Hastings Literary Festival is offering 12 writers the chance to see their work published just 48 hours after a unique workshop with experienced editors. Inspired by topical writing such as Ali Smith’s seasonal quartet and Olivia Laing’s Crudo, festival organisers are launching a competition to find poetry, short stories and life writing based on newsworthy events from April 2021 onwards.

Prizes

• An all-day creative writing and editing workshop in Hastings on Thursday, September 23, 2021. Inclusion in an anthology Dateline Hastings: 23-09-21
• Invitation to the anthology’s launch event (part of Hastings Literary Festival) with playwright, poet and festival patron Sir David Hare on the afternoon of September 25, 2021.
• Each winner will receive two copies of the anthology.
  Three finalists will each receive a cash prize of £100, based on performance on September 23 at the workshop.

Rules

• Submissions must be in English.
• Entries should be in Arial or Times New Roman font, double-spaced text with the title and page number on each page of the entry.
• Entries that exceed the stated length will be disqualified.
• No correspondence can be entered into.
• The judges’ decisions are final.
• All entries must be anonymous. Do not put your name or contact details on your story, flash or poem. Identifiable entries will be disqualified.
• Entries may have been previously published in a magazine or online, providing the author still owns the copyright and there is no exclusivity with the prior publication. Alternatively, the work may be as yet unpublished.
• Work must be entirely the work of the entrant, and the entrant must own the full publication rights.
• The standard entry fee is £10.00
• There is no geographical restriction on entrants. Entry is open to all including non-UK based writers.
• Entrants must be a minimum of 18 years old.
• Winning entrants agree to have their work published by Hastings Literary Festival in both electronic and paper format. Hastings Literary Festival holds publishing rights for one year, after which publishing rights revert to the author.
• Closing date is Midnight on July 24, 2021.
• Hastings Literary Festival will contact the winners by telephone/email week commencing August 16, and a full list will be published on our website on August 23. Winners must be available for the writing workshop in Hastings on September 23 and are invited to the launch of Dateline Hastings: 23-09-21 on Saturday September 25.
• Entry is confirmation of your acceptance of all rules and conditions.

Submission 

Each entry costs £10 (up to a maximum of four entries per person). Please use the PayPal link below to process your payment and use your confirmation number as the subject matter in your entry which should be emailed to [email protected]    – your email should include your name, telephone number and a brief biography.

Due to the generous funding provided for this event by the Magdalen and Lasher Trust, the program is able to provide a limited number of bursaries to cover entry fees for those currently unemployed or on low income. Please email [email protected]  with details if you wish to be considered for a bursary.

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