Overnight saw another entry into the Global Short Story Competition from the United States.
Those American writers are following on from a proud tradition because it is widely acknowledged that it was a US writer who started the modern short story tradition.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, of Salem, Massachusetts, was the author of Twice-Told Tales, a book published in America in 1837 and one whose format excited authors more used to the traditional novel format.
Suddenly, they found themselves liberated from the need to produce works of epic length and took to the new format with gusto.
And why not? Short stories are a brilliant format in which to write, allowing you to take one fragment of life, a fleeting event and turning it into something compelling. Many of our entries demonstrate that skill beautifully.
Less than two days to enter the April competition at www.inscribemedia.co.uk and it’s still a low entry, good time to go for the £100 first prize.
John Dean
Tuesday, 29 April 2014
Monday, 28 April 2014
'It's like I was there'
Over the weekend, we received an entry into the Global Short Story Competition which brilliantly evoked sense of place.
As a writer, I am always inspired by a sense of place. Whether it be a gloomy city or a stunning hillside, a glass-strewn council estate or a majestic waterfall, something about my surroundings triggers ideas.
Let me take you back several years to a hillside in the North Pennines in an attempt to show you what I mean. I was on a family holiday and we were staying in a village on the Durham/Cumbrian border. There was a play area in the middle of the village and every evening my two children would go for a swing and I would wander out to keep an eye on them - they had gone past the ‘Dad, give me a push’ stage but had not quite reached the stage where they could be left alone.
In such circumstances a person has a lot of time to think and, as they swung, so I found myself staring at the hillside opposite. Something about the hill’s slopes and its late evening shadows, the way the buzzards hunted across the ridge, the sound of the sheep bleating and the distant barking of a farm dog, worked their magic on me and by the end of the week, an idea was born, eventually turning into The Dead Hill, my seventh crime novel published by Hale in 2008 and the first in the Jack Harris series.
I returned to the area for the next books in the series, in all of which the landscape is a major character. It was the same with the entry we received over the weekend.
There are now less than three days to enter the April comp at www.inscribemedia.co.uk
John Dean
Friday, 25 April 2014
March winners to be announced
We will announce the winners of the March Global Short Story Competition on Friday May 9.
Meanwhile, the April competition closes on April 30 and we have received just six entries - a good time to go for the £100 first prize!
Begun six years ago, the competition runs every month with a £100 first prize and a £25 prize for highly commended writers.
The competition, which has topped £10,500 in prize money handed out, has had entries from more than 50 countries over the years.
Each month’s competition is judged by Fiona Cooper, an author in North-East England, where the competition’s organisers Inscribe Media are also based. The competition can be entered at www.inscribemedia.co.uk
John Dean
Meanwhile, the April competition closes on April 30 and we have received just six entries - a good time to go for the £100 first prize!
Begun six years ago, the competition runs every month with a £100 first prize and a £25 prize for highly commended writers.
The competition, which has topped £10,500 in prize money handed out, has had entries from more than 50 countries over the years.
Each month’s competition is judged by Fiona Cooper, an author in North-East England, where the competition’s organisers Inscribe Media are also based. The competition can be entered at www.inscribemedia.co.uk
John Dean
Thursday, 24 April 2014
A global following
These blogs are read by people all over the world. Currently, our stats show us that the blogs are most popular with readers from:
The United States
The United Kingdom
Germany
France
United Arab Emirates
Austria
Chile
Indonesia
Italy
South Africa
John Dean
The United States
The United Kingdom
Germany
France
United Arab Emirates
Austria
Chile
Indonesia
Italy
South Africa
John Dean
How long is a short story?
Again following on from my previous blog, I can hear some of you asking ‘Yes, but how long is a short story and when does it become a novel?’
Short stories can be anything from 500 to 6,000 words. Anything under 500 words tends to be labelled ‘flash fiction’ or ‘micro fiction’ (although some would argue it’s still a short story) and anything over 6,000 is moving into novelette or novella territory. Once you go above 10,000-15,000 words you are looking at a novel.
Most people argue that a short story is something that can be read comfortably in one sitting.
John Dean
Short stories can be anything from 500 to 6,000 words. Anything under 500 words tends to be labelled ‘flash fiction’ or ‘micro fiction’ (although some would argue it’s still a short story) and anything over 6,000 is moving into novelette or novella territory. Once you go above 10,000-15,000 words you are looking at a novel.
Most people argue that a short story is something that can be read comfortably in one sitting.
John Dean
Some key questions about novels
Following on from my most recent blog, if you are thinking of writing a novel then a few general comments would be handy. Start by asking some key questions:
1 Why do you want to write it - does the story work better, does it sustain a novel?
2 Can you really do it? This is a long slog.
3. You have to sustain a story over many pages so you need a decent idea.
4 Can you sell it? Has it been done before? Is your idea a new one or are you able to re-tell an old story in a new and fresh way?
5 Who will tell your story? Third person - can see everything all the times - or first person - allows for a certain informality but restricted to what happens around them?
If you decide to go ahead, my advice is always:
1 Write a detailed synopsis first: map out your story. I do it chapter by chapter. I very rarely stick to it but it gets my mind focused. I find it also helps to be able to summarise a novel in a single line
2 You need to develop various plotlines to sustain a novel. Novels can work with one single story but the best ones tends to have sub-plots involving other characters
3 The same rules of writing apply as with short stories - yes, you have more space to play with but the writing still needs to be tight and controlled even though a novel allows you the scope to develop themes and people. The best writing is simple and uncluttered
4 You need a strong sense of place and strong characters, which goes back to my belief that there are three points to the writing triangle - story, sense of place, sense of people. Get them right and the rest flows from it
5 As the story develops, there has to be a pace, a sense of things happening, so the reader does not get chance to become bored.
John Dean
1 Why do you want to write it - does the story work better, does it sustain a novel?
2 Can you really do it? This is a long slog.
3. You have to sustain a story over many pages so you need a decent idea.
4 Can you sell it? Has it been done before? Is your idea a new one or are you able to re-tell an old story in a new and fresh way?
5 Who will tell your story? Third person - can see everything all the times - or first person - allows for a certain informality but restricted to what happens around them?
If you decide to go ahead, my advice is always:
1 Write a detailed synopsis first: map out your story. I do it chapter by chapter. I very rarely stick to it but it gets my mind focused. I find it also helps to be able to summarise a novel in a single line
2 You need to develop various plotlines to sustain a novel. Novels can work with one single story but the best ones tends to have sub-plots involving other characters
3 The same rules of writing apply as with short stories - yes, you have more space to play with but the writing still needs to be tight and controlled even though a novel allows you the scope to develop themes and people. The best writing is simple and uncluttered
4 You need a strong sense of place and strong characters, which goes back to my belief that there are three points to the writing triangle - story, sense of place, sense of people. Get them right and the rest flows from it
5 As the story develops, there has to be a pace, a sense of things happening, so the reader does not get chance to become bored.
John Dean
Are you writing a novel?
During my teaching of authors, I often hear new writers say that they’d rather try a short story rather than a novel.
I heard it again the other day and I can understand the reason - it takes a shorter time to write and is less complicated when it comes to structure.
However, it is worth remembering that most new prose writers have the beginnings of at least one novel in them. They’ll have an idea which is so much bigger than a short story.
The trouble is that many new writers will get to chapter four or five and give up because they don’t have the confidence or stamina to keep going.
So, yes, short stories can be the best place for new writers to hone their craft but don’t discount the idea of a novel if it keeps calling you.
So how do you know which form you are drawn to? Well, if it takes you five minutes to tell someone the plot of your story, you’ve got a short story; if it takes 20 minutes and you’re still talking, you’ve got a novel!
John Dean
I heard it again the other day and I can understand the reason - it takes a shorter time to write and is less complicated when it comes to structure.
However, it is worth remembering that most new prose writers have the beginnings of at least one novel in them. They’ll have an idea which is so much bigger than a short story.
The trouble is that many new writers will get to chapter four or five and give up because they don’t have the confidence or stamina to keep going.
So, yes, short stories can be the best place for new writers to hone their craft but don’t discount the idea of a novel if it keeps calling you.
So how do you know which form you are drawn to? Well, if it takes you five minutes to tell someone the plot of your story, you’ve got a short story; if it takes 20 minutes and you’re still talking, you’ve got a novel!
John Dean
Libraries seek new law on ebooks
Regular readers of these blogs will know that I am a big supporter of libraries so I am delighted that the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) is running a campaign asking why libraries do not have the right to lend ebooks?
Current European copyright law means that publishers do not need to license libraries to lend ebooks at all. This means that the choice of ebooks available to borrow is limited and not all local authorities lend ebooks.
Out of the six major trade publishers in the UK, only three offer some of their ebooks to libraries and more than 85% of ebooks are not available to public libraries in the UK, says CILIP.
CILIP says this matters because almost half the UK population (47%) have used a public library in the past 12 months and ‘libraries play a vital role building literacy skills and providing access to information and reading to build a knowledgeable, informed and connected society‘.
Ebook sales made up 29% of the total UK book market in 2013 and this is predicted to grow and CILIP says: “The fact that many ebooks are not accessible through public libraries means that this source of information, knowledge and ideas is cut off from families, communities and businesses. Libraries should be able to lend ebooks as they do printed books.”
