Cleckheaton Writers Group meeting 14/10/13 and two free/one paid entry writing competitions

Another good meeting at CWG last night where we welcomed a new member Cora.  D, J, L and myself were also in attendance (N, P and D had passed their apologies) and we started by discussing the writing that we all are working on and C told us that she writes poetry and short stories.

D and L are stewards/guest blogger for the Ilkley Literature Festival this year and they gave us an overview of some of the events that they have attended, including Armenian poetry and Richard III.  I informed the group about the Katy Massey writing from real life creative writing workshop I attended last week and C and I discussed the Helen Cadbury author event that we both attended on Saturday.  There was some very valuable information from both, although two pieces of advice they gave were conflicting.  We decided that what worked for one writer did not necessarily work for another.  C felt that Helen's writing style was similar to Kate Atkinson in her Jackson Brodie novels and recommended reading Behind the Scenes at the Railway Museum by Atkinson, although it is not a Jackson Brodie novel.  We then discussed novels that were written from more than one point of view and the advantages and pitfalls of both.

L told the group about a coffee and spoken word night, organised by Choll Theatre & SHuddersfield, that takes place on a Thursday evening.  Further details about the coffee/spoken word event and the ghost walks can be found on twitter @cholltheatre.

We then discussed this years NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) challenge starting in November that L, D and I will be entering.  I shared the beginning and outline of the idea that I am thinking of completing as part of the challenge.

C recommended the 3rd Age Poetry Group that takes place on a Friday morning 10-12 at Huddersfield as it is run by established poet Doris Corti and the Writers Village, an on-line writing source that also run competitions: www.writers-village.org.  J mentioned the Huddersfield Authors Circle that runs on a Wednesday evening, the Albert Poets and a competition for experimental writing that is being run by Gatehouse Press with a deadline of 31 October: www.gatehousepress.com/lighthouse.

The next meeting will take place on Monday 28 October 6-8pm at Cleckheaton Library.  New members always welcome.



Thanks to my fellow blogger Displacement Activity for the following competition information:

Walking On Thin Ice short story competition 2013

walkingonthinice.org has announced details (and an extended deadline) for a short story competition. Prose fiction of between 500 and 4,000 words on the themes of mental illness, stigma, and oppressive institutional power are called for. The competition closing date is  November 15th 2013 (extended from 1st October). There's a €500 first prize, a range of runners-up awards also, plus selected stories will be collected into an ebook anthology. Full details may be found on the competition website. 

Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2014 Short Story Competition

The annual Writers & Artists Yearbook short story competition is for unpublished original pieces of up to 2,000 words. There's no restriction on theme or genre. The competition closing date is 15th February 2014. There's a £500 first prize plus an Arvon residential writing course on offer to the overall winner. More details may be found here. 

The CWA Margery Allingham Short Story Competition 2014

 

The Crime Writers Association Margery Allingham Short Story Competition is now open to published and unpublished writers. Entries must be previously unpublished stories and should conform to Allingham's definition of a mystery. Details of this are on the competition website. Stories should be no more than 3,500 words in length. The closing date is March 16^th 2014. There’s a £1,000 first prize. Runners-up awards are to be announced. More details may be found here.