Opportunities: November 2020

We’re into November; Christmas is getting closer, the UK has entered its second lockdown and we’ve had the US election. Hopefully it’s happened and finished by the time you read this… So, let’s look at some writing opportunities that you can sink your teeth into this month to take your mind off of what’s going on around us all right now. As usual, you can still submit your writing to Thanet Writers here.

Poetry

For the first poetry opportunity this month, we’ve got the Never Such Innocence 2020/21 Competition. This competition is open until the 19th of March 2021 and is open to people between the ages of nine and eighteen. They’re looking for poetry of no more than forty lines, and they should Share your reflections on conflict or give a voice to those who may not have one. Take inspiration from a personal story about a family member or do some research about someone who was or is impacted by conflict.

With so much conflict across the world right now, it seemed like a good opportunity for the young people to have their say. You can find out more and submit through their website here.

The second poetry opportunity comes from Claw and Blossom who are looking for poetry, as well as other things, for their December Solstice Issue. They’re looking for more free verse poetry as they’re not partial to the traditional forms and the poems should be written on the theme of Other. There isn’t a submissions fee and they pay $25 for accepted submissions, so it’s a good opportunity to spread your writing wings a bit if you’re not used to writing free verse poetry. They don’t accept previously published work but they are open for submissions until the 28th of November, so you’ve got a bit of time to craft something.

To read more about them, or to submit, have a look at their website here.

Short Stories

The first short story opportunity this month is the Farnham Flash Fiction Competition 2021, which is a part of the Farnham Fringe Festival that’s been running since 2017. They’re looking for a 500 word short story, there isn’t any other guidance on what it should be about or include and it’s been judged by Penguin author Joanna Barnard. There is a £5 entry fee with a bit of an involved process, but there are prizes for first and second place – £75 and £25 respectively – as well as a price for the best story that features Farnham.

The competition is open until the 4th of June and you can find out more here.

The second short story opportunity is the Henshaw Short Story Competition. They’re looking for unpublished short stories of up to 2000 words and, like the last one, there isn’t a theme to stick to. There is an entrance fee of £6 but there are three prizes up for grabs. £200, £100 and £50 for first, second and third respectively with the prize winners being included in a future anthology, plus it’s open for submissions until the 6th of January so there’s quite a bit of time to get something written.

For full submission details or to submit, visit their website here.

Non-Fiction

The first non-fiction opportunity this month is Decomp who are looking for entries for their upcoming issue. decomp is a journal dedicated to dismantling and breaking down, the act of composition into its constituting parts. They’re focus is on the real and raw reality of the world that we live in at the moment. For their non-fiction anything up to 8000 words is okay, but they also want submissions from different disciplines as well so it’s definitely worth a look.

To find out more, check out there website here.

The second non-fiction opportunity this month is Dark Moon Litlith. Dark Moon Lilith is a space for radical thinkers, marginalized voices, and those in touch with the otherworldly and they’re looking for entries for their next Spring issue. They’re not looking for anything in particular with their submissions, but their mission is about focusing on the marginalised voices, and they want to hear from those people. They’re open to submissions for non-fiction between 1000 and 10,000 words and, in your submission, they want to know your astrology sign because that fascinates them. There isn’t a fee and they’re open for submissions until the 1st of January.

For more information, take a look at their website here.

Highlight

The highlight this month is the Bath Novel Awards. They are on the lookout for the next children’s literature writer and want the first 5000 words of your children or teen novel. There is a £28 entry fee for this one but there are some hefty prizes available for the winner and runner ups. Firstly, the final judge is a YA agent at Curtis Brown, with the shortlist judges being the children who could end up reading your book. The winner gets £3000, there’s a shortlist prize for manuscript feedback from the younger judges as well as introduction to agents and the best of the longlist will get an online editing course from Conerstones.

Unfortunately, the deadline for entry is the 29th of November so it’s probably not enough time to write your book for this, but if you’ve been working on something for a while this is a good opportunity to get a foot into the industry.

To see the full guidelines, look at the website here.

That’s everything for November. Hopefully there’s something here that takes your fancy and good luck with your submissions!