CILIP wants to see a European copyright law that allows libraries to fulfil their mission of providing everyone with the opportunity to read, and access information and knowledge and provides reasonable payment for authors and publishers. They want:
To provide library users with the latest e-books as we do printed book
To buy e-books at fair prices and on reasonable terms
All citizens – not just those who can afford it – to benefit from free access to e-books in public libraries
Authors to receive fair payment for the lending of e-books as they do for printed books by extending Public Lending Right to include the loan of e-books by public libraries
You can sign up as an individual supporter or as an organisation of the campaign and find out more at http://www.cilip.org.uk/cilip/advocacy-campaigns-awards/advocacy-campaigns/ebooks/ebooks-right-e-read
John Dean
Current European copyright law means that publishers do not need to license libraries to lend ebooks at all. This means that the choice of ebooks available to borrow is limited and not all local authorities lend ebooks.
Out of the six major trade publishers in the UK, only three offer some of their ebooks to libraries and more than 85% of ebooks are not available to public libraries in the UK, says CILIP.
CILIP says this matters because almost half the UK population (47%) have used a public library in the past 12 months and ‘libraries play a vital role building literacy skills and providing access to information and reading to build a knowledgeable, informed and connected society‘.
Ebook sales made up 29% of the total UK book market in 2013 and this is predicted to grow and CILIP says: “The fact that many ebooks are not accessible through public libraries means that this source of information, knowledge and ideas is cut off from families, communities and businesses. Libraries should be able to lend ebooks as they do printed books.”
CILIP wants to see a European copyright law that allows libraries to fulfil their mission of providing everyone with the opportunity to read, and access information and knowledge and provides reasonable payment for authors and publishers. They want:
To buy e-books at fair prices and on reasonable terms
All citizens – not just those who can afford it – to benefit from free access to e-books in public libraries
Authors to receive fair payment for the lending of e-books as they do for printed books by extending Public Lending Right to include the loan of e-books by public libraries
John Dean
Still just six entries
There is a week to go in the April Global Short Story Competition and there are still just six entries, which means this is a great time to go for the £100 first prize.
More information can be found at www.inscribemedia.co.uk
John Dean
More information can be found at www.inscribemedia.co.uk
John Dean
Tuesday, 22 April 2014
With a little help from your friends
A reminder that, in addition to the various free things we do, one of the paid-for services we offer is one supporting writers.
Why should you hire a professional writing mentor, though? Isn’t it enough to attend a class/workshop or a writing group? Or ask a friend or relative to comment?
Well, it depends what you want and need and bespoke mentoring from Inscribe Media can help some writers, providing the experience and expertise to -
• understand your work
• nurture you and your writing
• let you retain control of your ideas and your writing
* provide expert, specific advice about what is working and what isn’t.
We focus on major issues, such as how your story hangs together, what your characters are doing or could be doing, what is hurting your story’s momentum, what story elements are not pulling their weight.
We identify the differences between good and great and point out your writing strengths, so you become confident about what not to change.
We also give suggestions and help you establish good processes and writing goals and suggest markets for your work.
If long-term mentoring does not appeal, we run short writing courses as well.
You can find out more at http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/writing-courses---bespoke-mentoring.html
You can also access our free downloadable writing guide at www.inscribemedia.co,uk and find loads of free tips on our blog here.
John Dean
Why should you hire a professional writing mentor, though? Isn’t it enough to attend a class/workshop or a writing group? Or ask a friend or relative to comment?
Well, it depends what you want and need and bespoke mentoring from Inscribe Media can help some writers, providing the experience and expertise to -
• understand your work
• nurture you and your writing
• let you retain control of your ideas and your writing
* provide expert, specific advice about what is working and what isn’t.
We focus on major issues, such as how your story hangs together, what your characters are doing or could be doing, what is hurting your story’s momentum, what story elements are not pulling their weight.
We identify the differences between good and great and point out your writing strengths, so you become confident about what not to change.
We also give suggestions and help you establish good processes and writing goals and suggest markets for your work.
If long-term mentoring does not appeal, we run short writing courses as well.
You can find out more at http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/writing-courses---bespoke-mentoring.html
You can also access our free downloadable writing guide at www.inscribemedia.co,uk and find loads of free tips on our blog here.
John Dean
Shortlist points to short fiction resurgence
Japanese women writers have made the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize shortlist for the first time in its 24 -year history.
The two women, Hiromi Kawakami and Yoko Ogawa, vie with exiled Iraqi novelist Hassan Blasim, bestselling Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgaard, French author Hubert Mingarelli and German writer Birgit Vanderbeke.
Half of the shortlist is female, which is encouraging given the prevalence of translated fiction from male writers. Birgit Vanderbeke joins the two Japanese women with her debut novel The Mussel Feast; this modern German classic first appeared in 1990 but is now published in English for the first time.
By including two collections of linked short stories (Yoko Ogawa's Revenge and Hassan Blasim's second collection The Iraqi Christ) the shortlist suggests the resurgence of interest in short fiction could be a global phenomenon. And aside from Knausgaard's blockbuster A Man in Love, all of the books on the shortlist are slim volumes under 180 pages, demonstrating the appeal of concise prose.
The Prize aims to showcase the world's top writing translated from any language and many of the shortlisted books have already made waves in the authors' home countries. It is estimated that one in ten Norwegians is a Knausgaard reader; Mingarelli won the Prix de Médicis; Vanderbeke won the most prestigious German language literature award, The Ingeborg Bachmann Prize in 1990; Kawakami was shortlisted for the Man Asian Booker; and Ogawa has won every major Japanese literary award. Blasim, exiled from his native Iraq, developed an underground following among his fellow Arabic speakers who mainly read his writing online, while receiving critical acclaim overseas after his previous IFFP long listing in 2010.
The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize often highlights independent publishers, three of whom have made the list this year, including Comma Press, Portobello Books (who have two books on the shortlist) and Peirene Press, who make the shortlist for the first time after having books on the long list for the last two consecutive years. Meanwhile, Harvill Secker, part of Penguin Random House, has secured two books on the shortlist.
The full shortlist is:
•The Iraqi Christ by Hassan Blasim and translated from the Arabic by Jonathan Wright
(Comma Press)
•A Man in Love by Karl Ove Knausgaard and translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett (Harvill Secker)
•A Meal in Winter by Hubert Mingarelli and translated from the French by Sam Taylor
(Portobello Books)
•The Mussel Feast by Birgit Vanderbeke and translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch (Peirene Press)
•Revenge by Yoko Ogawa and translated from the Japanese by Stephen Snyder
(Harvill Secker)
•Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami and translated from the Japanese by Allison Markin Powell (Portobello Books)
The judges for this year's Prize are:
•Alev Adil, Artist in Residence, Principal Lecturer and Programme Leader for MA Creative Writing at the University of Greenwich
•British writer, broadcaster and former stand-up comedian Natalie Haynes
•Nadifa Mohamed, award-winning author
•Boyd Tonkin, Senior Writer and Columnist, The Independent
•Literary translator Shaun Whiteside
The £10,000 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize is awarded annually to the best work of contemporary fiction in translation. The 2014 Prize celebrates an exceptional work of fiction by a living author which has been translated into English from any other language and published in the United Kingdom in 2013. Uniquely, the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize acknowledges both the writer and the translator equally – each receives £5,000 – recognising the importance of the translator in their ability to bridge the gap between languages and cultures. The Prize is funded by Arts Council England, supported by The Independent and Champagne Taittinger, and managed by Booktrust.
The two women, Hiromi Kawakami and Yoko Ogawa, vie with exiled Iraqi novelist Hassan Blasim, bestselling Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgaard, French author Hubert Mingarelli and German writer Birgit Vanderbeke.
Half of the shortlist is female, which is encouraging given the prevalence of translated fiction from male writers. Birgit Vanderbeke joins the two Japanese women with her debut novel The Mussel Feast; this modern German classic first appeared in 1990 but is now published in English for the first time.
By including two collections of linked short stories (Yoko Ogawa's Revenge and Hassan Blasim's second collection The Iraqi Christ) the shortlist suggests the resurgence of interest in short fiction could be a global phenomenon. And aside from Knausgaard's blockbuster A Man in Love, all of the books on the shortlist are slim volumes under 180 pages, demonstrating the appeal of concise prose.
The Prize aims to showcase the world's top writing translated from any language and many of the shortlisted books have already made waves in the authors' home countries. It is estimated that one in ten Norwegians is a Knausgaard reader; Mingarelli won the Prix de Médicis; Vanderbeke won the most prestigious German language literature award, The Ingeborg Bachmann Prize in 1990; Kawakami was shortlisted for the Man Asian Booker; and Ogawa has won every major Japanese literary award. Blasim, exiled from his native Iraq, developed an underground following among his fellow Arabic speakers who mainly read his writing online, while receiving critical acclaim overseas after his previous IFFP long listing in 2010.
The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize often highlights independent publishers, three of whom have made the list this year, including Comma Press, Portobello Books (who have two books on the shortlist) and Peirene Press, who make the shortlist for the first time after having books on the long list for the last two consecutive years. Meanwhile, Harvill Secker, part of Penguin Random House, has secured two books on the shortlist.
The full shortlist is:
•The Iraqi Christ by Hassan Blasim and translated from the Arabic by Jonathan Wright
(Comma Press)
•A Man in Love by Karl Ove Knausgaard and translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett (Harvill Secker)
•A Meal in Winter by Hubert Mingarelli and translated from the French by Sam Taylor
(Portobello Books)
•The Mussel Feast by Birgit Vanderbeke and translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch (Peirene Press)
•Revenge by Yoko Ogawa and translated from the Japanese by Stephen Snyder
(Harvill Secker)
•Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami and translated from the Japanese by Allison Markin Powell (Portobello Books)
The judges for this year's Prize are:
•Alev Adil, Artist in Residence, Principal Lecturer and Programme Leader for MA Creative Writing at the University of Greenwich
•British writer, broadcaster and former stand-up comedian Natalie Haynes
•Nadifa Mohamed, award-winning author
•Boyd Tonkin, Senior Writer and Columnist, The Independent
•Literary translator Shaun Whiteside
The £10,000 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize is awarded annually to the best work of contemporary fiction in translation. The 2014 Prize celebrates an exceptional work of fiction by a living author which has been translated into English from any other language and published in the United Kingdom in 2013. Uniquely, the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize acknowledges both the writer and the translator equally – each receives £5,000 – recognising the importance of the translator in their ability to bridge the gap between languages and cultures. The Prize is funded by Arts Council England, supported by The Independent and Champagne Taittinger, and managed by Booktrust.
