Monday 19 June 2017

Calling #flashfiction writers

Are you a flash fiction writer? The flash fiction category of the Flash 500 Competitions closes at the end of June.

When it comes to prizes, it often seems as though flash fiction is the poor relation of writing competitions. This, however, is a flash fiction competition where the prize money truly reflects the skill required to encapsulate an entire story in just 500 words.

Now in its eighth year, this quarterly open-themed competition has closing dates of 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December 2017. The results will be announced within six weeks of each closing date and the three winning entries each quarter will be published on this website.

Entry fee: £5/€6.50 for one story, £8/€10 for two stories
Optional critiques: £10/€13.50 per story

Prizes will be awarded as follows:
First: £300
Second: £200
Third: £100


Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Home Page: Flash Fiction, Short Story and Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competitions

Monday 5 June 2017

Guest post #poetry




Many, many thanks to Lorraine for hosting me as a guest on her blog.

My name is Jenni Wyn Hyatt and I was in my late sixties before I began to write poetry. I used to submit regularly to the Flash 500 Humour Verse competition and was absolutely amazed when the first poem I ever submitted was long-listed. 

After that, I was long or short-listed on several occasions and finally ‘made the big time’ when my poem ‘Poor Old Aitch’ was placed second, shortly before the competition ended. Imagine my awe and sense of achievement when I regularly saw my name listed alongside those of well-known writers of humorous verse!

It was this success, along with the publication of some of my serious poems in magazines for traditional verse such as The Lyric and The Road Not Taken, a Journal of Formal Verse, which made me realise that perhaps I could write poems that people would want to read. 

This led, eventually, to my publishing a small collection of poems through Rowanvale Press, of Cardiff. The collection is entitled Perhaps One Day and contains all the poems I submitted to the Humour Verse Competition plus a number of serious poems. 

My subjects include childhood memories, Wales (my homeland), war, social commentary and nature as well as accounts of my personal life, both poignant and humorous.  

Most of the poems are written using rhyme and metre and some in recognised poetic forms such as the villanelle, sonnet, triolet etc. There are also occasional pieces of free verse. All the poems, however, are clear and are accessible to poets and non-poets alike.

Perhaps One Day is priced at £5.99 and is available from Amazon, also from the website of Rowanvale Books using the following link: http://www.rowanvalebooks.com/book/perhaps-one-day






Critique Service for Writers
Flash 500 Home Page: Flash Fiction, Short Story and Novel Opening Chapter and Synopsis Competitions