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woman's weekly.bmp I had my first woman's magazine short story back in yesterday's post, from Woman's Weekly. The story was one I'd written a while ago inspired by my second Dr Midas book. I'm not really surprised I got a standard rejection back as it was a bit dark - with more of a 'Tales of the Unexpected' vibe. It certainly wasn't a typical woman's magazine story but I thought it was worth a shot at WW as I've read they don't just want boy meets girl stories. I sent the story out on September 11th so a response has taken seven weeks, which is quicker than I'd expected given they receive so many submissions every month. I have sent them other stories, including one earlier than that which I'm a little more hopeful about as I've also read they look at them in strict order of arrival. Other writers have also mentioned that the magazine sometimes includes a tick box form with stories that are closer to acceptance. I received just a nicely worded, standard letter that says: "The Editor thanks you very much for submitting the enclosed manuscript, but regrets that it is not quite suitable for her requirements." Followed by details of where to write for fiction guidelines. Now I have to have a think if it's worth sending it somewhere else, I'm thinking of maybe Writers' Forum or The Weekly News. I'll have to start a new file for my short stories submissions now, oh and I've still got to find a way of stopping my dog getting to them first. Yet again this one will be put away looking like it's been hole-punched all over!

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As I mentioned the other day I keep a notebook of ideas and another one in there is for a children's book set around a Scottish loch inspired by my childhood holidays north of the border. I was therefore interested to read in a writing magazine about a prize for children's books 'wholly or mainly set in Scotland'. The Kelpies Prize is looking for a unpublished books for 9-12 year olds between 40,000-60,000 words. The winning author will receive a £2,000 prize and the winner will be announced at the Edinburgh International Book Festival The deadline is February 28th which may seem a while off but seeing as I seem to be working on a hundred things at once I might have to wait a year! The guidelines, available at www.florisbooks.co.uk, say stories must 'incorporate contemporary settings' and/or a subject matter 'which today's children can relate to.' Entrants can be of any age and nationality and manuscripts must be sent by post (only one entry per person.) You need to send an entry form available on the website and manuscripts must NOT have the writer's name on them. The Kelpies imprint includes Scottish children's authors as Kathleen Fidler and Mollie Hunter and was acquired by Floris Books in 2001. The 2008 winner, Sharon Tregenza, will have her book Tarantula Tide published by Floris books in the Kelpies series on October 16th.

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Comma Press are looking for new Short Stories set in Liverpool for an anthology called 'Reberth.' The book will be published in December and will be made up of short stories from the ‘Cities on the Edge’. ‘Cities on the Edge’ is a partnership of six European cities: Bremen, Gdansk, Istanbul, Liverpool, Marseille and Naples. The Comma Press website explains: "At Liverpool's invitation, they have come together in Liverpool's European Capital of Culture ‘08 year to examine their roles as historic ports. The cities all share a sense of independence (almost as city states, as islands within their national territories). Equally, they are characterised by a critical edge; a rare combination of individualism and a strong sense of community; a reputation for creativity; and a long and vivid history. They are essential to the definition of the cultural identity of their respective countries, but don't always feel loved or understood by their countrymen. "Featuring two 2 stories set in each of the ‘Cities on the Edge’, ReBerth aims to give a flavour of the peculiar cultural potency of these cities: their diverse traditions and religions; their cultural practices (both old and new); their movement away from reliance on a shipping economy, and towards a model of cultural regeneration and exchange; and above all, their ‘edginess’. "We particularly welcome stories embracing the notion that port cities are a destination – and sometimes a stepping-off point - for migrant communities: people embarking on a new life; in search of sanctuary, salvation, or rebirth." What they are looking for: • Cohesive, subtle, insightful and well-shaped stories of literary merit. • Stories which touch on one or more of the above themes. • Stories set against the recognizable backdrop of the city of Liverpool (or in which geographical features of the city play a role in the story). • Contemporary stories (stories set within the past twenty-five years). What they are not looking for: • Character sketches, anecdotes, comic capers (particularly comic capers featuring ‘loveable rogues’), benign childhood memoirs. • Stories which set aside clunky, separate passages for scene setting, characterization, plot exposition or flashback. • Stories including any material to which the author does not own copyright (e.g. song lyrics). • Previously published works. Submissions should be between 1000 and 5000 words in length (approx). 2 submissions maximum per author will be considered. We will pay authors £200 for each story we use in the anthology. You are strongly urged to visit the ‘General Guidelines’ below and the Editorial page of the website (www.commapress.co.uk) for further guidance on submitting manuscripts. Email submissions as a double-spaced word document attachment before Friday 1st August 2008 to [email protected] Good luck