Low entry means good time to enter competition
22 days of the April Global Short Story Comp gone and just six entries. £100 first prize. More at www.inscribemedia.co.uk
Our latest newsletter
Hi
Welcome to the latest newsletter from the team behind the Global Short Story Competition.
Annual story prize winner named
A few weeks ago the team behind the Global Short Story Competition launched a vote to find its annual winner for 2013 and website users have now cast their votes.
The winner of the £250 prize was the winner of the August Global Short Story Competition, Seth Townley, of Bergen, Norway.
John Dean, competition administrator, said: “The quality of our 2013 winners was very high, reflecting the standards reached by so many of our entrants. Seth is a worthy winner.”
The monthly competition, run by Inscribe Media Limited from the North East of England, was launched in December 2007.
Winning stories can be viewed at www.inscribemedia.co.uk where the latest competition can also be entered.
Honours go to writers from Italy and France in competition
Judge Fiona Cooper has selected her winners for the February Global Short Story Competition and writers from Italy and France have taken the honours.
The £100 first place prize goes to Catherine McNamara, of Albettone, Vicenza, Italy, for The Sneeze, of which Fiona says: “This story takes us through the ambivalent and confusing surges of emotional reality that are brought on by enormous changes to one's life. It reads as a compelling stream of consciousness, with vivid snapshots along the way which serve to mark the fleeting changes of mood and reality. While it does not promise a 'happy ending' there is enough in the last two paragraphs to hint at hope and redemption.”
Our highly commended runner up is Vanessa Couchman, of Caylus, Tarn-et Garonne, France, who wins £25 for Into the Abyss, of which Fiona says: “Atmospheric and gripping, this story has a 'hairs on the back of your neck' quality and it is cinematic in quality and also in the way the writer makes the reader see and feel the setting and immediately empathise with the main character. No easy conclusion is reached, but an enormous sigh of relief that someone, at least, will live, we hope, happily ever after. Excellent.“
The writers on the shortlist are:
Fiona J Mackintosh, Silver Spring, MD, United States
Lucy Bignall, Pullenvale, Queensland, Australia
Katy Budd, Hordaland. Norway
Mandy Huggins
Winning stories aree posted on www.inscribemedia.co.uk Well done to our successful writers.
New free flash fiction competition
The team behind The Global Short Story Competition has launched its latest free flash fiction competition. The challenge to writers for this one is produce a story with a beginning, middle and end in no more than 100 words. The deadline is May 13.Prize £50 and you can enter at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inscribemedia/183385438479538
Hotel to stage residential writing course
Got a story to tell? Keen to be a writer? Then this residential weekend course in the North East of England at The Blackwell Grange in Darlington, County Durham, UK, could be for you.
Experienced creative writing tutor and novelist John Dean, who has had eleven crime novels published by Robert Hale and has appeared in a number of short story anthologies, will run a writing workshop on the weekend of May 16-18 2014 as part of the second Darlington Arts Festival. The weekend includes:
* Two nights Accommodation (Friday 16th and Saturday 17th May 2014), two breakfasts, two dinners and one lunch
* Day-long writing workshop on the Saturday followed by a morning workshop on the Sunday, including how to create characters, structure stories and invoke a strong sense of place.
The cost for the weekend is: £205 per person based on double for sole occupancy, this rate includes VAT. To reserve your place and book your accommodation : Call the Blackwell Grange Hotel on 01325 509955 , their email is reservation.blackwell@forestdale.com. Bookings must be made by Friday 18th April and paid in full to the hotel by Friday 23rd April 2014. Please note that minimum numbers are required for this course to run if this event needs to be cancelled you will be given a minimum 4 weeks’ notice.
Free stuff
There’s loads of free hints on writing at our blog at www.inscribemedia.co.uk and you can also check out our free writers’ toolbox, which can be downloaded off the home page at http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/
Facebook
You can check out our Facebook page with its news, views and free competitions at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inscribemedia/183385438479538
Mentoring and courses
For information on our online writing courses and mentoring packages at http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/writing-courses---bespoke-mentoring.html
Nurturing new talent through our e-books
A reminder that, as part of our efforts to support and showcase new writing talent worldwide, we have published seven e-books
Lost Souls by Roger Barnes When young women start to go missing in Africa, an International Strike Force is assembled to rescue them.
Harry’s Torment by Michael Beck Set in the fictional east coast port of Thirlston and centred on investigators tackling the heroin trade.
Previously published were:
Cyber Rules by Myra King. The novel by Australian writer Myra tells the story of a farmer’s wife in isolated rural Australia. Caught up on the addictive side of the Internet, she holds a secret which may prove to be deadly.
Global Shorts - an anthology of short stories taken from the early years of the Global Short Competition.
Vegemite Whiskers - a selection of some of the finest writing from Australian authors who have entered the Global Short Story Competition.
White Gold by Roger Barnes A thriller by Roger Barnes taking the reader into a world of intrigue and danger set amid the poachers of Africa.
Haghir the Dragon Finder by John Dean, a comic fantasy for older children. Haghir
and his hopeless comrades are dragon slayers seeking a new challenge.
All the titles can be obtained by keying their titles into the search field of the Kindle shop at www.amazon.co.uk Australian readers will have to purchase via Amazon US at www.amazon.com
* If you don’t have a Kindle, there is a free Kindle reading app for your PC at
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771
* You can find more about the books on our website.
Contacting us
You can contact us as deangriss@btinternet.com
Thank you for all your support
John Dean
Inscribe Media
Welcome to the latest newsletter from the team behind the Global Short Story Competition.
Annual story prize winner named
A few weeks ago the team behind the Global Short Story Competition launched a vote to find its annual winner for 2013 and website users have now cast their votes.
The winner of the £250 prize was the winner of the August Global Short Story Competition, Seth Townley, of Bergen, Norway.
John Dean, competition administrator, said: “The quality of our 2013 winners was very high, reflecting the standards reached by so many of our entrants. Seth is a worthy winner.”
The monthly competition, run by Inscribe Media Limited from the North East of England, was launched in December 2007.
Winning stories can be viewed at www.inscribemedia.co.uk where the latest competition can also be entered.
Honours go to writers from Italy and France in competition
Judge Fiona Cooper has selected her winners for the February Global Short Story Competition and writers from Italy and France have taken the honours.
The £100 first place prize goes to Catherine McNamara, of Albettone, Vicenza, Italy, for The Sneeze, of which Fiona says: “This story takes us through the ambivalent and confusing surges of emotional reality that are brought on by enormous changes to one's life. It reads as a compelling stream of consciousness, with vivid snapshots along the way which serve to mark the fleeting changes of mood and reality. While it does not promise a 'happy ending' there is enough in the last two paragraphs to hint at hope and redemption.”
Our highly commended runner up is Vanessa Couchman, of Caylus, Tarn-et Garonne, France, who wins £25 for Into the Abyss, of which Fiona says: “Atmospheric and gripping, this story has a 'hairs on the back of your neck' quality and it is cinematic in quality and also in the way the writer makes the reader see and feel the setting and immediately empathise with the main character. No easy conclusion is reached, but an enormous sigh of relief that someone, at least, will live, we hope, happily ever after. Excellent.“
The writers on the shortlist are:
Fiona J Mackintosh, Silver Spring, MD, United States
Lucy Bignall, Pullenvale, Queensland, Australia
Katy Budd, Hordaland. Norway
Mandy Huggins
Winning stories aree posted on www.inscribemedia.co.uk Well done to our successful writers.
New free flash fiction competition
The team behind The Global Short Story Competition has launched its latest free flash fiction competition. The challenge to writers for this one is produce a story with a beginning, middle and end in no more than 100 words. The deadline is May 13.Prize £50 and you can enter at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inscribemedia/183385438479538
Hotel to stage residential writing course
Got a story to tell? Keen to be a writer? Then this residential weekend course in the North East of England at The Blackwell Grange in Darlington, County Durham, UK, could be for you.
Experienced creative writing tutor and novelist John Dean, who has had eleven crime novels published by Robert Hale and has appeared in a number of short story anthologies, will run a writing workshop on the weekend of May 16-18 2014 as part of the second Darlington Arts Festival. The weekend includes:
* Two nights Accommodation (Friday 16th and Saturday 17th May 2014), two breakfasts, two dinners and one lunch
* Day-long writing workshop on the Saturday followed by a morning workshop on the Sunday, including how to create characters, structure stories and invoke a strong sense of place.
The cost for the weekend is: £205 per person based on double for sole occupancy, this rate includes VAT. To reserve your place and book your accommodation : Call the Blackwell Grange Hotel on 01325 509955 , their email is reservation.blackwell@forestdale.com. Bookings must be made by Friday 18th April and paid in full to the hotel by Friday 23rd April 2014. Please note that minimum numbers are required for this course to run if this event needs to be cancelled you will be given a minimum 4 weeks’ notice.
