Category Archives: competitions

And the Winners Are…

Posted on by
Reply

To celebrate National Short Story Week, the winners of the Solstice Shorts Festival Short Story Competition were announced last night at the Story Sessions

COMPWINNER email

(Trumpets, drum roll, searchlights… you know, that sort of thing)

Congratulations to:

Andrew Gepp
Cindy George
David Mathews
David Turnbull
Deschaney Tate
Emma Timpany
Helen Morris
Jayne Pickering
Pippa Gladhill
Sarah Evans
Tannith Perry
William Davidson

We are delighted to congratulate our twelve winners, who will receive various prizes including a surprisingly untacky trophy, and whose stories will be read at the festival, and published alongside a story from each of the judges in the forthcoming anthology, Solstice Shorts: 16 stories about time.

Five Judges Special Recommendations will be announced at the festival at SUNSET.

Thanks to everyone who took part (all 106 of you), we appreciate your interest in our festival which we hope is the first of many, so there will be other opportunities in the future.

Short-listed writers will receive brief feedback sometime next week.

Samhain and the dark half of the year

Posted on by
Reply

This time of year is not all about ghosts and chocolate you know. (although if you are celebrating Dia de los Muertos, it probably is).

Samhain is the ancient festival that celebrates the end of harvest and the start of winter, a time to look ahead, and plan for the lean times, while appreciating the glory that is summer as it closes. Probably back then they weren’t basking in 20 degrees and sun though.

So if any of that inspires you to write a STORY about TIME you should by now know where to send it! You have until 23:59 tonight.

Robert Shearman talks about short stories, judging and Time

Posted on by
Reply

Robert Shearman, one of our judges for Solstice Shorts Festival Short Story Competition talks to Cherry Potts on the phone (not from outer space, despite the dreadful echo at the beginning!) about what he looks for in a short story, the joys of judging and the excitement of the competition theme of Time.

If you are thinking of entering a story, you have only 3 days left, the competition closes at 23:59 on 31st October 2014. Please read the rules carefully, we’ve had to disqualify a few entries for including their name, or being too long or too short!!

https://arachnepress.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/rob-shearman-judging-and-reading.mp3?_=1 https://arachnepress.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/rob-shearman-short-stories.mp3?_=2 https://arachnepress.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/rob-shearman-time-theme.mp3?_=3

Solstice Shorts Competition Judge Alison Moore talks about judging, short stories and genre

Posted on by
Reply

In the fourth of our short series of interviews Alison Moore makes time for a phone call with Cherry Potts about the judges role in the Solstice Shorts Competition, writing, and genres.

https://arachnepress.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/alison-moore-on-short-stories.mp3?_=4

 

https://arachnepress.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/alison-moore-what-she-looks-for.mp3?_=5

 

https://arachnepress.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/alison-moore-genres.mp3?_=6

 

Imogen Robertson Solstice Shorts Judge talks about Short Stories, genres and the art of the monologue

Posted on by
Reply

In the second of our short series of interviews: more from the talented Ms Robertson, one of our judges for Solstice Shorts Festival Short Story Competition, giving us her thoughts on what makes a great short story, genres she loves and the power of the monologue.

Solstice Shorts Judge Imogen Robertson talks about …Judging

Posted on by
Reply

The first in a short series of interviews with the judges of the competition – to give those sending in entries an insight into how it all works and what the judges are hoping to see, and, in this case, how winning a competition helped Historical Crime novelist Imogen Robertson start writing full-time.

So if you’ve not sent in an entry yet, get a move on, you have until the end of the month, and this could be you in five years time…

 

Want to write a novel?

Posted on by
Reply

Arachne Author Emily Pedder has been in touch asking us to help promote a course for people who are serious about getting that first novel written and out in the light of day:

Novel Studio at City University, London. It’s a year-long intensive course for aspiring novelists with an excellent track record of published alumni.

Deadline for applications 31 May, so be quick! Oh, and there’s a competition this year too, open to all applicants. The top three applications will be forwarded to Natalie Butlin at Christine Green Author’s Agency with a view to representation.

If anyone wants to ask Emily more, in particular about the competition which doesn’t seem to be on the website, you can contact her on Emily(dot)Pedder(dot)1(at)city(dot)ac(dot)uk

National Short Story Week competition only hours left

Posted on by
Reply

We’ve only had a very few 100 word stories proffered so far, so you have an excellent chance of being read and possibly winning, you have until 5pm GMT today. So those of you who need a deadline, you’ve got it. It’s just a bit of fun, so we aren’t expecting vast numbers, but have a go! Stand up for the short story!

The theme is November, and the length must be EXACTLY 100 words (be warned: MSWord word count counts things like hyphens as a word, we don’t.) You can have a title as extra provided it isn’t one of those that lasts a paragraph!

Voting will start as soon after 5pm as I can get the stories up on the site, and last til GMT on Sunday 17th November. Stories will be anonymous until the voting closes, when I will add writers names.

Pen, laptop or tablet at the ready? Go!

Valentine’s Love Poetry Competition – results

Aside

Ok, I give in, you don’t like poetry. Seven poems and seven votes. Useful feedback I guess.

The winner is Peter Cooper, with his poem Ode on Your Sixtieth Birthday. Congratulations Peter, your book will be in the post tomorrow.

Zelda Rhiando is our runner-up with Will You, Won’t You, Well?  Zelda, congratulations, and your badge will be on its way as soon as I have contacted you for a postal address. Thanks to the other contributors – if you would like your names appended to your work now, please let me know!