The Bridport Prize, deadline 31 May

With details of the Bridport Prize and upcoming competitions for April, here is the latest newsletter:

the Bridport Prize Newsletter - March 2017     March 2017 Newsletter   Why writing competitions are important   Photo: Justine Stoddart   “The first success I ever had with my writing was an Honorary Mention (note the capital letters) ..” With three months to go till the 2017 competition closes, Flash Fiction judge Kit de Waal muses on the benefits of creative writing competitions. Read Kit’s guest blog here        What some of our 2016 winners say   It’s incredibly affirming to have a poem placed in a competition as prestigious as the Bridport. As well as the immense personal pleasure, it’s really satisfying to know that the few verses you’ve worked on in solitude for so long have communicated their essence, the meaning you wanted them to have, to someone else. Caroline Price (UK) 3rd prize, poetry competition   Writing is a solitary business, and winning a prize for a story breaks into that. It means I’ve connected. Instantly I want to connect again.  And I want to do better than I’ve done.  A story prize is an invitation to keep writing, and to join storytellers everywhere.  What a crowd! Kathleen Donkin (USA) – 2nd prize, short story competition   Over the years, success at Bridport has enhanced my confidence in my writing, and helped me to keep going. I landed a good teaching job partly because of my track record in the contests. David Swann (UK) – 1st prize, flash fiction competition   Within a month of attending the lovely prize-giving event in Dorset I was signed up with the literary agency A M Heath. I am now working with 'my agent' (what a wonderful thing to be able to write!) and The Literary Consultancy (who, along with A M Heath, sponsor the Bridport), to hone my novel with the aim of getting it published. S.M. Misra (UK) – 1st prize, Peggy Chapman-Andrews Award for a First Novel     Enter the competition now   Closing date: 31 May 2017 at midnight BST     Novel Award Entry Poem Entry     Flash Fiction Entry Short Story Entry   Be Inspired   Read poems, stories and flash fiction from previous competition winners in our anthologies. Available from just £3.     STORE Congratulations   To Karrim Jalali from London who won a copy of the 2016 anthology and had his fees refunded in our Valentine’s Day draw.     ANTHOLOGY In April   Photo: John Rice   Short story judge Peter Hobbs will share his thoughts with us in a guest blog for our website.     BLOG   our website email twitter Instagram   Copyright © 2017 The Bridport Prize, All rights reserved.                   The mission of the Bridport Prize is to encourage emerging writers and promote literary excellence through its competition structure.