Free stuff
There’s loads of free hints on writing at our blog at www.inscribemedia.co.uk and you can also check out our free writers’ toolbox, which can be downloaded off the home page at http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/
You can check out our Facebook page with its news, views and free competitions at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inscribemedia/183385438479538
Mentoring and courses
For information on our online writing courses and mentoring packages at http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/writing-courses---bespoke-mentoring.html
Nurturing new talent through our e-books
A reminder that, as part of our efforts to support and showcase new writing talent worldwide, we have published seven e-books
Lost Souls by Roger Barnes When young women start to go missing in Africa, an International Strike Force is assembled to rescue them.
Harry’s Torment by Michael Beck Set in the fictional east coast port of Thirlston and centred on investigators tackling the heroin trade.
Previously published were:
Cyber Rules by Myra King. The novel by Australian writer Myra tells the story of a farmer’s wife in isolated rural Australia. Caught up on the addictive side of the Internet, she holds a secret which may prove to be deadly.
Global Shorts - an anthology of short stories taken from the early years of the Global Short Competition.
Vegemite Whiskers - a selection of some of the finest writing from Australian authors who have entered the Global Short Story Competition.
White Gold by Roger Barnes A thriller by Roger Barnes taking the reader into a world of intrigue and danger set amid the poachers of Africa.
Haghir the Dragon Finder by John Dean, a comic fantasy for older children. Haghir
and his hopeless comrades are dragon slayers seeking a new challenge.
All the titles can be obtained by keying their titles into the search field of the Kindle shop at www.amazon.co.uk Australian readers will have to purchase via Amazon US at www.amazon.com
* If you don’t have a Kindle, there is a free Kindle reading app for your PC at
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771
* You can find more about the books on our website.
Contacting us
You can contact us as deangriss@btinternet.com
Thank you for all your support
John Dean
Inscribe Media
Wednesday, 16 April 2014
No more Mister Nice Guy!
I was chatting to a writer the other day and she said: “I just do not like making horrible things happen to my characters.“ It is an interesting point but the reality is that conflict is important, nay central, in writing .
Why? Because stories need things to happen and that usually comes out of conflict - characters argue, fight, feud etc. It is through seeing characters in conflict that we see them at their truest, when their guard is down, when they are fighting something.
You can also develop a character through conflict: the meek little parlour maid suddenly becomes the towering heroine of the story
Conflict also takes the story on: a school is to be closed, two friends fall out, a community is torn apart by an event. All these types of conflict are a rich hunting ground for the writer.
In addition, conflict can evoke a strong reaction in a reader and make for good drama - and if that is happening then writing is easier.
Plenty of time to enter this month‘s Global Short Story Competition at www.inscribemedia.co.uk
John Dean
Why? Because stories need things to happen and that usually comes out of conflict - characters argue, fight, feud etc. It is through seeing characters in conflict that we see them at their truest, when their guard is down, when they are fighting something.
You can also develop a character through conflict: the meek little parlour maid suddenly becomes the towering heroine of the story
Conflict also takes the story on: a school is to be closed, two friends fall out, a community is torn apart by an event. All these types of conflict are a rich hunting ground for the writer.
In addition, conflict can evoke a strong reaction in a reader and make for good drama - and if that is happening then writing is easier.
Plenty of time to enter this month‘s Global Short Story Competition at www.inscribemedia.co.uk
John Dean
Latest Barbara Unkovic book published
Barbara is a keen and perceptive observer of the human condition, as her previous award- winning books, including Moon Walking and Weeds in The Garden of Eden, have revealed.
Shortly after the new millennium began, Barbara and her husband Denis underwent the most dramatic possible. The couple left Australia’s Sunshine Coast, their very comfortable lifestyle and their flourishing coffee importing and roasting business, for an entirely different life in a far-off corner of the world.
Following Barbara’s desire to examine her Croatian heritage in depth, they moved to her grandfather’s birthplace, the tiny picturesque village of Račišće on the small island of Korcula off the coast of Croatia.
They encountered the rawness of the war, which left deep scars in the Croatian psyche, as well as the entrenched Communist mindset, extreme nepotism, out of control officialdom and deeply ingrained distrust including fear of foreigners.
After seven years, the couple no longer live in Račišće, and this book, A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing explains in part why they chose to move on, and perhaps it also offers the reader a cautionary tale of what to expect in any so-called paradise.
It’s not all doom and gloom, however, there is fun, love, great eccentricity to be found here and Barbara, who is a restaurant-trained chef, has included some of her favourite recipes from Croatia and her Adriatic and Mediterranean neighbours.
A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing is a funny, sometimes disturbing but very entertaining read - yet another excellent slice of the life from Barbara Unković, whose stature as a writer and keen observer of our many very human foibles, continues to grow with each book.
Barbara is a member of the New Zealand Society of Authors and you can pre-order her latest work through The Book Depository or amazon.com.
More information is available at:
http://www.bookdepository.com/Wolf-Sheeps-Clothing-Barbara-Unkovic/9781849638906
http://www.amazon.com/Wolf-Sheeps-Clothing-Barbara-Unkovic/dp/184963890X/ref=la_B00581QM1C_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397577005&sr=1-5
John Dean
Friday, 11 April 2014
Anti-heroes
The idea of the anti-hero interests me more and more.
In days of old, especially in the eighteenth century, protagonists were heroes and antagonists were villains, good or evil, clearly delineated. The anti-hero blurs the lines. Take my detective Jack Harris, a force for good but perfectly capable of cutting corners to get what he wants.
So how do you create them? Here’s some thoughts. Anti-heroes:
are not role models in the way we tend to think of them
are sometimes unattractive in character as well as in appearance
can be motivated by self-interest and self-preservation, but there is usually a line they won’t cross.
However, forced to choose between right and wrong, they will sometimes choose wrong because it’s easier but can sometimes be coerced to help underdogs, children, or weaker characters
can embody unattractive traits and behaviours, such as sexist and racist attitudes
can show little or no remorse for bad behaviour
are usually full of contradiction
Oh, and are fun to write!
John Dean
In days of old, especially in the eighteenth century, protagonists were heroes and antagonists were villains, good or evil, clearly delineated. The anti-hero blurs the lines. Take my detective Jack Harris, a force for good but perfectly capable of cutting corners to get what he wants.
So how do you create them? Here’s some thoughts. Anti-heroes:
are sometimes unattractive in character as well as in appearance
can be motivated by self-interest and self-preservation, but there is usually a line they won’t cross.
However, forced to choose between right and wrong, they will sometimes choose wrong because it’s easier but can sometimes be coerced to help underdogs, children, or weaker characters
can embody unattractive traits and behaviours, such as sexist and racist attitudes
can show little or no remorse for bad behaviour
are usually full of contradiction
Oh, and are fun to write!
John Dean
The importance of editing
I have always said that I write fast and edit slow, by which I mean that I hurl words onto the page then spent most of the time working and reworking them, rather like a sculptor finishing a work. A little chip here, another one there.
For example, there was a scene, an important scene, in which there was a death in a place containing thirty people.
It was a deliberately confused scene and my detectives interviewed several witnesses to try to ascertain what had happened.
Interviewed too many people, in fact. Three characters pointlessly repeated each other and one was created entirely for the scene and did not appear anywhere else in the novel.
So, the first two characters had their lines cut and it also became clear that the newly-created one really was not needed at all so I deleted her.
The result? A scene with added pace and zip and much cleaner narrative flow.
John Dean
For example, there was a scene, an important scene, in which there was a death in a place containing thirty people.
It was a deliberately confused scene and my detectives interviewed several witnesses to try to ascertain what had happened.
Interviewed too many people, in fact. Three characters pointlessly repeated each other and one was created entirely for the scene and did not appear anywhere else in the novel.
So, the first two characters had their lines cut and it also became clear that the newly-created one really was not needed at all so I deleted her.
The result? A scene with added pace and zip and much cleaner narrative flow.
John Dean
Wednesday, 9 April 2014
Festival time!
There’s lots of literary event the Darlington Arts Festival in our home town in North-East England
Thursday 1st May, 7pm: Café Create, 95 Parkgate, Darlington
The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists: 100 Years On
The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. An enduring classic of socialist literature, what message does it still hold for us in these times of economic turmoil? Celebrate May Day with this follow up to last year's popular event about Orwell. Admission free.
Saturday May 3 Crime Writing Masterclass,
Crime novelist John Dean presents a day-long workshop at the Friends’ Meeting House, Skinnergate. Time 10am-4pm
Want to create the perfect villain? Being driven to murder? Then this masterclass from the creator of the John Blizzard and Jack Harris crime novels is for you.
Tickets £25. Places can be booked in advance by contacting John at deangriss@btinternet.com, tel 07889 554931
Saturday May 3 Cafe Hippo: Palace of Varieties Cafe Create, 93-97 Parkgate Chambers, Darlington (next door to the Civic Theatre) - 7pm
As in Hippodrome, that is. Join the Arts cafe overlooking the Civic Theatre for an evening of music, poetry and performance presented for your delight and delectation. Open Mic slots are available – all kinds of performers welcome!
Cafe Create, 93-97 Parkgate Chambers, Darlington (next door to the Civic Theatre)
Tickets and arrangements: £2 on the door or pre-book at www.cafecreatedarlington.org
Tuesday May 6th from 7pm, Café Create, 95 Parkgate, Darlington.
Northumbria University and HC Productions present ‘Raunchy Reads and Serious Sermons: A Geordie Library in the 18th Century’. Come and meet the bawdy beauty Fanny Hill, the crazed Christian Christopher Smart, and some comic characters from the early novel. This dramatized reading of items the Delaval family (of Seaton Delaval Hall) subscribed to will show the range of texts that readers dipped in and out of during the eighteenth century, turning the coffee house into a living library.
