You are invited to enter our
OPEN SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2016
Judged by Patsy Collins PatsyCollins.uk
Seven prizes to win:
£100 First, £60 Second, £25 Third, £15 Fourth
two 'Highly Commended' each win 2017 comp free entry
and a charitable donation will be made as nominated by entrants
2,000 words maximum
closes Thursday September 29th 2016
Entry fee: £3.00 for one entry,
£5.00 for two, £2.50 thereon
Please scroll down to read our full Rules of Entry
There is no theme for this competition, you can write anything you like.
No minimum word count, maximum 2,000 words.
We enjoy reading entries from novice writers and from the more experienced.
Please indicate on the entry form if you have entered either the 'New Writer' or 'Open' category.
See full details in our RULES OF ENTRY below.

We are delighted Patsy Collins is our judge
Patsy Collins is a novelist and short story writer. She's published three romantic novels; Escape To The Country, A Year And a Day and the humorous Firestarter.

Both Firestarter and the slightly darker, Paint Me A Picture are set in south Hampshire, where Patsy shares
her home with her husband, Gary Davies. They're fortunate to have a campervan, which Patsy uses as a mobile writing retreat. This allows her to create many of her stories on location. http://viewbook.at/Firestarter
Hundreds of Patsy's short stories have been published in women's magazines around the world. Some of these are now available in themed collections or from Alfie Dog Fiction. Not A Drop To Drink, a collection
with a liquid theme, can be downloaded FREE from Alfie Dog Fiction or Amazon.
her home with her husband, Gary Davies. They're fortunate to have a campervan, which Patsy uses as a mobile writing retreat. This allows her to create many of her stories on location. http://viewbook.at/Firestarter
Hundreds of Patsy's short stories have been published in women's magazines around the world. Some of these are now available in themed collections or from Alfie Dog Fiction. Not A Drop To Drink, a collection
with a liquid theme, can be downloaded FREE from Alfie Dog Fiction or Amazon.

http://getbook.at/NotADropToDrink
As well as fiction, Patsy writes articles for Writing Magazine, gives occasional writing workshops and talks, and runs two writing blogs.
Womagwriter.blogspot.co.uk provides up to date writers' guidelines, news and advice for worldwide women's magazine markets.
Patsy-Collins.blogspot.co.uk gives regular links to free to enter writing competitions and publication opportunities along with other writing news and the Wednesday word of the week.
Patsy's website is PatsyCollins.uk
As well as fiction, Patsy writes articles for Writing Magazine, gives occasional writing workshops and talks, and runs two writing blogs.
Womagwriter.blogspot.co.uk provides up to date writers' guidelines, news and advice for worldwide women's magazine markets.
Patsy-Collins.blogspot.co.uk gives regular links to free to enter writing competitions and publication opportunities along with other writing news and the Wednesday word of the week.
Patsy's website is PatsyCollins.uk
RULES OF ENTRY EREWASH WRITERS' GROUP OPEN SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2016
Judged by Patsy Collins PatsyCollins.uk
2,000 words maximum
Entry fee: £3.00 for one entry, £5.00 for two, £2.50 thereon
Closes Thursday 29th September 2016
Seven prizes to win, two categories of entry:
£100 First, £60 Second, £25 Third, £15 Fourth
two 'Highly Commended' win 2017 comp free entry
and a charitable donation will be made as selected by entrants.
There is no theme, you can write anything you like. There is no minimum word count and the maximum
is 2,000 words.
1 Decide if you are going to enter the 'New Writer' or 'Open' category.
You're a new writer if
- you’ve never had a paid article or story published in a magazine, newspaper or on-line
- you’ve never won a competition or been runner-up (regardless of whether it was published or not)
- you've been shortlisted but have never won or been runner-up in a competition
- you’ve done none of the above but you have written (or posted work on) a blog; had letters published in a magazine or if you’ve written for a non-profit making publication and not been paid (eg: an article for the local parish magazine or a school magazine).
If you’re in any doubt, email or write to Debbie who will tell you whether you qualify as a 'New Writer’. If you think you might be ‘borderline’ then please avoid this category.
