Update: The winners have been announced!
The ‘I Love Writing’ Short Story Competition is a joint project between the Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival and I Love Bello Shire.
Despite cancellation of the 2020 Festival the writing competition will continue and is a chance for local readers and writers to get creative, in keeping with the our commitment to cultural production.
Competition Categories
- Junior – Open to Students in Years 4-5-6
- Secondary – Open to Students in Years 7-12
- Open – Open to everyone over 18 years of age
Criteria for entry
- Must live in Bellingen, Nambucca or Coffs Harbour Council areas
- Length of story:
- Junior: Up to 250 words;
- Secondary: Up to 1000 words;
- Open: Up to 1,500 words.
- Fiction and creative non-fiction narrative stories only
- Your entry must include the word ‘heart’.
- Free entry
Prizes (total prize pool $825)
Junior
- First prize $50
- Second prize $25
Secondary
- First prize $150
- Second prize $100
- Publication of prize winner and 5 best short stories on the ILBS and BRWF websites and in a planned anthology available in e-book form on Amazon.au
- Winner published in weekly ILBS e-newsletter
- Live readings of short stories to be announced
Open
- First prize $300
- Second prize $200
- Publication of prize winner and 5 best short stories on the ILBS and BRWF websites and in a planned anthology available in e-book form on Amazon.au
- Winner published in weekly ILBS e-newsletter
- Live readings of short stories to be announced
All categories
- Publication of prize winner and 5 best short stories on the ILBS and BRWF websites and in a planned anthology available in e-book form on Amazon.au
- Winner published in weekly I Love Bello Shire e-newsletter
- Live readings of short stories to be announced
Deadline for entry
- Midnight, 30 June 2020 (stories submitted after this date will not be considered)
When submitting your story
- Junior submissions will be accepted hand-written or typed.
- Secondary and Open must be typed (no handwritten submissions)
- Must be submitted in Word or Pages format (no PDF or other formats accepted)
- The digital file name must be the story title
- Must be submitted digitally to ilovewritingcomp@gmail.com
- Must NOT have author’s name identified on the story submission
- Must be accompanied by an ENTRY FORM.
Judging
- Judges will be librarians and authors
- Quality of entries based on:
- Style and language
- Creativity and originality
- Story line and plot
- Structure
- Character development
- Cohesiveness
Important dates
- Entries open: 30 April 2020
- Entries Close: 30 June 2020
