Logo image
Writers' Club image
Writing competitions
Meet the Writers image
Homepage button
News and information menu button
Read stories button
For writers button
Podcasts button
Projects button
Competitions button
Contact button
Advertise button
Newsletter image
Headphones image

Short Story Competitions

The Short Story Radio First Chapter Competition 2010

Winner announced!

We are pleased to announce the winner and runners up of our First Chapter Competition 2010. The winning chapter will be recorded over the next two months and available to listen to from September.

WINNER

No News But Kindness by Barbara Turner-Vesselago

Our shortlist judge, the author Sophie King, said about No News But Kindness:

"I found this very evocative, both in terms of atmosphere and characterisation. I could picture it like a film - which is something I do when writing myself - and there was potential for lots of things to happen. A journey is always good for this because of the different destinations and characters on route. I loved the subtlety of the writing and the way the author drip-fed information throughout."

SECOND PLACE

Finding Piya by Dipika Mukherjee

Sophie said: "I enjoyed Finding Piya because of the unusual subject matter. We have all read about babies being abandoned but then the story normally moves to someone who finds the abandoned child. In this case, there is fear over what has happened to the baby, coupled with the character's own emotions. We know Arif shouldn't have done what he did but the author has skilfully made us somehow feel a certain empathy for him. We went him to rectify his mistakes but how is he going to do it? This is why we have to keep on reading."

THIRD PLACE

The Pride of the Peacock by Colin Cossor

Sophie said: "The Pride of the Peacock is compulsive reading and has a nice twist. Usually it is a stranger/friend/sister/occasionally mother who is asked to help when children can't have babies - not fathers. I also liked Tom and wanted to know more about him...it haunted me afterwards which is always a good sign."

ALSO SHORTLISTED

The Queen's Blue Serge by Barrymore Cooper
Phoenix Rising by Celia Kay Andrew
To The Ends of the World by Jenny Barden
Gina Jarvis Jumps the Train by Silvia Sbaraini
The Angel's Singing by Rebecca Camu
Blodeuwedd's Garden by Juliet Greenwood
Amelia and the Virgin by Nicola Harlow

Look out for Sophie King's new book HOW TO WRITE YOUR FIRST NOVEL. It will help you find good ideas; craft characters; understand how to structure plot; write dynamic dialogue and much more. Published by How To Books and available on Amazon £11.99.

About the Short Story Radio First Chapter Competition 2010

Writers were invited to submit the first chapter of their novel, of any genre, of no more than 5000 words.

Chapters submitted for consideration had to be the first chapter of a completed novel that is either unpublished or was published between 1st December 2009 and 1st June 2010. Published works can have been published by an independent or mainstream publisher, or have been self-published.

The winner of the First Chapter Competition 2010 will have a fantastic marketing angle for their book, whether they want to attract new readers to a published novel, or to be able to demonstrate their unpublished book's potential to a prospective agent or publisher.

The winning chapter will be recorded and broadcast on the Short Story Radio and Talking Bookshelf websites and podcasts. It will be recorded by a professional actor and will be a high quality production, made to the same standard as the stories already broadcast on Short Story Radio and Talking Bookshelf. The recording will be available for broadcast for a period of 12 months. All entrants, including the winner, will retain the copyright to their chapter/novel.

The winner will also receive a cash prize of £50 (approx. $78 USD or 57 EURO) and a dedicated webpage for their novel on our sister website Talking Bookshelf.

 
 

Short Story Radio Romance Award

We are delighted to announce the winner of the Short Story Radio Romance Award 2010 is Linda Mitchelmore for her story All Good Things.

Listen to All Good Things

Congratulations also to our runner up, Aisling Burke for Silver Shoes and Old Tunes.

Special mentions for other shortlisted entries: Audrey Lee for Vine Leaves, Ella Lloyd for Brian Said and Helen Reid for The Dentist and The Jewel Thief.

Many thanks to our shortlist judge, Pat Richardson. Pat is the former Fiction Editor of best magazine and founder of Perfectly Worded Writing and Editing Consultancy.

We are now accepting entries for The Short Story Radio Romance Award 2011.

Submissions information for The Short Story Radio Romance Award 2011.

   

Learn more about the previous winners of our competition

Listen to the Mslexia Short Story - Mslexia competition winner Beda Higgins and read about the 2010 Mslexia Short Story Competition