If you enter this competition as a 'New Writer' the fee is £3.00 you could be eligible to enter our 'New Writer Competition (2016 or 2017)' at a discounted entry fee. http://erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/2016-ewg-new-writer-comp.html
2 All entries must be in English. Double line spacing is preferable. Use a font size of 12 or 14. Make sure word count is included at the end of your entry. Page number and title of entry is permitted on each page. As entries will be judged anonymously you must ensure the entry form is completed. If you can't download the form, it is acceptable for you to key the details on the form into the body of an email. You can find the entry form using this link: http://erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/2016-entry-form.html
Email or write to Debbie if you have any problems.
3 Entry can be made either by email or by post.
3 (i) Entry by EMAIL: In the body of an email, send your completed entry form to Debbie at
erewashwriterscomps(at)hotmail.co.uk. The subject heading of your email will be:
ENTRY OPEN 2016 (your name) eg ENTRY OPEN 2016 (Debbie Wilkinson).
It is preferable you send your entry attached to this email although you can send your entry in the same body of the entry form email, or in the body of a separate email subject heading EMAILED ENTRY OPEN 2016 (your name).
If you choose to attach your entry, please send each entry as a separate attachment in WORD and make sure the title of the attachment or file is exactly the same as the story title you put on the entry form. It is possible we may ask you to convert your entry to an rtf document if there are problems reading your entry.
Attachments will be opened when your payment has cleared. Expect a slight delay between sending your entry and confirmation of receipt. For this reason, we suggest the earlier you send your entry, the better it will be for your peace of mind.
If you wish to enter by email, either send your entry fee in a cheque or postal order separately through the post, or you can use Paypal or bank transfer. Please see note (7) below about how to make a payment.
3 (ii) Entry by POST: Complete the entry form and enclose it with your entry/fee. Make sure you do not put anything on the entry to identify yourself. All entries are judged anonymously. Any identifying marks will result in your entry not being entered into competition and we will retain the fee.
Send two copies of your entry.
Ensure correct postage is paid otherwise your entry will remain at the sorting office. Our postal address is:
EWG Competition, Parklands Connexion, Stanhope Street, Long Eaton, NG10 4QN.
You can enclose entries to more than one competition in one envelope if you wish. Please make sure each entry is accompanied by the correct entry form. It is acceptable to fold your entry once only if you wish to use a smaller size envelope.
If you require an entry form and the Rules of Entry to be sent to you by post, please provide us with a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
4 Entries will be acknowledged by email. PLEASE ENSURE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IS WRITTEN CLEARLY otherwise we will not be able to provide confirmation of receipt. Your email address is seen by only our competition organiser and is not passed to anyone. It is used only to contact you to confirm receipt of entry, and to inform you of our further competitions.
If you don’t use email and wish to send a self-addressed stamped postcard, we will use that to acknowledge your entry.
5 There is no theme for this competition. It is an OPEN themed competition. You can write about anything you want.
6 No minimum word count, maximum 2,000 words, not including title. This means you can write any amount of words but must not exceed 2,000 words. Please ensure you include the word count on your entry form and at the end of your entry.
7 PAYMENT
PLEASE MAKE CHEQUES PAYABLE TO D WILKINSON
£3.00 for one entry, £5.00 for two entries, £2.50 per entry thereon. We accept payment by cheque, Paypal, postal order or bank transfer. We do not advise you send cash by post although we will accept payment by cash.
You can enter as many times as you wish but only one entry per entrant can win a prize. Every entry must be accompanied by the appropriate payment.
If you wish to pay by Paypal, please email your entry form and entry first, then contact Debbie for the Paypal address. Please ensure you pay Paypal’s transaction fee. You're welcome to email Debbie if you want to clarify the total amount payable before making payment. If you under-pay because you have left it up to us to meet Paypal's transaction fee it's possible your entry may not be included in the competition but we will retain the part-payment you've made to us.
8 Entrants can be any age. All entries will be judged anonymously and no allowance made for age.
9 We will publish your story on this website and will remove it at a later date if you require us to do so. You are welcome to put a link to your blog, website or email with your winning entry if you wish (subject to our approval of your links).
