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Writing Competitions

7/5/2013

Exeter Writers

Writing groups are brilliant. Exeter Writers has generously supported writers for over 60 years and this year they are sponsoring The Exeter Novel Prize. The group has successfully run a short story competition for the last five years, encouraging all those who were listed to further their careers. Later this year Exeter Writers will be publishing an anthology that will include the winners.
Competition placing is a great way to build a CV and something to say when it comes to writing those important letters to agents and commissioning editors. They take notice.
There are many competitions for short story writers and for those who take brevity to the limit in flash fiction writing but for the novelist there are few, and those there are, often have restrictions.
The Exeter Novel Prize is for both unpublished and published writers for a novel not currently under contract with a commercial publisher. Any genre is acceptable except children’s (under 12).
I wish I could enter!

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The Exeter Novel Prize

21/4/2013

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Sophie (right) and the big cheque.

If you've just clicked through from the Home page, then you may have seen our announcement of the forthcoming Exeter Novel Prize. We are very excited about this opportunity to champion an unpublished novel and are thrilled that London literary agent Broo Doherty has agreed to be our judge and that Exeter Writers are sponsoring the prize. We will be having a launch event in June and hope to see lots of people there.

I'm very keen on writing competitions as my students well know. A listing of any sort should be added to the CV because it demonstrates a high level of competence. Don't forget that if your story doesn't win one competition, it might well win another. I know this to be true! Placing depends on the judges preference, you don't have to cross the line first or keep a ball in court to win. What you have to do, is write it and send it, then perhaps go and sacrifice a metaphorical goat if it makes you feel better.

The photo's rather blurry but when Sophie won the Luke Bitmead Award for her novel The Generation Game, she said the whole evening was a blur. She has since had two novels published to acclaim.

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Writing Competitions

The Exeter Novel Prize

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