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Mslexia Competition Entry
Mslexia Women's Short Story Competition 2012
JUDGE: TESSA HADLEY
1st Prize £2,000
plus a one-week writing retreat* at Chawton House Library and a day with a Virago editor**
2nd prize £500
3rd prize £250
3 other finalists will win £100 each
All winning stories will be published in Mslexia magazine.
Closing date: 19 March 2012
* The CHL retreat is accommodation only, dates to be agreed between CHL and the competition winner.
** The day with a Virago editor must be taken at a time that is suitable to both Virago and the competition winner.
Both additional prizes are optional. The winner is responsible for any other expenses involved with attending the CHL retreat and the day with a Virago editor, i.e travel, food, etc. The prizes must be taken by 31 May 2013.
The Judge
Tessa Hadley has written four novels – the latest of which, The London Train, was published in 2011 – and one collection of short stories, Sunstroke. A new story collection, Married Love, comes out in January 2012. She publishes stories regularly in the New Yorker, and reviews for the London Review of Books and the Guardian. She teaches on the MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University.
Submissions and payment
Both UK and Overseas entries may elect either to PAY AND SUBMIT ONLINE, PAY ONLINE AND SUBMIT BY POST, or PAY AND SUBMIT BY POST. Please ensure you click on the correct payment button for your entry preference if you are paying online.
Entry fee: £10 per story
Competition Rules
Before submitting your entry make sure you read the Competition Rules thoroughly. We reserve the right to reject any entry that does not comply. Refunds cannot be made in this case.
For more information please call +44 (0) 191 233 3860 or email shortstory@mslexia.co.uk
PAY AND SUBMIT ONLINE
1) Payment of entry and the submission of stories must be done at the same time. If you are sending multiple stories, they must all be saved in one document. Stories must be sent as a Word document (.doc & .docx) or .rtf attachment, so please have the file ready.
2) Pay Online (below), entering the number of stories you are submitting.
3) Once you have completed your payment, you will be taken to the form where you can submit your stories. If you experience any problems attaching your stories, please email us on shortstory@mslexia.co.uk or call us on +44 (0) 191 233 3860.
Click here to pay if you are submitting online
PAY ONLINE AND SUBMIT BY POST
UK entries
1) Pay Online (below), entering the number of stories you are submitting. Please take note of the email address used to pay, and the date on which you paid, which should both be included in your covering letter.
2) Please post your entry to:
Women’s Short Story Competition
Mslexia Publications Limited
PO Box 656
Freepost NEA5566
Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 1BR
(Postmarked no later than 19 March 2012. No need for a stamp.)
Click here to pay if you are submitting by post
* After completing Pay Online, please remember to quote the email address used to pay and date on which you paid in your covering letter. *
Overseas entries
1) Pay Online (below), entering the number of stories you are submitting. Please take note of the email address used to pay, and the date on which you paid, which should both be included in your covering letter. We regret the Freepost facility is not available for entries posted from overseas.
2) Please post your entry to:
Women’s Short Story Competition
Mslexia Publications Limited
PO Box 656
Newcastle upon Tyne NE99 1PZ
United Kingdom
(Postmarked no later than 19 March 2012.)
Click here to pay if you are submitting by post from overseas
* After completing Pay Online, please remember to quote the email address used to pay and date on which you paid in your covering letter. *
PAY AND SUBMIT BY POST
Entries may be submitted and paid for by post if accompanied by a Sterling cheque, or you can telephone the office +44 (0) 191 233 3860 with your credit card details.
From the UK
Women’s Short Story Competition
Mslexia Publications Limited
PO Box 656
Freepost NEA5566
Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 1BR
(Postmarked no later than 19 March 2012. No need for a stamp)
From overseas
We regret the Freepost facility is not available for entries posted from overseas.
Women’s Short Story Competition
Mslexia Publications Limited
PO Box 656
Newcastle upon Tyne NE99 1PZ
United Kingdom
(Postmarked no later than 19 March 2012.)
CRITIQUING SERVICE
The Mslexia Critiquing Service is available to entrants of the Mslexia Short Story Competition, for stories of up to 2,200 words, at a fee of £45 per story. This is a professional service offering a fair, accurate and constructive review of your work to assist you in getting published.
The critiquing will be completed within 4-6 weeks of the competition closing date 19 March 2012.
Stories for critiquing must be submitted by post. When submitting your story for critiquing please mark your competition cover sheet clearly with CRITIQUING SERVICE. Please add £45 per story for the critiquing service – this is additional to the £10 per story entry fee.
We will acknowledge that we have received your work for critiquing by post or email.
CRITIQUING SERVICE!
Mslexia has a professional critiquing service available for stories entered into the competition. Find out more »
CREATIVE SPARK
An exercise devised by MARGARET WILKINSON to kickstart a story
Two ideas here: one to spark a new story, the other to reinvigorate an old one.
» In theatre, we talk of a setting being 'high-status' when only one thing normally happens there: e.g. a church. Drama is created when something 'inappropriate' occurs. So choose two high-status settings and imagine a story in which characters fall asleep in a squash court, for instance, or play squash in a bedroom.
» Revitalise an existing story you have written by altering one of the following: Reverse the sexes of the characters. See how much more memorable they become. Change the setting to somewhere exotic you have visited or researched.
INSPIRATIONS
A selection of five writing exercises devised by Margaret Wilkinson especially for the 2010 short story competition.
More…
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