How to use this Page

University of Huddersfield has launched a short story and poetry competition to find material for its new anthology Grist. The once a year publication will include the winning selections alongside established writers. The Grist website explains: "Grist is interested in fresh new voices with something to say. By publishing emerging writers alongside established writers, Grist provides a unique opportunity for those starting out in their writing careers. For the reader of Grist, each issue in book form will provide two hundred pages of the best new writing around." Joanne Harris Short stories can be up to 3,500 words on any subject and there is a £3 entry fee per story. You may submit as many stories as you like. Joanne Harris author of Chocolat and Runemarks will be the judge. The three overall winners will receive a cash prize. The three winners and all runners up will be published in the next issue of Grist. The closing date November 30th 2008. Simon Armitage will judge the poetry competition. Poems should be up to 40 lines and can be on any subject. Entry is £3 per poem and you can submit as many poems as you like. The three overall winners will receive a cash prize. The three winners and all runners up will be published in the next issue of Grist. Again the closing date is November 30th 2008. There are other rules about style of manuscript and you have to print off an entry form available at the competition's website at www.hud.ac.uk/mh/english/grist/index.htm

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

The Not. CRP Children's Book Slushie is awarded to books written by celebrities that are good enough to be published regardless of the fact that the author is famous.

	Freckleface Strawberry By Julianne Moore Freckleface comes to terms with her nickname, her freckles, and her life. This cute book has a message without being preachy. It's decently written and has adorable illustrations. I did enjoy this book.
Not. CRP Children's Book Honor Slushies
	The Alphabet from A to Y with Bonus Letter Z! By Steve Martin & Roz Chast
	Hank Zipper #13 Who Ordered this Baby? Definitely not Me! By Henry Winkler & Lin Oliver