Writers & Artists' Writing Historical Fiction Competition 2014, deadline 11 May

Think you can evoke a sense of time and place in your fiction, then the Writers & Artists' Historical Fiction Competition may be for you:

Writing Historical Fiction Competition

After a record number of entries, our annual Short Story Competition has drawn to a close.  But fear not! The Writers & Artists Team is not one to rest on its laurels!

This time around, we’re giving all writers of historical fiction the opportunity to grab our guest judge, Celia Brayfield, by the lapels. The task is simple...


Clearly evoke the time and place your historical piece is set within no more than 1,000 words.


That means we don’t just want a title of “Hastings: 1066”. We want to get a sense of the world your protagonist is walking through. What’s happening? How are people dressed? What are they eating? How do they talk?  The winning entry will have succeeded in completely immersing us in their chosen period.

Your entry can be a standalone story or part of a larger piece you’re working on. And it CAN involve fantastical elements if you so wish, though it must still be set in the real world. So long as it’s unpublished and it’s set in the past then you’re eligible to enter.  Entries must be submitted via email to competition@bloomsbury.com with the subject heading: 'Historical fiction competition'.  Best of luck!

Come along to our Writing Historical Fiction Masterclass with Sarah Dunant and Celia Brayfield. Click here to find out more.

Competition deadlines:
Entries must be submitted by midnight (GMT) on Sunday 11th May.
A winner and two runners up will be announced on this website on Tuesday 27th May.


Prizes:
First prize: £150, a pair of tickets to visit Beamish Museum and a copy of Writing Historical Fiction: a Writers & Artists Companion

Runners up: £25 each and a copy of Writing Historical Fiction: a Writers & Artists Companion



At Beamish, the Living Museum of the North,  you can touch, taste, see, hear and smell history – it’s a real sense of your past. 

Writers' & Artists' Writing Historical Fiction Competition 2014: Terms and conditions

These are the full terms and conditions for the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook Writing Historical Fiction Competition 2014.

1. No purchase necessary, but entrants must be registered on www.writersandartists.co.uk.

2. The competition is open to all ages, professions and nationalities.

3. All entries must be original unpublished prose of 1,000 words or fewer.

4. Writers may submit one entry only.

5. Winners will be notified at the email address stated in their entry. Sign-up for the Writing newsletter here if you want to be notified about the winner or check back on www.writersandartists.co.uk. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook, where competition updates will also be posted.

6. Entries must be submitted via email to competition@bloomsbury.com with the subject heading: 'Historical fiction competition'

Please include your email address and other contact details in the body of the email. Your entry can appear in the body of the email or as an email attachment.

7. Your entry must be submitted before midnight on Sunday 11th May, 2014. Entries will not be accepted after this date.

8. By submitting, all entrants thereby grant The Bloomsbury Publishing Group the right to publish their entry on www.writersandartists.co.uk in the event of their work being shortlisted and/or winning the competition.

9. The Bloomsbury Publishing Group cannot accept responsibility for entries which are not received or which are received after the closing date due to technical failure or for any other reason.

10. Winners agree to participate in publicity events in connection with the competition.

11. The Bloomsbury Publishing Group and the winners may enter into agreements which will grant The Bloomsbury Publishing Group the publishing, broadcasting, serial and electronic rights in the shortlisted and winning entries.

12. The Bloomsbury Publishing Group reserves the right to change the rules of this competition without notice.

13. The winner of the competition will be notified in May 2014 and the winning entry published on www.writersandartists.co.uk.

14. Prizes must be taken by 31 December 2014 and are subject to availability.

15. The decision of the competition judges will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

16. Employees of The Bloomsbury Publishing Group, and members of their immediate family, are excluded from participating in the competition.

17. We may, from time to time, inform you of new books and special offers that we think will be of interest.

18. Please send direct competition queries to waybcustomerservices@bloomsbury.com

19. Beamish Museum tickets will be valid until 3rd November 2014.