Tickets £4: available on the door or pre-book at www.cafecreatedarlington.co.uk
Friday May 9th, 3 – 6pm, Poetry Artefacts. Café Create, Parkgate, Darlington
Give your words an extra dimension with poet Jo Colley. Using paper, fabric, old photos and images, and your creative imagination, give your words a 3D life. This 3 hour session will give you some basic ideas and techniques.
Tickets £6: available on the door or pre-book at www.cafecreatedarlington.co.uk
Fri 9th May 6.30-8.30pm
Venue: The Health Warehouse Cafe, 15 Post House Wynd (entrance through the shop).
Academic Artists: Reading Our Writing (including open mic slots)
Join writer Tracey Iceton and five of her fellow academic writers from Northumbria and Sunderland universities as they talk about their postgraduate creative writing studies and read extracts from their work. Better yet, bring your own work along for the open mic slots and take the stage with them. Including guest appearance by local poet Natalie Scott whose debut collection Berth was published in 2012.
Tickets: £3 per person on the door. Contact Tracey Iceton traceyiceton@hotmail.co.uk 07773 797817 for more details
Open mic readings max 8 minutes to allow time for everyone who wants to read.
Saturday May 10 Darlington Book Fair, Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College
Vane Terrace, Darlington 10am-4pm
Looking for that cracking read? Seeking that book you’ve been looking for for ages? Then this is the event for you!
Monday May 12, Conservatory Bar, Darlington Civic Theatre
Join Vane Women for a bright May evening of poetry and prose. Why not join in the fun by bringing along a piece of your own for the open mic(one per reader, please)?
Time: 7.30 pm
Tickets: £5 / £3 conc., available from Darlington Arts Box Office, 01325-486555
Contact vane.women@ntlworld.com
Tuesday May 13th 7pm: Sunny Side Up, Cafe Create, 95 Parkgate.
Keeping On The Sunny Side!
Fed up with the weather/the recession/spring cleaning/all those roadworks/the dwindling value of your pension/love, sex, death and other trivia? Then join Mike Webster and his guitarist pal Chris Taylor at Café Create on Tuesday 13 May for a session called Sunny Side Up, a celebration of the brighter side of life in poetry and song. Starting at 7.00, they’ll be offering a few humorous reflections on life as many of us know it.
The inflation-beating news is that it will only cost you a round pound to get in. Even better, give us a preview of George Osborne’s new coin design, bring a threepenny bit and get in FREE!
And, if you wish, bring along a poem of your own to share. For more information email land.joanne@gmail.com or see www.cafecreatedarlington.org
Wednesday May 14 Cafe Create, 93-97 Parkgate Chambers, Darlington (next door to the Civic Theatre) Defence Against the Dark Arts - Writers' Block and How to Beat It - 7pm
What stops us from writing? It’s more than just a search for the right words – it can also be an issue of the mind. In this practical, hands-on seminar, York novelist N.E.David will help you formulate a strategy for overcoming those inner weaknesses. Nick is a founder member of York Authors and currently presents 'Book Talk' on BBC Radio York. His debut novel, BIRDS OF THE NILE, is published by Roundfire.
Price £3. Tickets and arrangements: £2 on the door or pre-book at www.cafecreatedarlington.org
May 16-18 Hotel to stage writing course Creative writing tutor John Dean will run a weekend residential writing course at The Blackwell Grange Hotel, Darlington. The weekend includes:
* Two nights Accommodation (Friday 16th and Saturday 17th May 2014), two breakfasts, two dinners and one lunch
* Day-long workshop on Saturday followed by a morning workshop on the Sunday, including how to create characters, structure stories and invoke sense of place.
The cost is £205 per person based on double for sole occupancy, including VAT. To reserve your place and book your accommodation, call the hotel on 01325 509955 or email reservation.blackwell@forestdale.com Bookings must be made by Friday 18th April and paid in full by Friday 23rd April 2014.
Thursday May 22 7pm Voodoo Café, Skinnergate. A Night with the Inkerman Writers. Readings of poetry and prose. Free entry. More information from deangriss@btinternet.com
Friday May 23, Cafe Create, 93-97 Parkgate Chambers, Darlington (next door to the Civic Theatre) 3-6pm Short story masterclass given by Pauline Plummer
Pauline Plummer has had two previous collections of poetry published and two pamphlets that were collaborations with an artist based on journeys in W. Africa. Participants in this workshop will examine and unpick one short story and, from there, consider how they will develop an idea to structure a narrative within the constraints of the genre. Tickets are £10, please pre-book at www.cafecreatedarlington.org
6-9pm Readings by Mudfog published writers
Mudfog Press has been publishing pamphlets and books for 20 years. It is a community-based press which works with, and publishes, writers across the Tees Valley, from Whitby up to Hartlepool, from Middlesbrough to Darlington and North Yorks. Funded by the Arts Council and Middlesbrough Council, Mudfog has a good record of publishing first time writers who have gone on to develop their writing careers. The majority of publications have been poetry but they also publish short stories and books that are not limited by genre. Readers may include recently published poets such as Tom Richardson, Jo Heather, Mel McEvoy, Natalie Scott and also writer Mike Pratt (names yet to be confirmed). See the website: http://www.mudfog.co.uk/
Admission is free.
Saturday May 24 Children’s Writing Masterclass
John Dean presents a day-long workshop at the Friends’ Meeting House, Skinnergate. Time 10am-4pm
Fancy writing for children? Learning the dos and don’ts? Then this masterclass from the creator of Haghir the Dragon Finder is for you.
Tickets £25. Places can be booked in advance by contacting John Dean at deangriss@btinternet.com, tel 07889 554931
Tuesday May 27 Writing for Stage and Screen: Introduction to Script Writing
4-6pm Venue: The Health Warehouse Cafe, 15 Post House Wynd (entrance through the shop).
Tickets: £6 per person, to book please contact Tracey Iceton traceyiceton@hotmail.co.uk 07773 797817
Wednesday May 28 Fact or Fiction: Writing Historical Novels
4-6pm Venue: The Health Warehouse Cafe, 15 Post House Wynd (entrance through the shop).
Tickets: £6 per person, to book please contact Tracey Iceton traceyiceton@hotmail.co.uk 07773 797817
Wednesday 28th May, 7pm The Stars Are Falling Pre-Launch Event, Cafe Create, 95 Parkgate.
Meet the author of this Young Adult novel, out on July 3rd. Jenny’s life revolves around surviving university, watching the stars, and staring at her house mate, Dale. But as the night sky glows with the light of falling stars, Jenny’s classes and crush seem unimportant. The Stars are retaking the Earth, saving mother nature by eliminating the problem. Together, Jenny and Dale can save the world and the human race, but surviving long enough to convince the Stars of that is perilous and may kill them both. Wednesday 28th May, 7pm, admission free. For more information email land.joanne@gmail.com or see www.cafecreatedarlington.org
Thursday May 29 Open Mic for authors. 7pm Voodoo Café, Skinnergate. £3 on the door. Come along and read some of your work or simply sit back and listen. More information from deangriss@btinternet.com Supported by Darlington for Culture.
Sat 31st May. 12-2pm Darlington Literary Festival Anthology launch at Voodoo Cafe, 84 Skinnergate
Join us for the launch of the Literary Festival Anthology 2013, which features the winning entries from last year's short story writing competition, plus prose and poetry from the participants in last year's festival. The anthology features including Jo Colley, Tracey Iceton, Ira Lightman, Pauline Plummer, Inkerman Writers and Vane Women and many more. All proceeds from sales of the anthology go to Darlington For Culture. Free Entry. For more information email land.joanne@gmail.com or see www.cafecreatedarlington.org
Box
Further literary events at Café Create
There will be many more literary events at Cafe Create in May which are still to be announced. See www.cafecreatedarlington.org or www.darlingtonforculture.org for details. Café Create is a social enterprise supporting arts and community groups which has hosted many literary and other Arts events over the last two-and-a-half years.
Thursday 1st May, 7pm: Café Create, 95 Parkgate, Darlington
The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists: 100 Years On
The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. An enduring classic of socialist literature, what message does it still hold for us in these times of economic turmoil? Celebrate May Day with this follow up to last year's popular event about Orwell. Admission free.
Saturday May 3 Crime Writing Masterclass,
Crime novelist John Dean presents a day-long workshop at the Friends’ Meeting House, Skinnergate. Time 10am-4pm
Want to create the perfect villain? Being driven to murder? Then this masterclass from the creator of the John Blizzard and Jack Harris crime novels is for you.
Tickets £25. Places can be booked in advance by contacting John at deangriss@btinternet.com, tel 07889 554931
Saturday May 3 Cafe Hippo: Palace of Varieties Cafe Create, 93-97 Parkgate Chambers, Darlington (next door to the Civic Theatre) - 7pm
As in Hippodrome, that is. Join the Arts cafe overlooking the Civic Theatre for an evening of music, poetry and performance presented for your delight and delectation. Open Mic slots are available – all kinds of performers welcome!
Cafe Create, 93-97 Parkgate Chambers, Darlington (next door to the Civic Theatre)
Tickets and arrangements: £2 on the door or pre-book at www.cafecreatedarlington.org
Tuesday May 6th from 7pm, Café Create, 95 Parkgate, Darlington.
Northumbria University and HC Productions present ‘Raunchy Reads and Serious Sermons: A Geordie Library in the 18th Century’. Come and meet the bawdy beauty Fanny Hill, the crazed Christian Christopher Smart, and some comic characters from the early novel. This dramatized reading of items the Delaval family (of Seaton Delaval Hall) subscribed to will show the range of texts that readers dipped in and out of during the eighteenth century, turning the coffee house into a living library.