10 Winners may also be published on our Facebook page, mentioned by us on Twitter and on Debbie's blog:
Website pages and blog
http://erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/blog.html
EWG's Facebook pages
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Writing-Workshops-and-Competitions/182306558595298?fref=ts
Twitter @EWGCompetition
Debbie's blog http://writingworkshopsandcompetitions.blogspot.co.uk/
11 Copyright remains with author.
12 Please do not send entries which have been previously published. Entries must be the original work of the entrant. For this competition, we do not want to read entries found to be in print or online anywhere, including blogs.
13 Please do not send entries that have received an award from other competitions, or anywhere else. Please do not send entries currently waiting to be judged in other competitions, or that have been submitted for publication and are awaiting response. Please do not send an entry to us which you will also submit to another competition or for publication elsewhere before our competition results have been announced.
14 Closing date for the competition is noon (GMT) Thursday 29th September 2016. Entries received after this date/time may not be entered into the competition although we will retain the fee. Winners will be announced on this site, on or before Wednesday 30th November 2016.
15 PRIZES
Seven prizes - £100 First, £60 Second, £25 Third, £15 Fourth. Two 'Highly Commended' each win 2017 comp free entry. A charitable donation will be made as nominated by entrants on the entry form and combined with funds raised in our themed 'Books' competition.
16 The judge's decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into.
17 No corrections will be accepted.
18 Critique service: A basic critique for your entry can be provided, with notes on opening, ending, characterisation, etc for £3.00. A detailed critique service is also available, which includes advice about how to improve any weak areas in your story, a rewrite and more feedback for £12.00. We accept non-competition submissions and will consider works with a high word count.
Please email Debbie for more information at erewashwriterscomps(at)hotmail.co.uk
If you would like to receive a critique, please send a cheque payable to D Wilkinson for the correct amount to EWG Competition, Parklands Connexion, Stanhope St, Long Eaton, NG10 4QN or request Paypal details with your entry.
19 Entry implies acceptance of the rules.
20 No refunds given. Only exception to this rule will be if the organisers cancel the competition (eg if not enough entries have been received to cover the prize fund).
On entering this competition you can nominate your favourite UK charity or voluntary organisation for the donation. After the close date we will put nominations into a hat and one will be drawn to win the cash donation. Any UK charity or voluntary organisation is eligible to be nominated. More info here
http://erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/we-donate-to-charity.html
Short Story Writing Course (correspondence course via email or post): We are pleased to offer a Short Story Writing Course. This course is suitable for beginners and for those who have been writing for a while yet would appreciate a helping hand. Our six-module course is £39 and this fee is discounted to £36 to entrants of the Open Short Story Competition and New Writer Competition. Please contact Debbie erewashwriterscomps(at)hotmail.co.uk to find out more or if you wish to enrol on the course.
Short Story Writing Course (local classes): We are pleased to offer a Short Story Writing Course. This course, held locally at venues around Nottingham and Long Eaton, is suitable for beginners and for those who have been writing for a while yet would appreciate a helping hand. Small classes, booking essential. Please contact Debbie erewashwriterscomps(at)hotmail.co.uk to find dates, times and venues of courses and if you wish to enrol on a course. http://erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/short-story-writing-course-local-classes.html.
Creative Writing Workshops: More writing workshops are planned for early in 2016. Please contact Debbie if you would like to attend. Day and evening sessions are available. Small classes, booking essential.
Judged by Patsy Collins PatsyCollins.uk
2,000 words maximum
Entry fee: £3.00 for one entry, £5.00 for two, £2.50 thereon
Closes Thursday 29th September 2016
Seven prizes to win, two categories of entry:
£100 First, £60 Second, £25 Third, £15 Fourth
two 'Highly Commended' win 2017 comp free entry
and a charitable donation will be made as selected by entrants.
There is no theme, you can write anything you like. There is no minimum word count and the maximum
is 2,000 words.
