Competitions

We usually run three competitions per year which have cash prizes and are awarded by external guest judges which means that there is a small submission fee. Click on the links to see the winners of our 2023 competitions for Poetry, Flash Fiction and Short Stories. Our current competition is for Poetry on the theme of “Liaisons”.

You can now enter by Word/PDF attachments via email. Please do not send in entries without reading the rules carefully as we will not accept any that do not conform to our rules.

Poetry Competition, 2024

FIRST PRIZE £50

Second Prize – £30, Third Prize – £20,

With an extra prize of £10 for the best placed LOCAL WRITER (postcode eligibility NG22/23/24/25)

Remit: Poem, up to 40 lines, on the theme of ‘Liaisons’

Judge: Anne Holloway

RULES

Please read these rules carefully. Entries which do not meet the competition’s criteria or breach the rules will be disqualified. The entry fee will not be refunded. The decision of the judge(s) is final. No correspondence can take place regarding the results. We now accept entries sent via email as well as on paper through the post but please note the specific submission criteria.

Content:

Poems should be up to 40 lines in length (excluding title).
Entries to be typed in a black standard font, 12 pt. If sending hard copy rather than via email they must be printed single-sided on A4 paper.
All writing must be the original work of the competitor and previously unpublished.
Do not include your name ANYWHERE in your entry, its title or filename – judging is blind.
The author retains all rights at all times but by entering the competition you are giving us permission to publish your entry on our website (top 3 only).

Submitting:

Email entries should be saved as either a Word (.doc or .docx) file, or as a pdf (.pdf). No other formats are acceptable.
The file name should be your entry title, e.g. my_amazing_writing.pdf or .doc or .docx. Try to avoid generic titles such as fosseway.doc or competition.pdf. DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME IN THE ENTRY TITLE as it will be disqualified if you do.
Email entries should be sent to competitions.fosseway@mail.com with your entry as an attachment to the email, putting the entry title as the subject of the email.
In the body of your email please confirm the title of your entry, and give us your name, address, email address, phone number and word (or line for poetry) count together with the amount you have paid. Please also note where you saw the competition details. You can send multiple entries in one email (ensure your subject states “Multiple entries” rather than your single title and list all entries in the body of the email); alternatively send one email per entry.
Hard copy entries should be accompanied by a separate A4 sheet stating the entry title, author’s name, address, phone number, email address and the line count. Please also note where you saw the competition details.
Hard copy entries will not be returned; entrants are advised to make a copy of their work before submission. Please check size & weight of envelope to help us avoid extra postal charges.
Postal entries should be sent to: Fosseway Writers Poetry Competition, Barnfield House, Mill Lane, Normanton on Trent, NG23 6RW.
Deadline is 23:59, Saturday 6th April 2024. Payment must also be received by this deadline.

Payment:

Fees: £5 for first entry, £3 for each additional entry. Fosseway Members get £1 discount from total fees payable.
Email entries: please pay the correct fee by bank transfer to
- Account name: Fosseway Writers Group
- Sort Code: 40-34-08
- Account Number: 91222228
- Reference: Please put your name as the reference
Entries will not be released for judging if the correct entry fee has not been paid by the deadline.
Hard copy entries: Cheques should be made payable to Fosseway Writers and enclosed with your printed entry.

Winners will be announced on 1 May 2024. Prize-winners and commended entrants will be notified before the results evening. Details of the prize-winners are posted on our website at https://fossewaywriters.wordpress.com/ after the winners have been announced.