Tickets £4: available on the door or pre-book at www.cafecreatedarlington.co.uk
Friday May 9th, 3 – 6pm, Poetry Artefacts. Café Create, Parkgate, Darlington
Give your words an extra dimension with poet Jo Colley. Using paper, fabric, old photos and images, and your creative imagination, give your words a 3D life. This 3 hour session will give you some basic ideas and techniques.
Tickets £6: available on the door or pre-book at www.cafecreatedarlington.co.uk
Fri 9th May 6.30-8.30pm
Venue: The Health Warehouse Cafe, 15 Post House Wynd (entrance through the shop).
Academic Artists: Reading Our Writing (including open mic slots)
Join writer Tracey Iceton and five of her fellow academic writers from Northumbria and Sunderland universities as they talk about their postgraduate creative writing studies and read extracts from their work. Better yet, bring your own work along for the open mic slots and take the stage with them. Including guest appearance by local poet Natalie Scott whose debut collection Berth was published in 2012.
Tickets: £3 per person on the door. Contact Tracey Iceton traceyiceton@hotmail.co.uk 07773 797817 for more details
Open mic readings max 8 minutes to allow time for everyone who wants to read.
Saturday May 10 Darlington Book Fair, Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College
Vane Terrace, Darlington 10am-4pm
Looking for that cracking read? Seeking that book you’ve been looking for for ages? Then this is the event for you!
Monday May 12, Conservatory Bar, Darlington Civic Theatre
Join Vane Women for a bright May evening of poetry and prose. Why not join in the fun by bringing along a piece of your own for the open mic(one per reader, please)?
Time: 7.30 pm
Tickets: £5 / £3 conc., available from Darlington Arts Box Office, 01325-486555
Contact vane.women@ntlworld.com
Tuesday May 13th 7pm: Sunny Side Up, Cafe Create, 95 Parkgate.
Keeping On The Sunny Side!
Fed up with the weather/the recession/spring cleaning/all those roadworks/the dwindling value of your pension/love, sex, death and other trivia? Then join Mike Webster and his guitarist pal Chris Taylor at Café Create on Tuesday 13 May for a session called Sunny Side Up, a celebration of the brighter side of life in poetry and song. Starting at 7.00, they’ll be offering a few humorous reflections on life as many of us know it.
The inflation-beating news is that it will only cost you a round pound to get in. Even better, give us a preview of George Osborne’s new coin design, bring a threepenny bit and get in FREE!
And, if you wish, bring along a poem of your own to share. For more information email land.joanne@gmail.com or see www.cafecreatedarlington.org
Wednesday May 14 Cafe Create, 93-97 Parkgate Chambers, Darlington (next door to the Civic Theatre) Defence Against the Dark Arts - Writers' Block and How to Beat It - 7pm
What stops us from writing? It’s more than just a search for the right words – it can also be an issue of the mind. In this practical, hands-on seminar, York novelist N.E.David will help you formulate a strategy for overcoming those inner weaknesses. Nick is a founder member of York Authors and currently presents 'Book Talk' on BBC Radio York. His debut novel, BIRDS OF THE NILE, is published by Roundfire.
Price £3. Tickets and arrangements: £2 on the door or pre-book at www.cafecreatedarlington.org
May 16-18 Hotel to stage writing course Creative writing tutor John Dean will run a weekend residential writing course at The Blackwell Grange Hotel, Darlington. The weekend includes:
* Two nights Accommodation (Friday 16th and Saturday 17th May 2014), two breakfasts, two dinners and one lunch
* Day-long workshop on Saturday followed by a morning workshop on the Sunday, including how to create characters, structure stories and invoke sense of place.
The cost is £205 per person based on double for sole occupancy, including VAT. To reserve your place and book your accommodation, call the hotel on 01325 509955 or email reservation.blackwell@forestdale.com Bookings must be made by Friday 18th April and paid in full by Friday 23rd April 2014.
Thursday May 22 7pm Voodoo Café, Skinnergate. A Night with the Inkerman Writers. Readings of poetry and prose. Free entry. More information from deangriss@btinternet.com
Friday May 23, Cafe Create, 93-97 Parkgate Chambers, Darlington (next door to the Civic Theatre) 3-6pm Short story masterclass given by Pauline Plummer
Pauline Plummer has had two previous collections of poetry published and two pamphlets that were collaborations with an artist based on journeys in W. Africa. Participants in this workshop will examine and unpick one short story and, from there, consider how they will develop an idea to structure a narrative within the constraints of the genre. Tickets are £10, please pre-book at www.cafecreatedarlington.org
6-9pm Readings by Mudfog published writers
Mudfog Press has been publishing pamphlets and books for 20 years. It is a community-based press which works with, and publishes, writers across the Tees Valley, from Whitby up to Hartlepool, from Middlesbrough to Darlington and North Yorks. Funded by the Arts Council and Middlesbrough Council, Mudfog has a good record of publishing first time writers who have gone on to develop their writing careers. The majority of publications have been poetry but they also publish short stories and books that are not limited by genre. Readers may include recently published poets such as Tom Richardson, Jo Heather, Mel McEvoy, Natalie Scott and also writer Mike Pratt (names yet to be confirmed). See the website: http://www.mudfog.co.uk/
Admission is free.
Saturday May 24 Children’s Writing Masterclass
John Dean presents a day-long workshop at the Friends’ Meeting House, Skinnergate. Time 10am-4pm
Fancy writing for children? Learning the dos and don’ts? Then this masterclass from the creator of Haghir the Dragon Finder is for you.
Tickets £25. Places can be booked in advance by contacting John Dean at deangriss@btinternet.com, tel 07889 554931
Tuesday May 27 Writing for Stage and Screen: Introduction to Script Writing
4-6pm Venue: The Health Warehouse Cafe, 15 Post House Wynd (entrance through the shop).
Tickets: £6 per person, to book please contact Tracey Iceton traceyiceton@hotmail.co.uk 07773 797817
Wednesday May 28 Fact or Fiction: Writing Historical Novels
4-6pm Venue: The Health Warehouse Cafe, 15 Post House Wynd (entrance through the shop).
Tickets: £6 per person, to book please contact Tracey Iceton traceyiceton@hotmail.co.uk 07773 797817
Wednesday 28th May, 7pm The Stars Are Falling Pre-Launch Event, Cafe Create, 95 Parkgate.
Meet the author of this Young Adult novel, out on July 3rd. Jenny’s life revolves around surviving university, watching the stars, and staring at her house mate, Dale. But as the night sky glows with the light of falling stars, Jenny’s classes and crush seem unimportant. The Stars are retaking the Earth, saving mother nature by eliminating the problem. Together, Jenny and Dale can save the world and the human race, but surviving long enough to convince the Stars of that is perilous and may kill them both. Wednesday 28th May, 7pm, admission free. For more information email land.joanne@gmail.com or see www.cafecreatedarlington.org
Thursday May 29 Open Mic for authors. 7pm Voodoo Café, Skinnergate. £3 on the door. Come along and read some of your work or simply sit back and listen. More information from deangriss@btinternet.com Supported by Darlington for Culture.
Sat 31st May. 12-2pm Darlington Literary Festival Anthology launch at Voodoo Cafe, 84 Skinnergate
Join us for the launch of the Literary Festival Anthology 2013, which features the winning entries from last year's short story writing competition, plus prose and poetry from the participants in last year's festival. The anthology features including Jo Colley, Tracey Iceton, Ira Lightman, Pauline Plummer, Inkerman Writers and Vane Women and many more. All proceeds from sales of the anthology go to Darlington For Culture. Free Entry. For more information email land.joanne@gmail.com or see www.cafecreatedarlington.org
Box
Further literary events at Café Create
There will be many more literary events at Cafe Create in May which are still to be announced. See www.cafecreatedarlington.org or www.darlingtonforculture.org for details. Café Create is a social enterprise supporting arts and community groups which has hosted many literary and other Arts events over the last two-and-a-half years.
Now there's an idea
Much of my teaching is about sparking ideas in writers but where do the ideas come from? The answer is everywhere. It is worth examining how other some writers go about it. Here‘s three examples:
1. Jonathan Swift was one of the great satirists of his age. He wanted to make the point that the men in power were small-minded so he invented a series of mystical worlds and ordered his book into sections, each one designed to make a specific point. In this world there were, among others, tiny people and obsequious courtiers who spent their days crawling across the floor until their mouths were full of dust.
2. Writing about something you know can work well. My Blizzard detective novels stories are set in a world I know well
3. Could be something in your own life. My mum’s grandfather was a widower and lived with two animals, a budgie and a cat. The man loved the budgie and the cat but the cat hated the budgie and saw it as lunch. For years, the cat waited its chance then one day the usually vigilant old man dropped his guard and left the cage door open. The budgie fluttered out - into the mouth of the cat. The distraught old man saw the feathers and drowned the cat. Inside two minutes he was left with no one. A terrific short story if ever there was one.
John Dean
1. Jonathan Swift was one of the great satirists of his age. He wanted to make the point that the men in power were small-minded so he invented a series of mystical worlds and ordered his book into sections, each one designed to make a specific point. In this world there were, among others, tiny people and obsequious courtiers who spent their days crawling across the floor until their mouths were full of dust.
2. Writing about something you know can work well. My Blizzard detective novels stories are set in a world I know well
3. Could be something in your own life. My mum’s grandfather was a widower and lived with two animals, a budgie and a cat. The man loved the budgie and the cat but the cat hated the budgie and saw it as lunch. For years, the cat waited its chance then one day the usually vigilant old man dropped his guard and left the cage door open. The budgie fluttered out - into the mouth of the cat. The distraught old man saw the feathers and drowned the cat. Inside two minutes he was left with no one. A terrific short story if ever there was one.