1 Decide if you are going to enter the 'New Writer' or 'Open' category.
You're a new writer if
- you’ve never had a paid article or story published in a magazine, newspaper or on-line
- you’ve never won a competition or been runner-up (regardless of whether it was published or not)
- you've been shortlisted but have never won or been runner-up in a competition
- you’ve done none of the above but you have written (or posted work on) a blog; had letters published in a magazine or if you’ve written for a non-profit making publication and not been paid (eg: an article for the local parish magazine or a school magazine).
If you’re in any doubt, email or write to Debbie who will tell you whether you qualify as a 'New Writer’. If you think you might be ‘borderline’ then please avoid this category.
If you enter this competition as a 'New Writer' the fee is £3.00 you could be eligible to enter our 'New Writer Competition (2016 or 2017)' at a discounted entry fee. http://erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/2016-ewg-new-writer-comp.html
2 All entries must be in English. Double line spacing is preferable. Use a font size of 12 or 14. Make sure word count is included at the end of your entry. Page number and title of entry is permitted on each page. As entries will be judged anonymously you must ensure the entry form is completed. If you can't download the form, it is acceptable for you to key the details on the form into the body of an email. You can find the entry form using this link: http://erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/2016-entry-form.html
Email or write to Debbie if you have any problems.
3 Entry can be made either by email or by post.
3 (i) Entry by EMAIL: In the body of an email, send your completed entry form to Debbie at
erewashwriterscomps(at)hotmail.co.uk. The subject heading of your email will be:
ENTRY OPEN 2016 (your name) eg ENTRY OPEN 2016 (Debbie Wilkinson).
It is preferable you send your entry attached to this email although you can send your entry in the same body of the entry form email, or in the body of a separate email subject heading EMAILED ENTRY OPEN 2016 (your name).
If you choose to attach your entry, please send each entry as a separate attachment in WORD and make sure the title of the attachment or file is exactly the same as the story title you put on the entry form. It is possible we may ask you to convert your entry to an rtf document if there are problems reading your entry.
Attachments will be opened when your payment has cleared. Expect a slight delay between sending your entry and confirmation of receipt. For this reason, we suggest the earlier you send your entry, the better it will be for your peace of mind.
If you wish to enter by email, either send your entry fee in a cheque or postal order separately through the post, or you can use Paypal or bank transfer. Please see note (7) below about how to make a payment.
3 (ii) Entry by POST: Complete the entry form and enclose it with your entry/fee. Make sure you do not put anything on the entry to identify yourself. All entries are judged anonymously. Any identifying marks will result in your entry not being entered into competition and we will retain the fee.
Send two copies of your entry.
Ensure correct postage is paid otherwise your entry will remain at the sorting office. Our postal address is:
EWG Competition, Parklands Connexion, Stanhope Street, Long Eaton, NG10 4QN.
You can enclose entries to more than one competition in one envelope if you wish. Please make sure each entry is accompanied by the correct entry form. It is acceptable to fold your entry once only if you wish to use a smaller size envelope.
If you require an entry form and the Rules of Entry to be sent to you by post, please provide us with a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
4 Entries will be acknowledged by email. PLEASE ENSURE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IS WRITTEN CLEARLY otherwise we will not be able to provide confirmation of receipt. Your email address is seen by only our competition organiser and is not passed to anyone. It is used only to contact you to confirm receipt of entry, and to inform you of our further competitions.
If you don’t use email and wish to send a self-addressed stamped postcard, we will use that to acknowledge your entry.
5 There is no theme for this competition. It is an OPEN themed competition. You can write about anything you want.
6 No minimum word count, maximum 2,000 words, not including title. This means you can write any amount of words but must not exceed 2,000 words. Please ensure you include the word count on your entry form and at the end of your entry.
7 PAYMENT
PLEASE MAKE CHEQUES PAYABLE TO D WILKINSON
£3.00 for one entry, £5.00 for two entries, £2.50 per entry thereon. We accept payment by cheque, Paypal, postal order or bank transfer. We do not advise you send cash by post although we will accept payment by cash.
You can enter as many times as you wish but only one entry per entrant can win a prize. Every entry must be accompanied by the appropriate payment.
