It's all to play for! There are competitions for short stories to suit everyone, so get writing. Who knows - the next short story you enter could be the one to bring home the bacon! Lichfield and District Writers Short Story Competition 2006 Closing Date: 30th. November 2006 First Prize: £125, Second Prize: £75, Third Prize: £25. Entry Fee: £3 for first entry, £2 each subsequent entry. For further details go to: http://www.members.tripod.co.uk/Lichfield_Writers/index.htm or email [email protected] 'write now!'short story competition Closing date: 31st December 2006 Prize fund of £200 for the three best stories submitted. Can you write a story about suffolk? Do you have memories of the old days? Or have you recently moved here? could you write a fictional account of life, set in this eastern county of England? Up to 2,000 words. Full details from: http://www.writenow.wickerswork.co.uk/ Early Works Press, Hastings Short Story Competition Closing date: 31st October 2006 Prize: £100. Up to 8,000 words. Entry fee: £8.00, or £5.00 for up to 4,000 words. Top 30 entries will receive a copy of an anthology which includes their work. More details from: www.earlyworkspress.co.uk Penknife Press, Chicago Closing date: 30th September 2006 Prizes: $1,000, $600 & $400. Submit entries of 1,00 - 5,000 words with a current social or polotical theme. More info at: www.penknifepress.com Leaf Books Themed Competition – Coffee Closing date: 31st October 2006 Leaf Books are looking for short fiction (200 – 1000 words) on the theme of Coffee to be published in a Leaf Book Collection. Entry fee: £4.00 per submission which includes a free Leaf Book of your choice (please mark your choice of book on the entry form or covering letter, or email them if you are entering online). Cheques made payable to Leaf Books. All selected work will be featured in a Leaf Book. The overall winner will receive £200 prize money. www.leafbooks.co.uk Leaf Books Themed Competition – Chocolate Closing date: 31st November 2006 Leaf Books are looking for short fiction (200 – 1000 words) on the theme of Chocolate to be published in a Leaf Book Collection. Entry fee: £4.00 per submission which includes a free Leaf Book of your choice (please mark your choice of book on the entry form or covering letter, or email them if you are entering online). Cheques made payable to Leaf Books. All selected work will be featured in a Leaf Book. The overall winner will receive £200 prize money. www.leafbooks.co.uk University of Hertfordshire Writing Award Closing date: 15 January 2007. Prizes: 1st prize £1,000 2nd prize £500 3rd prize £300 4th prize £200 The Award is free to enter and entrants are invited to submit a short story of up to 3,500 words on the theme of 'vision'. The winner will also be able to apply for the UH Writing Award three-year scholarship to the University of Hertfordshire, study commencing in 2007 (terms and conditions apply). The top twenty stories will be published in an anthology by the University of Hertfordshire Press. The Entry Form and Rules can be downloaded from www.herts.ac.uk/uharts/uhwritingaward 'WORDS' Short Story Competition Closing date: September 30th 2006 - Theme "Ghost" Prize: £100. Entry fee £2 per story. All winning stories, and commended entries, published in WORDS Magazine and in an online anthology that will be produced during December 2006. Details: www.wordsmag.com/efghost.htm Earlyworks Press Open Short Story Competition 2006 Closing date: 31st October 2006. Prizes £100 1st prize.  Publication for best entries. Entry fee £5.00 up to 4,000 words.  Max length, 8,000 words. Full rule sheet on the competitions page at www.earlyworkspress.co.uk or SAE for details to: Earlyworks Press, creative media centre, 45 Robertson Street, Hastings, Sussex TN34 1HL Leaf Books Summer Short Story 2006 Closing Date: September 30, 2006. Overall winner receives £200 plus publication in a ‘flip style’ Leaf Book with the runner-up. Short Stories on any topic. Word limit 1,500-2,500. The runner-up wins publication with the winning title. Entry Fee £6: includes complimentary Leaf Book of choice. Entry forms available on the website: www.leafbooks.co.uk Mature Times Short Story Competition Closing date: 30th September 2006 This monthly free newspaper for the mature, elderly and discerning reader (much like myself) is offering prizes of £75, £25 and £15 for stories up to 3,000 words. How sensible; you can get your teeth into 3,000 words. If you've still got them, of course. Teeth, that is, not words. Any theme acceptable, and a very reasonable entry fee of £1.50. Contact: Writers' Grand Circle, Dept MT, 43 Chard Drive, Luton, Beds LU3 4EQ. Carillon’s ‘5th Birthday’ Competition To celebrate Carillon’s 5th birthday we are running an open competition with two categories - poetry and very short stories. Closing date: 1st November 2006 Theme:  FIVE. Stories:  450 - 500 words. Typed/word-processed manuscripts only. No identifying details on the entry: enclose a single cover sheet bearing your name, address, other contact details, and the titles of all entries. Entry fees:  £3.00 first entry. £1.00 each addition entry (or Euro/$ equivalent). Combine categories in entries count. Entries to: Graham Rippon, 19 Godric Drive, Brinsworth, Rotherham, South Yorkshire S60 5AN. http://www.swivelmag.com/ Dark Tales Summer/Autumn 06 Short Story Competition Closing date: 31st October 2006 Writers from all over the world are invited to submit horror and speculative fiction of 3000 words or less for their latest contest. The entry fee is £3 and prizes are £100, £30 and £10. All winning entries - and the best of the rest, who also receive payment of £5 each - will be published in Dark Tales magazine, which is now into its third year. Forthcoming issues include interviews with sci-fi stars Piers Anthony and David Brin. Entries can be paid for online and emailed if preferred. Full details at ww.darktales.co.uk WRITERS MAGAZINE Free Entry Short Story Competition Closing date: 30 December 2006 Entry via email only. First prize: £100 (or equivalent in your currency). Stories should not exceed 2000 words. Entries should be pasted in the body of emails only - we do not accept attachments from unknown sources. Full details: http://www.wordsmag.com/freecomp.htm Organising a competition? Let me know the details and I’ll try to include it on this page. Website or e-mail address essential. THE SCRIBBLE ANNUAL THEMED COMPETITION Closing Date: 15th November 2006 2006 THEME: ‘Our Relations’ Please DO NOT use the theme as your title Is there a member of your family you could write a story about? Purely fictional, of course. Or maybe not… Max Length: 3000 words. Prizes: £100.00. £50.00. £25.00. Entry Fee: £4.00 The winning story will appear in the winter 2006 issue of Scribble. Full details from: http://www.parkpublications.co.uk/writingcompetion.htm