John Dean
A first rate genre
For beginners, the short story may better than going straight into an epic novel and may offer a good chance of being published in magazines, website etc. However, I do get irritated when you hear people say that it’s ‘for people who can’t write novels’.
Let’s be clear, the short story is not a second rate idea - it is a strong art form in itself. Indeed, your idea simply may not work as a novel.
As Best American Short Stories series editor Katrina Kenison says: "A novel requires a real blueprint from the author, whereas a short story has a lot more room for spontaneity, and a whole story can arise from an image or a line or a character."
John Dean
Let’s be clear, the short story is not a second rate idea - it is a strong art form in itself. Indeed, your idea simply may not work as a novel.
As Best American Short Stories series editor Katrina Kenison says: "A novel requires a real blueprint from the author, whereas a short story has a lot more room for spontaneity, and a whole story can arise from an image or a line or a character."
John Dean
Getting it right
Short story writing is a real art form and we get some crackers into the monthly Global Short Story Competition at www.inscribemedia.co.uk
Here’s some thoughts on how to get it right
1. Have a clear theme. What is the story about? That doesn't mean what is the plot line, the sequence of events or the character's actions, it means what is the underlying message or statement behind the words? What do you want to say? Get this right and your story will have more resonance in the minds of your readers.
2 Focus. The best stories are the ones that follow a narrow subject line. What is the point of your story? But keep it simple, otherwise you end up with a novel!
3. An effective short story often covers a very short time span. It may be one single event that proves pivotal in the life of the character, and that event will illustrate the theme. If you go for a long period of time, make it pass quickly ie ‘The next year...’
4. Don't have too many characters. Each new character will bring a new dimension to the story, and for an effective short story too many diverse dimensions will dilute the theme. Have only enough characters to effectively illustrate the theme.
5 Write in episodes - short chapters in effect.
6. Make every word count. There is no room for unnecessary expansion in a short story. If each word is not working towards putting across the theme, delete it.
John Dean
Here’s some thoughts on how to get it right
1. Have a clear theme. What is the story about? That doesn't mean what is the plot line, the sequence of events or the character's actions, it means what is the underlying message or statement behind the words? What do you want to say? Get this right and your story will have more resonance in the minds of your readers.
2 Focus. The best stories are the ones that follow a narrow subject line. What is the point of your story? But keep it simple, otherwise you end up with a novel!
3. An effective short story often covers a very short time span. It may be one single event that proves pivotal in the life of the character, and that event will illustrate the theme. If you go for a long period of time, make it pass quickly ie ‘The next year...’
4. Don't have too many characters. Each new character will bring a new dimension to the story, and for an effective short story too many diverse dimensions will dilute the theme. Have only enough characters to effectively illustrate the theme.
5 Write in episodes - short chapters in effect.
6. Make every word count. There is no room for unnecessary expansion in a short story. If each word is not working towards putting across the theme, delete it.
John Dean
Good time to enter competition
Nine days of the April Global Short Story Comp gone and just two entries. £100 first prize. More at www.inscribemedia.co.uk
Tuesday, 8 April 2014
Go on - show us what you can do!
A reminder that The April Global Short Story Competition has opened for entries.
Begun six years ago, the competition runs every month with a £100 first prize and a £25 prize for highly commended writers.
The competition, which has topped £10,500 in prize money handed out, has had entries from more than 50 countries over the years.
Each month’s competition is judged by Fiona Cooper, an author in North-East England, where the competition’s organisers Inscribe Media are also based. The competition can be entered at www.inscribemedia.co.uk
John Dean
Begun six years ago, the competition runs every month with a £100 first prize and a £25 prize for highly commended writers.
The competition, which has topped £10,500 in prize money handed out, has had entries from more than 50 countries over the years.
Each month’s competition is judged by Fiona Cooper, an author in North-East England, where the competition’s organisers Inscribe Media are also based. The competition can be entered at www.inscribemedia.co.uk
John Dean
Layering
Layering is a crucial part of writing and is directly related to the way we work. For me, it comes as I write and the plot evolves. Suddenly something becomes important that was not important before or was not there before so I add in layers of information/emotion to emphasis my points.
I very often write the story or the chapter then go back and construct it by layers. For instance, on my novel The Long Dead, I wrote a scene when an old man recalls his relationship with a German POW in a British camp (now found murdered).
The old man is the only one who the detectives have interviewed who actually met the dead victim. The old man spoke of him fondly, said they played chess together. It started out as a scene as much about forgivenesss in the heart of war.
But I realised as I went on that I wanted an edge, I wanted the relationship to be less friendly. And I wanted the old man to utter a line which 150 pages later would come to my chief inspector and would set him thinking on a new line of inquiry.
So I went back and rewrote that first scene. It is virtually all the same but there is one passage that introduces a slight edge. Not enough to tip the reader off but enough for it come into sharp relief later.
Or you may want to go back to a scene you wrote and inject it with an emotion. Was it too bland, do you want it to have been sad, happy, whatever? Or as I have done, to imbue a couple of scenes with a sense of mystery to create a sense of unease about a place.
All this is layering and for me, it’s vital.
John Dean
I very often write the story or the chapter then go back and construct it by layers. For instance, on my novel The Long Dead, I wrote a scene when an old man recalls his relationship with a German POW in a British camp (now found murdered).
The old man is the only one who the detectives have interviewed who actually met the dead victim. The old man spoke of him fondly, said they played chess together. It started out as a scene as much about forgivenesss in the heart of war.
But I realised as I went on that I wanted an edge, I wanted the relationship to be less friendly. And I wanted the old man to utter a line which 150 pages later would come to my chief inspector and would set him thinking on a new line of inquiry.
So I went back and rewrote that first scene. It is virtually all the same but there is one passage that introduces a slight edge. Not enough to tip the reader off but enough for it come into sharp relief later.
Or you may want to go back to a scene you wrote and inject it with an emotion. Was it too bland, do you want it to have been sad, happy, whatever? Or as I have done, to imbue a couple of scenes with a sense of mystery to create a sense of unease about a place.
All this is layering and for me, it’s vital.
John Dean
Getting the dialogue right
Dialogue is crucial to the success of any story. Good dialogue can make a story, bad dialogue can wreck it.
Bear in mind some of these rules of conversation and reflect them in the dialogue that you write.
A lot of the time, we do not speak in correct sentences/we often use short sharp phrases.
Keep your dialogue crisp - we can tell a lot about a person in a short snap of conversation.
Dialogue must take the story on.
Do not pack dialogue with extraneous information. Don’t write like this:
“I saw William, although everyone calls him Bill, my neighbour of ten years in Acacia Avenue, in Darlington, and observed that he was his normal glum self, to which we - that is my wife, Edith, and I - have grown accustomed in the weeks since his wife left him for a younger man and filed for divorce. I assumed that the darkness which seems to have assailed him since then has not lifted.”
If you need to slot in that information, find a way of doing it more subtly: ie “Saw Bill this morning. His usual gloomy self. Not sure he’ll ever recover. The divorce really has knocked him backwards.”
John Dean
Bear in mind some of these rules of conversation and reflect them in the dialogue that you write.
A lot of the time, we do not speak in correct sentences/we often use short sharp phrases.
Keep your dialogue crisp - we can tell a lot about a person in a short snap of conversation.
Dialogue must take the story on.
Do not pack dialogue with extraneous information. Don’t write like this:
“I saw William, although everyone calls him Bill, my neighbour of ten years in Acacia Avenue, in Darlington, and observed that he was his normal glum self, to which we - that is my wife, Edith, and I - have grown accustomed in the weeks since his wife left him for a younger man and filed for divorce. I assumed that the darkness which seems to have assailed him since then has not lifted.”
If you need to slot in that information, find a way of doing it more subtly: ie “Saw Bill this morning. His usual gloomy self. Not sure he’ll ever recover. The divorce really has knocked him backwards.”
John Dean
Monday, 7 April 2014
Honours go to writers from Italy and France
Judge Fiona Cooper has selected her winners for the February Global Short Story Competition and writers from Italy and France have taken the honours.
The £100 first place prize goes to Catherine McNamara, of Albettone, Vicenza, Italy, for The Sneeze, of which Fiona says: “This story takes us through the ambivalent and confusing surges of emotional reality that are brought on by enormous changes to one's life. It reads as a compelling stream of consciousness, with vivid snapshots along the way which serve to mark the fleeting changes of mood and reality. While it does not promise a 'happy ending' there is enough in the last two paragraphs to hint at hope and redemption.”
Our highly commended runner up is Vanessa Couchman, of Caylus, Tarn-et Garonne, France, who wins £25 for Into the Abyss, of which Fiona says: “Atmospheric and gripping, this story has a 'hairs on the back of your neck' quality and it is cinematic in quality and also in the way the writer makes the reader see and feel the setting and immediately empathise with the main character. No easy conclusion is reached, but an enormous sigh of relief that someone, at least, will live, we hope, happily ever after. Excellent.“
The writers on the shortlist are:
Fiona J Mackintosh, Silver Spring, MD, United States
Lucy Bignall, Pullenvale, Queensland, Australia
Katy Budd, Hordaland. Norway
Mandy Huggins
Winning stories will be posted on www.inscribemedia.co.uk Well done to our successful writers. You can enter the latest competition at the same address.
