Name: The Dinesh Allirajah Prize for Short Fiction
Category: Short fiction
Word count: maximum of 6000 words
Entry fee: Free
Prize: £500 and publication
Closing date: October 23, 2020.
Comma Press and the University of Central Lancashire are proud to host the annual Dinesh Allirajah Prize for Short Fiction.
Dinesh was a Founding Board Member of Comma (2007-2012), and a Director of Comma Press since it became a National Portfolio Organisation of the Arts Council in 2012. He also lectured in Creative Writing at UCLan for 8 years and was much-loved by everyone he worked with. Amongst these many other things, first and foremost, he was a writer, and he loved to write short fiction, which he posted regularly on his blog (Real Time Short Stories). His sudden passing in 2014 was a shock to all who knew him, and now Comma in partnership with the University of Central Lancashire, have set up this prize, in his name, as part of a lasting legacy of his love of writing short fiction.
The prize is open to anyone 18 years or over who is a resident of the UK, and the story you submit must not have been published anywhere else, online or in print. The winning writer will receive £500 and all 10 shortlisted authors will be featured in an ebook anthology which will be published by Comma Press and sold online. The winner will also have their story published online by our media partner Northern Soul.
The theme for the 2021 submission is ‘Home’. The judges this year are Dr Philip Braithwaite (UCLan), Abi Fellows (The Good Literary Agency), Alfred Searls (Northern Soul) and author Courttia Newland.
Submission guidelines:
- The Dinesh Allirajah Prize for Short Fiction is organised by the University of Central Lancashire (“UCLan”) and Comma Press.
2. The Competition is open to anyone aged 18 or over and based in the UK who is not excluded by these Rules. There is no upper age limit for entry.
3. Members of University of Central Lancashire staff (who may also be students) and their spouses are excluded from being eligible to enter.
4. The deadline for electronic entries is midnight (UK time) on Friday 23rd October 2020. Entries received after this deadline will not be considered.
5. Entrants must submit a short story of between 2,000 and 6,000 words in length. Titles, blank lines and page numbers are not included in the word count.
6. Entrants may submit one story each.
7. All work submitted for consideration must be on subject with the theme of ‘Home’, and must be the entrant’s own original writing.
8. The story entered should not have appeared in print, online or have been broadcast prior to or be published after entry. Work which has been published on public websites, blogs or social media sites can be submitted, but must be taken down before the date of entry and must not be uploaded again until the writer has been notified whether they have been successful in making the shortlist. Shortlisted writers are asked not to publish their story anywhere as it will be included in the shortlist eBook. Work found to be published in print or to have been broadcast or to have appeared on a website outside of these terms will be disqualified.
9. All work must be submitted electronically by email to [email protected]), and must include a cover letter which states the author’s name, address, email, contact number and story title. Without a cover letter the story will not be eligible. Preferably entries should be typed or word-processed, clearly legible and written in English. Entrants should not include illustrations or artwork. Beyond these stipulations, presentation (e.g. font and spacing) is at the entrant’s discretion.
10. Translations into English of work written in other languages can be accepted, provided that the source text is the entrant’s own original work and has not been published (in line with the above); translations into English of work published (in line with the above) elsewhere in other languages will not be accepted.
For more details about this contest, check here
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