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There are just a couple of weeks left before the deadline for this year's Bridport Prize. Anyone can enter and there are some big money prizes to be won alongwith the chance for your work to be read by a top agent. I have never entered this particular competition as I've always been a bit intimidated by it - so I'd be interested to hear readers' opinions on it. The Bridport Prize International Creative Writing Competition was founded in 1973 and now attracts many thousands of entries from over 80 countries. You can now enter online or via the post using the application form which can be printed off from the website. There are two categories - short stories up to 5,000 words and poems 42 lines maximum both with a top prize of £5,000. Second prize is £1,000 and third £500 with ten supplementary prizes of £50 each and the top 26 stories and poems will be published in the Bridport Prize 2008 anthology. All 26 winners are invited to a Prizegiving Lunch at the Town Hall in Bridport, Dorset. An additional £100 and a perpetual trophy is awarded to the best local (Dorset, UK) winner or runner up. The winning stories and shortlist will be read by London leading agents with a view to representing writers. Helen Simpson will judge the short stories Short stories will be judged by writer Helen Simpson who said: "The short story form is intrinsically witty, adrenalised, quick--not restful. It encourages concision. VSPritchett described, 'How did the story change as I rewrote it, perhaps four or five times, boiling down a hundred pages into twenty or thirty, as I still do? Story writing is exacting work.' I'll be looking for stories which show imaginative pleasure in meeting the demands of the form." The Bridport website explains: "In many cases a win in the Bridport Prize has led to further successes and helped to launch new writers. Kate Atkinson (a short story winner in 1990) said that it was very important, confirming that she had found her "voice". Her short story went on to become the first chapter of her novel, "Behind the Scenes at the Museum", winner of the 1995 Whitbread Book of the Year. She returned to judge the Short Story section in 2001. Other noteworthy names include Helen Dunmore (also a 1990 winner) whose "Spell of Winter" won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 1996; Tobias Hill, a winner in both categories (poetry 1994, short story 1996) and Tess Biddington, a winner in 2000, who made it onto the short list for The Forward Prize and gained an agent for her forthcoming novel, plus many others." The Prize is open to anyone, including non-UK applicants,over 18 years. Entries must be entirely the work of the entrant and must never have been published, self-published, published on any website or broadcast. Closing date is June 30th 2008. Each entry costs £6. More details from www.bridportprize.org.uk

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I haven't written a poem for quite a while, but today I was inspired by a writing prompt posted by Elizabeth at Writing to Inspire. She challaned readers to: Write a story or poem that is based on receiving or not receiving a trophy.

So, after some tinkering, I have written a peom about an imaginary Bear Awards Ceremony. Hope you like it.

An invitation in the mail
Invites me to attend
The annual Bear Awards night
And I can bring a friend!

Primula is frocked up
And I have my bow-tie;
We both look rather lovely –
I cannot tell a lie.

We enter the grand ball room
Abuzz with bruins and beaus
Dressed to the nines and tizzed up
From their tops down to their toes.

The dinner it is sumptuous
The company top-rate;
Then comes the time for prizes -
To win one would be great

Best Singing Bear is first announced
That could be me, I think.
But no such luck, the prize goes to
Albear Humperdink

Best Shelf-Sitter – I was once that;
Perhaps it’s me they’ll choose
But not this time, it seems the best
Is old Bearyl Recluse.

And so it goes, right down the list
They do not call me out.
That’s okay, I console myself,
Winning’s not what it’s about.

But then Prim nudges me
I sit up with a jog
They’ve called my name for the Best Bear
At writing his own Blog!

I swell with pride
And slowly stand, trembling with pleasure
Such an award I never dreamed
But now it’s my great treasure.

And now back in the toy room
My trophy’s on display
And I can see it as I sit
And write poems every day.

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