John Dean
The £100 first place prize goes to Catherine McNamara, of Albettone, Vicenza, Italy, for The Sneeze, of which Fiona says: “This story takes us through the ambivalent and confusing surges of emotional reality that are brought on by enormous changes to one's life. It reads as a compelling stream of consciousness, with vivid snapshots along the way which serve to mark the fleeting changes of mood and reality. While it does not promise a 'happy ending' there is enough in the last two paragraphs to hint at hope and redemption.”
Our highly commended runner up is Vanessa Couchman, of Caylus, Tarn-et Garonne, France, who wins £25 for Into the Abyss, of which Fiona says: “Atmospheric and gripping, this story has a 'hairs on the back of your neck' quality and it is cinematic in quality and also in the way the writer makes the reader see and feel the setting and immediately empathise with the main character. No easy conclusion is reached, but an enormous sigh of relief that someone, at least, will live, we hope, happily ever after. Excellent.“
The writers on the shortlist are:
Fiona J Mackintosh, Silver Spring, MD, United States
Lucy Bignall, Pullenvale, Queensland, Australia
Katy Budd, Hordaland. Norway
Mandy Huggins
Winning stories will be posted on www.inscribemedia.co.uk Well done to our successful writers. You can enter the latest competition at the same address.
John Dean
Friday, 4 April 2014
Residential course
A reminder..
Hotel to stage residential writing course
Got a story to tell? Keen to be a writer? Got a character chatting away to you? A story waiting to get out?
Then this residential weekend course in the North East of England at The Blackwell Grange in Darlington, County Durham, UK, could be for you.
Experienced creative writing tutor and novelist John Dean, who has had eleven crime novels published by Robert Hale and has appeared in a number of short story anthologies, will run a writing workshop on the weekend of May 16-18 2014 as part of the second Darlington Arts Festival.
The weekend includes:
* Two nights Accommodation (Friday 16th and Saturday 17th May 2014), two breakfasts, two dinners and one lunch
* Day-long writing workshop on the Saturday followed by a morning workshop on the Sunday, including how to create characters, structure stories and invoke a strong sense of place.
The cost for the weekend is: £205 per person based on double for sole occupancy, this rate includes VAT
To reserve your place and book your accommodation : Call the Blackwell Grange Hotel on 01325 509955 , their email is reservation.blackwell@forestdale.com.
Bookings must be made by Friday 18th April and paid in full to the hotel by Friday 23rd April 2014. Please note that minimum numbers are required for this course to run if this event needs to be cancelled you will be given a minimum 4 weeks’ notice.
About the Blackwell Grange Hotel
The Blackwell Grange Hotel, Darlington, County Durham has a long history, having been built as a private home by the Allan Family. Building commenced in 1693 and was finally completed in 1717, with the property being passed down through the family until 1953.
Blackwell Grange Hotel is set in nine acres of countryside with ample car parking and a leisure club which includes a small gym and swimming pool. The hotel has Free wi fi throughout the hotel.
The hotel is across the road from the Victorian South Park, with its formal gardens, and is 15 minutes walk from Darlington Town Centre.
Directions from the South
Exit the A1M at J57, follow the A66 towards Darlington, take the A167 at the second round about and the hotel is on the left hand side, it takes approx. 4 minutes from J57
Directions from the North
Exit the A1M at J58, take the A68 for Darlington. Travel to Cockerton Village. At the junction turn left then at the next mini roundabout turn right. Then take the first exit onto Carmel Road North – B6280, signposted Yarm A67. At the Elmridge Garden Centre roundabout go straight across and follow the road to the next roundabout and take the first exit to Darlington town centre. The Blackwell Grange is situated a few hundred meters along on the left.
Website - http://www.forestdalehotels.com/Hotels/Northern-England/Blackwell-Grange-Hotel,-Darlington
About John Dean
More information about John Dean can be discovered at www.inscribemedia.co.uk or www.johndean.ning.com
Hotel to stage residential writing course
Got a story to tell? Keen to be a writer? Got a character chatting away to you? A story waiting to get out?
Then this residential weekend course in the North East of England at The Blackwell Grange in Darlington, County Durham, UK, could be for you.
Experienced creative writing tutor and novelist John Dean, who has had eleven crime novels published by Robert Hale and has appeared in a number of short story anthologies, will run a writing workshop on the weekend of May 16-18 2014 as part of the second Darlington Arts Festival.
The weekend includes:
* Two nights Accommodation (Friday 16th and Saturday 17th May 2014), two breakfasts, two dinners and one lunch
* Day-long writing workshop on the Saturday followed by a morning workshop on the Sunday, including how to create characters, structure stories and invoke a strong sense of place.
The cost for the weekend is: £205 per person based on double for sole occupancy, this rate includes VAT
To reserve your place and book your accommodation : Call the Blackwell Grange Hotel on 01325 509955 , their email is reservation.blackwell@forestdale.com.
Bookings must be made by Friday 18th April and paid in full to the hotel by Friday 23rd April 2014. Please note that minimum numbers are required for this course to run if this event needs to be cancelled you will be given a minimum 4 weeks’ notice.
About the Blackwell Grange Hotel
The Blackwell Grange Hotel, Darlington, County Durham has a long history, having been built as a private home by the Allan Family. Building commenced in 1693 and was finally completed in 1717, with the property being passed down through the family until 1953.
Blackwell Grange Hotel is set in nine acres of countryside with ample car parking and a leisure club which includes a small gym and swimming pool. The hotel has Free wi fi throughout the hotel.
The hotel is across the road from the Victorian South Park, with its formal gardens, and is 15 minutes walk from Darlington Town Centre.
Directions from the South
Exit the A1M at J57, follow the A66 towards Darlington, take the A167 at the second round about and the hotel is on the left hand side, it takes approx. 4 minutes from J57
Directions from the North
Exit the A1M at J58, take the A68 for Darlington. Travel to Cockerton Village. At the junction turn left then at the next mini roundabout turn right. Then take the first exit onto Carmel Road North – B6280, signposted Yarm A67. At the Elmridge Garden Centre roundabout go straight across and follow the road to the next roundabout and take the first exit to Darlington town centre. The Blackwell Grange is situated a few hundred meters along on the left.
Website - http://www.forestdalehotels.com/Hotels/Northern-England/Blackwell-Grange-Hotel,-Darlington
About John Dean
More information about John Dean can be discovered at www.inscribemedia.co.uk or www.johndean.ning.com
Let there be light
Stuck for an idea for a story? Well here’s a useful way to get yourself going.
Go somewhere quiet and think of a darkened room in the middle of which is a spotlight, creating an illuminated stage.
Clear your mind, blot out the hubbub of daily life and see which character steps forward into the light. You’ll be amazed at the results.
John Dean
Go somewhere quiet and think of a darkened room in the middle of which is a spotlight, creating an illuminated stage.
Clear your mind, blot out the hubbub of daily life and see which character steps forward into the light. You’ll be amazed at the results.
John Dean
Wednesday, 2 April 2014
Annual winner is named
A month ago, the team behind the Global Short Story Competition launched a public vote to find their annual winner for 2013 and website users have now had their say.
The winner of the £250 prize is the winner of the August Global Short Story Competition, Seth Townley, of Bergen, Norway for his story Contemplating Breakfast.
Begun more than six years ago, the competition runs every month with a £100 first prize and £25 for highly commended writers, in addition to the annual prize, which is selected from the twelve monthly winners. The competition, which has topped £10,500 in money handed out, has had entries from more than 50 countries over the years.
Each month’s competition is judged by Fiona Cooper, an author in North-East England, where the competition’s organisers Inscribe Media are also based.
When she selected Contemplating Breakfast for the August prize, Fiona said: “I love it when a writer presents a bizarre scenario as completely normal and sustains this throughout the work, as this writer has done. The surreal lifestyle and totally grungy surroundings are presented with wry humour - this is what happens when life just knocks you down to the underbelly and you're just clinging on and shuffling through. Richard Farina wrote a book in the sixties called 'Been down so long it looks like up to me' and this story could very easily turn into linked scenes and anecdotes which would evolve into a very satisfying novel. Excellent.”
John Dean, competition administrator, said: “The quality of our 2013 winners was very high, reflecting the standards reached by so many of our entrants. Seth is a worthy winner.”
The monthly competition, run by Inscribe Media Limited from the North East of England, was launched in December 2007. Winning stories can be viewed at www.inscribemedia.co.uk where the latest competition can also be entered.
The winner of the £250 prize is the winner of the August Global Short Story Competition, Seth Townley, of Bergen, Norway for his story Contemplating Breakfast.
Begun more than six years ago, the competition runs every month with a £100 first prize and £25 for highly commended writers, in addition to the annual prize, which is selected from the twelve monthly winners. The competition, which has topped £10,500 in money handed out, has had entries from more than 50 countries over the years.
Each month’s competition is judged by Fiona Cooper, an author in North-East England, where the competition’s organisers Inscribe Media are also based.
When she selected Contemplating Breakfast for the August prize, Fiona said: “I love it when a writer presents a bizarre scenario as completely normal and sustains this throughout the work, as this writer has done. The surreal lifestyle and totally grungy surroundings are presented with wry humour - this is what happens when life just knocks you down to the underbelly and you're just clinging on and shuffling through. Richard Farina wrote a book in the sixties called 'Been down so long it looks like up to me' and this story could very easily turn into linked scenes and anecdotes which would evolve into a very satisfying novel. Excellent.”
John Dean, competition administrator, said: “The quality of our 2013 winners was very high, reflecting the standards reached by so many of our entrants. Seth is a worthy winner.”
The monthly competition, run by Inscribe Media Limited from the North East of England, was launched in December 2007. Winning stories can be viewed at www.inscribemedia.co.uk where the latest competition can also be entered.
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