The 2016 Exeter Story Prize and Trisha Ashley Award
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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. |
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.
Read our selection of winning stories from last year's competitions. Click on the cover.
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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.
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.
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.
