Five Things Friday: issue 68
Writer development, writing prizes, and a fellowship in Germany
I’ve been away from my desk for the past week or so, which has been much needed, after a hectic half term. Lots of workshops, lots of uncertainty about the house move (now resolved - hurrah!) and a sniffly end-of-term cold to round it all off.
I’m technically still away from my desk, but the joy of technology is being able to schedule things in advance. And thank goodness I can, because this week’s is a corker! Some really fab opportunities - including loads of opportunity for writer development.
So with no further ado (while I curl up with a book and a big mug of coffee on a sofa), here’s this week’s Five Things Friday post:
1 - Poetry Kit
The Poetry Kit Easter Competition is open for entries, and has a top prize of £110.
Entry fee: £3.50
Deadline: 20th April - check it out
2 - Desperate Literature Prize
I’ve shared this one on here in previous years, and was lucky enough to be shortlisted a few years ago, leading to my short story being published in Hotel, and a residency in Tbilisi!
I love the fact there isn’t just one prize for this, but multiple awards, publication opportunities and writer development prizes for writers on the shortlist. Their list of partner organisations is too long to include everyone here, but well worth checking out.
Open to short fiction under 2000 words, and with a top prize of €2000, a week’s residency, a consultation with a literary agent, a manuscript assessment and a Reedsy Learning membership.
Entry fee: €20 (€10 for every subsequent entry, with a max of five entries total per person)
Deadline: 19th April - check it out
3 - Modern Stories: It Must Be Love
This opportunity comes from a partnership between Headline and Curtis Brown Creative, and is open to ‘exciting new voices in romantic fiction from writers from Black, Asian, mixed heritage and/or multiple ethnic backgrounds’.
They’re looking for the first 5000 words of the novel, along with a synopsis of up to 600 words.
Top prize: £1000, plus a place on Curtis Brown Creative’s three-month online ‘Writing Your Novel’ course; two editorial mentoring sessions with a Headline Eternal editor; an introductory meeting with a Curtis Brown literary agent; a hamper of books!
Deadline: 14th April - check it out
4 - Schloss Wiepersdorf Fellowship
Thanks to Sian Meades-Williams for the heads up about this one.
If you’re looking for a three-month residency in Germany, Schloss Wipersdorf might be the option for you. In addition to room and board, all fellows also receive a monthly cash stipend of €1200 and a one-time grant of €480 to cover material expenses.
Deadline: 15th April - check it out
5 - Arvon Advanced Writing Programme
If you’ve ever thought that a taught residency week wasn’t enough to develop your writing, then this might be worth a look. Arvon’s Advanced Writing Programme offers 15 writers two years of sustained engagement and the opportunity to work towards completion of a project, whether in poetry, non-fiction or fiction.
Five places are allocated to each genre (poetry, non-fiction, fiction).
There’s a course fee of £8000, but they also offer three fully-funded grant places, as well as three 50% funded grant places.
Deadline: 17th April - check it out
And there you have it! Don’t forget to subscribe for five more writing opportunities in your inbox next week.
In the meantime, best of luck for anything you apply for, and happy writing! x