Literature North West

6th July 2010

Creative Tourist and Rainy City Stories have teamed up to launch a new short story competition, Rain Never Stops Play.

We’re looking for great tales from the city. By this we mean stories that encapsulate some of the romance or the horror, the daily drudgery or the surreal moments, the beauty or the decay of modern urban life. Stories should be contemporary or set within the last ten years, and should provide a detailed snapshot of city life.

Rather than just being the place the action happens, the city must be fully present in the story, almost having the same stature as another character. We want to walk the streets with your characters, see what they see, hear what they hear – be transported there.

The competition is open to anyone, from any city. We will be selecting one Manchester winner and one winner from elsewhere. The winning stories will be published on Creative Tourist and Rainy City Stories, and the winners will receive a cash prize of £100 and tickets to some very special events at this year’s Manchester Literature Festival (we have to keep these under wraps until the programme is officially announced  but we promise you’ll love them).

The stories will be selected by a judging panel including author Jenn Ashworth, poet John McAuliffe of The University of Manchester’s Centre for New Writing, Creative Tourist editor Susie Stubbs and Rainy City Stories editor Kate Feld… and you. 

In July, Creative Tourist will publish the first 500 words of a shortlist of six and open the shortlist up to a public vote (the vote will count as 40% towards the selection of the final winner). The final winners will be announced on 2 August.

Some more important details: the competition is open to all writers, both published and non-published, but the story entered must not have been published previously, either in print or online. Please note that all stories must be 3,000 words or less, longer entries will not be considered, and please only send in one entry per person.

To enter, email your story as an attached word document to info@creativetourist.com. Please put ‘Rain Never Stops Play’ in the subject line. Please specify where your story is set, and include your full name, place of residence and a 2-3 sentence biography, including any relevant blogs or website links. Please make sure we have your contact details, including a telephone number. This competition is now closed for entries. We’ll be announcing details of the shortlist soon. Terms and conditions apply (see website).

http://www.creativetourist.com/competitions