Writers in Oxford is using its 25th anniversary to attract and engage with a younger audience, in a writing competition for Young Oxfordshire Writers aged 18-30. £1000 will be given away in cash prizes, and 25 entrants will receive a two-year honorary membership of WiO.
What are the judges looking for? “Writing which the judges find the most memorable in terms of its structure, resonance, and power of language. Quite simply, we want impact, whether you are stirring, lyrical, polemical; whether you lure us into a gripping tale or stop us in our tracks with the passionate cogency of your argument.”
Philip Pullman, an early WiO member who worked as a lecturer 25 years ago, has agreed to be Honorary Chair of the judging panel.
Entry Details, Terms and Conditions
Submissions are invited of a piece of writing ‘Inspired by Oxford.’ The work can be fiction or non-fiction, up to 500 words in length, and can have been previously published.
Applicants must acknowledge and accept the competition’s terms and conditions, and state that they meet these qualifying criteria:
- They are aged 18-30 (on 1 September 2017)
- They currently live in Oxfordshire
- One entry only per person, and to be the entrant’s own work.
Note: WiO members cannot enter the competition.
Prize Details and Timetable
There will be five cash prizes: two prizes of £350 and three prizes of £100.
In addition, 25 competition entrants (including the five cash-prize winners) will receive two years of honorary membership of WiO.
Closing date and results
Entries to be emailed before 1 September 2017. Winners will be declared at the November anniversary party.
Judging panel
Entries will be judged by the WiO panel, consisting of Philip Pullman (Honorary Chair), Lorna Fergusson, Frank Egerton, Cherry Mosteshar, Dennis Hamley, and ClaireMarie Grigg.
The winners
Names of the winning entries will be published on the WiO website, Facebook page, and Newsletter. The panel’s decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into with competition entrants.
For more information, contact:
- www.writersinoxford.org
- Robert Bullard (WiO chair), 01865 423785 or 07765 227530
How to submit
Entries should be emailed to: wio@perfecttext.org before 1 September 2017.