If you wish to pay by Paypal, please email your entry form and entry first, then contact Debbie for the Paypal address. Please ensure you pay Paypal’s transaction fee. You're welcome to email Debbie if you want to clarify the total amount payable before making payment. If you under-pay because you have left it up to us to meet Paypal's transaction fee it's possible your entry may not be included in the competition but we will retain the part-payment you've made to us.
8 Entrants can be any age. All entries will be judged anonymously and no allowance made for age.
9 We will publish your story on this website and will remove it at a later date if you require us to do so. You are welcome to put a link to your blog, website or email with your winning entry if you wish (subject to our approval of your links).
10 Winners may also be published on our Facebook page, mentioned by us on Twitter and on Debbie's blog:
Website pages and blog
http://erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/blog.html
EWG's Facebook pages
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Writing-Workshops-and-Competitions/182306558595298?fref=ts
Twitter @EWGCompetition
Debbie's blog http://writingworkshopsandcompetitions.blogspot.co.uk/
11 Copyright remains with author.
12 Please do not send entries which have been previously published. Entries must be the original work of the entrant. For this competition, we do not want to read entries found to be in print or online anywhere, including blogs.
13 Please do not send entries that have received an award from other competitions, or anywhere else. Please do not send entries currently waiting to be judged in other competitions, or that have been submitted for publication and are awaiting response. Please do not send an entry to us which you will also submit to another competition or for publication elsewhere before our competition results have been announced.
14 Closing date for the competition is noon (GMT) Thursday 29th September 2016. Entries received after this date/time may not be entered into the competition although we will retain the fee. Winners will be announced on this site, on or before Wednesday 30th November 2016.
15 PRIZES
Seven prizes - £100 First, £60 Second, £25 Third, £15 Fourth. Two 'Highly Commended' each win 2017 comp free entry. A charitable donation will be made as nominated by entrants on the entry form and combined with funds raised in our themed 'Books' competition.
16 The judge's decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into.
17 No corrections will be accepted.
18 Critique service: A basic critique for your entry can be provided, with notes on opening, ending, characterisation, etc for £3.00. A detailed critique service is also available, which includes advice about how to improve any weak areas in your story, a rewrite and more feedback for £12.00. We accept non-competition submissions and will consider works with a high word count.
Please email Debbie for more information at erewashwriterscomps(at)hotmail.co.uk
If you would like to receive a critique, please send a cheque payable to D Wilkinson for the correct amount to EWG Competition, Parklands Connexion, Stanhope St, Long Eaton, NG10 4QN or request Paypal details with your entry.
19 Entry implies acceptance of the rules.
20 No refunds given. Only exception to this rule will be if the organisers cancel the competition (eg if not enough entries have been received to cover the prize fund).
On entering this competition you can nominate your favourite UK charity or voluntary organisation for the donation. After the close date we will put nominations into a hat and one will be drawn to win the cash donation. Any UK charity or voluntary organisation is eligible to be nominated. More info here
http://erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/we-donate-to-charity.html
Short Story Writing Course (correspondence course via email or post): We are pleased to offer a Short Story Writing Course. This course is suitable for beginners and for those who have been writing for a while yet would appreciate a helping hand. Our six-module course is £39 and this fee is discounted to £36 to entrants of the Open Short Story Competition and New Writer Competition. Please contact Debbie erewashwriterscomps(at)hotmail.co.uk to find out more or if you wish to enrol on the course.
Short Story Writing Course (local classes): We are pleased to offer a Short Story Writing Course. This course, held locally at venues around Nottingham and Long Eaton, is suitable for beginners and for those who have been writing for a while yet would appreciate a helping hand. Small classes, booking essential. Please contact Debbie erewashwriterscomps(at)hotmail.co.uk to find dates, times and venues of courses and if you wish to enrol on a course. http://erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/short-story-writing-course-local-classes.html.
Creative Writing Workshops: More writing workshops are planned for early in 2016. Please contact Debbie if you would like to attend. Day and evening sessions are available. Small classes, booking essential.