened by my initial critical response!
[quote=Debby]Congrats on the previous anthology success [/quote]
Thank you - it's always lovely when I have any sort of success with fiction, as I'm much more non-fiction oriented.
It was a very valid point and one that I missed when posting. Just wanted to explain the reasons for doing so and that I'll be sure and keep my eyes peeled for future hidden extras. That's what it's all about - sharing experience and knowledge between us and I'm always willing to listen and learn - whether it be in my writing style/quality or as simple as where I'm thinking of submitting it.
Although, I'll admit my rhino skin is still a work in progress... I'm told I'll need it for all the rejections that will inevitably come my way as I learn. :)
That's so kind of you, Debby! I'm thrilled you liked my book, and really pleased that it was the gateway to a new form for you.
[quote= Debby]I've attempted flash twice now and have lots to learn - perhaps starting with those blogged flash bug bears of yours. Enjoyed your post but left a tad worried...well, maybe a lot worried[/quote]
Oh, you don't want to worry about me and my rants. Just letting off a bit of steam after a friend of mine (who writes excellent flash stories) got nowhere in a competition when the shortlisted stories were all dreadful. There's plenty of room in the world of flash for all sorts of approaches and styles, and the last thing you should do is try to write to anybody else's prescription of what makes a 'good' story. Just experiment, find out what works for you, and keep at it!
The website states "Winners will be notified by 31 October 2012", but it hasn't been updated since before the competition closed. I hate it when competitions do that. I know not everybody is an HTML wizard, but a simple message to say the competition is now closed would help allay fears that the organisers have done a flit with a suitcase full of entry fees.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for a couple more days, then if there's no sign of any results, I'll send them an email.
As their website stated that winners will be announced by 31st October, I'm happy meantime that everything is above board. It was widely publicised online, via writing groups etc, and I think they're just choosing to take it to the wire, perhaps to get maximum hits to their charity website?
Like you, if no updates have been posted by Thursday morning, I'd be inclined to email.
I'd probably give it a week after the 'deadline' before chasing it up.
I must admit to getting a little worried now. I'm not so bothered that I haven't heard personally, that may just mean I wasn't one of the four winners, or the twenty shortlisted for the anthology. I'm always ready for that news, and view competitions as motivation to write and a great way to improve my writing, with anything else being an added bonus. Besides, I'm sure winners and those shortlisted would all have been notified by now.
What is worrying me is that their website states that they would be notified BY 31st October and then the results would be posted on the website, which they haven't been yet. I am still hopeful for a website update today, but will feel terrible if something is amiss, when I was the one to advertise the comp! I had no concerns publicising it though, as it was advertised widely though various media, and I knew people from writing groups, Arvon, and then TB who were entering.
Fingers crossed.
Not every organisation will run their own website- some will have other people doing that side, so there may be a delay there. And if they do updates themselves there are a number of things that could cause delays which couldn't be expected when the date was set.
I think the problem that many competitions have is forgetting that if there's a delay then it's good practise to put an update message out, but they don't.
That's the key - I think organisers tend to (probably quite rightly) focus on their own problems and delays and forget that there are tens, hundreds, or thousands of people out there waiting for the results.
There's still no announcement on the website, but presumably that's coming. They're planning to get the anthology ready before Christmas.
[quote=polar bear]You seem to place or win in most comps you enter, brilliant![/quote]
There are a lot of competitions I don't tell people about! I think my hit rate last year was about 25%, which I was very pleased with.
This one is a bit of a surprise - I really don't like writing to a theme, and this one seemed very restrictive. But then an idea took hold, and ... well, the rest is history.
I emailed my entry in, the day before the deadline (which was VERY organised, by my standards!)
No email for me so another one bites the dust for now, but there's always next year! :-)
Another great achievement, danfango. Very well done. :D
Debby, you may have just been pipped by the winners.
At least you've got a story in storage that you can whip out at no extra effort.
Good luck with it next time!
The website has now been updated with the four winners. Well done again, Dan.
Well done to your writing-group friend. I wonder whether there will be any other familiar names on the shortlist?
I hope this contest has been enough of a success - in terms of raising money and awareness for their charity - for them to do it again next year.