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The 2016 Exeter Story Prize  and Trisha Ashley Award

The Winners
First prize - £500 + trophy
Oh, cheeses by Laura Guthrie
We were immediately intrigued by the title of this wonderful story. Oh, Cheeses is about the complexity of friendship between two unlikely protagonists. James is a part-time librarian and journalist, Arin is a very successful, but private, poet. How their relationship is affected by success, betrayal of trust and tragedy is enthralling, often humorous and ultimately touching.

​Second prize - £150
Verdict by Paula Hunter
As the title suggests, Verdict is a courtroom drama. We were very impressed by the tension and claustrophobic atmosphere that suffused this story. Tightly written with a very compelling voice, we held our breaths for the verdict, only to have that self-same breath taking away by a brilliant denouement.

Third prize - £100
The Birds in Antarctica by Kaori Crawford
The Birds in Antarctica is a beautifully drawn story of siblings facing the past after the funeral of their aunt. The vivid imagery and unsettling sense of place drew us in straight away and we were all impressed by how the past events were gradually revealed, leading to an unexpected but perfectly understandable outcome.


The Trisha Ashley Award 
for the best humorous story - 
 £200 + trophy
Elephants of the Cosmos – Ken Morlich 
Trisha said:
I enjoyed Elephants of the Cosmos very much – from the start, the dryly humorous style reminded me of some of my favourite early science fiction authors, such as the Hoyle, Asimov and that ilk, as did the method of having an onlooker tell the story. You have a sharply observant eye and there were many amusing asides before we reached the satisfying final twist in the tale.


​
Winning and short listed stories will be published in an anthology.
The 2016 Exeter Story Prize Short List

A Good Word – Tracy Fells 
Bird – Jen Leggo 
Loose Thread – Jen Leggo 
Noli Me Tangere – Fiona Mackintosh 
Oh, Cheeses – Laura Guthrie 
The Birds in Antarctica – Kaori Crawford 
Verdict – Paula Hunter

The 2016 Trisha Ashley Award Short List

An Alec or an Angel – Jenny Knight 
Elephants of the Cosmos – Ken Morlich 
Ma’s Pavoritti – Richard Lysaght 
Speed Dating – Jemma Hillenbrand 
The Yellow Overcoat – Caroline Lodge
Long List:

A Good Word - Tracy Fells
An Alec or an Angel - Jenny Knight
Bird - Jen Leggo
Dispatches - Louise Ells
Elephants of the Cosmos - Ken Morlich
Frozen - Phil McCumskey
Loose Thread - Jen Leggo
Ma's Pavoritti - Richard Lysaght
Mrs Horgan's Surprise - Alex Reece Abbott
My Sweet Amygdala - Emma Sloley
Noli Me Tangier - Fiona Mackintosh
Oh, Cheeses - Laura Guthrie
Quizmaster - Gillian Barr
Speed Dating - Jemma Hillenbrand
Taking Down the Pear Tree - Jendi Reiter
The Birds in Antarctica - Kaori Crawford
The Coolest Kid in School - Andrew Stiggers
The Fox - Hannah Persaud
The Gamekeeper's Revenge - Charles Warren
The Grim Reader - Linda Hartley
The Quondam Tiger - Johanna Lipford
The Yellow Overcoat - Caroline Lodge
Verdict - Paula Hunter
Watched by Swans - Wendy Stedman
What is Love? - Ewa Hanna Mazierska


Closing date: 30th April 2016

Fee: £10​

Please read all the Rules before entering. 
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Trisha Ashley writes romantic comedies and her latest novel, A Christmas Cracker, is her sixth consecutive Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller. Her novels have twice been shortlisted for the Melissa Nathan Award for Romantic Comedy and Every Woman for Herself was nominated by readers as one of the top three romantic novels of the last fifty years.
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Read our selection of winning stories from last year's competitions. Click on the cover.
Rules
 
1 - The Exeter Story Prize is open for submissions until midnight on April 30th 2016, which is without exception the closing date. Any entries received after this date will be disqualified and no refund of the entry fee will be made.
2 - The Exeter Story Prize is for a story of up to ten thousand words in English. There is no minimum word count.
3 - Stories may be on any theme but only humorous stories will be eligible for the Trisha Ashley Award.
4 - The judges will decide which stories will be put forward for the Trisha Ashley Award.
5 - Stories should not have been previously published in print, on the internet or broadcast.
6 - Simultaneous submissions are allowed but please be prepared to withdraw your entry if it is a prizewinner elsewhere.
7 - Entries can only be submitted electronically via this site and the payment made via Paypal. Prizes will be awarded via Paypal.
8 - Entrants should be over 18 years of age.
9 - Only doc, docx, pdf and rtf files will be accepted. Any other formats will be disqualified. Please present your work in Times New Roman or Arial, 12 pt, 1.5 or double-spaced. Your name should not appear anywhere on the story.
10 - The long list will be published here in July. The winners will be announced at a date tba. 
11 - The judges’ decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into.
How to Enter

1 - In the subject line of your email, type ESP followed by the title of your story.
2 - In the body of the email type your name, contact details (postal address and phone number, mobile and/or landline) and the title of your story. 
3 - Attach your story in one of the formats set out in Rule 9. 
Email to creativewritingmatters@virginmedia.com 
4 - Click on the Paypal button below and pay the fee.
If payment is made using a different name, it is essential you include that name in the email you send with the story.
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  • Home
  • What We Do
    • CreativeWritingMatters Guides
    • Mentoring
    • Manuscript Appraisal
  • Competitions
    • Our Winners
    • 2020 Exeter Novel Prize
    • 2020 Exeter Story Prize and Trisha Ashley Award >
      • 2020 Winning Stories
    • 2019 Exeter Novel Prize >
      • 2019 ENP Judge's Report
    • 2019 Exeter Story Prize and Trisha Ashley Award >
      • 2019 ESP Winning Stories
    • 2019 Exeter Flash Competition >
      • 2109 Flash Winners
    • 2018 Exeter Novel Prize
    • 2018 Exeter Story Prize and Trisha Ashley Award >
      • 2108 ESP Winning stories
    • 2018 Exeter Flash Competition >
      • 2018 Flash Winners
    • 2017 Exeter Novel Prize
    • 2017 Exeter Story Prize and Trisha Ashley Award
    • 2016 Exeter Novel Prize Award Ceremony and Judge's Report
    • 2016 Exeter Story Prize
    • 2015 ENP Award Ceremony and Judge's reports
    • 2015 ESP, Award Ceremony and Judges' Report
    • 2014 ENP Award Ceremony and Judge's Report
    • 2013 ENP Award Ceremony and Judge's Report
    • 2017 Flash Winners
    • 2016 Flash Winners
    • 2015 Flash Winners
    • 2014 Flash winners
    • 2013 Flash Winners
    • 2012 Flash Winners
    • 2011 Flash Winners
    • 2017 Wow! Winners
    • 2016 Wow! Winners
    • 2015 Wow! Winners
    • 2014 Wow! Winners
  • About us
    • Sophie Duffy
    • Cathie Hartigan
    • Margaret James
    • Contact us
  • Blog
  • Links
  • Privacy Policy