I think the reason that short stories often use the present tense is because many readers find it more immediate and engaging, so it works well for shorter works where it's important to suck the reader in quickly. Chris Fielden I don't have a list of photography comps, and don't know of any I'm afraid. Best of luck with your writing! OK, maybe a little melodramatic, but it really isn't likely. In my experience, if there's an entry fee, the quality of entry is much higher. I was searching for the annual competition for a book of Scottish Short Stories, which used to have the closing date of 31st Jan - but I can't find it. Given the company’s niche, it’s unlikely they’d be using an entry outside the competition, except for promotional purposes. I've updated the lists accordingly and (sadly) moved Writers' Village into the history of closed competitions. Are you aware of any short story competitions I could take part in? Chris Fielden So, authors are having to come up with further flashy in-your-face book covers just to get noticed and to write what most people want to read, which is a shame because it reduces talent or writing quality. I do submit simultaneously as it results in more publishing success far more quickly. Chris Fielden I'm from Iran and I was very disappointed about how to publish my stories and through your site I realized that there are competitions for writing short stories. Have you tried emailing them to ask? It's well worth taking part, though you do have to commit to reading quite a lot of stories in order to enter. Entrants are responsible for all reasonable costs associated with attending the Award ceremony. Anyway, as you run a great website I often use I thought I'd give you a heads up. Thanks for letting me know, Stephani! This year’s BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University (NSSA) is now open for submissions, with novelist and former Radio 4 Commissioning Editor for Arts James Runcie chairing the judging panel. Jackie P For now, the best bet is do Ctrl F (hold down the control key and the F key) and type 'free' into the search box. Billy F Just wondered... Chris Fielden The rights for publication of each shortlisted story will be non-exclusive, with no bar on publication rights elsewhere, and the Anthology will include full acknowledgement of any existing publication containing the shortlisted and winning stories. I am trying my best to pen stories written from my heart.... of course it may take a while to see them published anywhere but for now, the mere fact of writing is rewarding enough for me...... Chris Fielden Entrants are responsible for all reasonable costs associated with attending the Award ceremony. Incredibly useful to me. A short story of mine recently received an Honorable Mention from Glimmer Train and I need now to re-submit it to the world. I've retired the UK listing and emailed the US site. I had a very nice email from the organiser, who said that because the competition begins and ends in May of consecutive years it would be too confusing, and they have to work around Ruth Rendell's busy schedule. By paying a reading fee, or a competition entry fee, you're supporting small publishers, non profits and independent press. This is a brilliant site. Thanks Christopher, that's great. Regards and humble cursatives (as I sit in the hellhole of a soft play area, awaiting my son to finish his climbing class). I wondered if you had any information on WriteStars. I suspect they have a decent marketing budget and therefore are able to offer a good prize with no entry fee. This site looks good, but you should have a section for younger writers; I'm 13 and none of these competitions are what I'm looking for. I think having a panel makes it fairer, because you have a variety of opinions so the strongest stories win through. Of late I felt the hunger to put my thoughts into words and it resulted in immense gratification. Hello Chris, I looked it up, many thanks! Application Deadline: 1 November 2020. David B Thank you very much. Thanks for the heads up Darrell. You are welcome, Chris. Carmen W Hi, Chris F and commenter Julie C. I have entered several short story collection competitions this year and will enter more. Please find more details and terms and conditions of entry on the InterAct Reading Service website. I’m not trying to put you off entering. Will H Chris, Venu G The judging panel will be appointed by the Award team, comprised of representatives from the BBC and Cambridge University. Great website by the way. Best of luck with the competitions. That process has helped me see most of my stories in print. Chris Fielden second prize £250 and additional prizes (up to 5) of professional critiques from Christopher Fielden's writing services - formerly known as the Teignmouth Prize, name changed to avoid confusion with the Teignmouth Poetry Festival - CLOSED 2020. If you're new to writing, it might be more sensible to start with some of the smaller competitions that offer feedback so you can improve your work and get a feel for the right markets to submit your stories to. Chris Fielden Hiya - I don't know if anyone else has had the same (lack of) response, but I've been trying to contact Talent River re: Shortz and it seems as though the site's been deserted. Thanks Tim, yes, there are very few competitions which accept over 5,000 words. 5.8 The Award team reserves the right to cancel this Award at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, or if circumstances arise outside of its control.