Poet in residence: BBC Scotland

Applications are invited for the post of BBC Scotland's inaugural poet in residence

The initiative, a collaboration between BBC Scotland and the Scottish Poetry Library, launched on May 11th.

The three-month residency, which is funded (£4,000), is aimed at early-career poets who live and work in Scotland. The successful applicant will contribute regularly across BBC Scotland, including, The Janice Forsyth Show and BBC Arts Online and will participate in workshops with Scottish schools.

Applicants for the post of BBC Scotland's Poet in Residence should send not more than 10 of their poems, links to audio/video footage, a CV and an 800-word statement outlining the poet's proposed approach to the residency and what they would hope to achieve.

The closing date is 12 June.

Children's writing competition: Fiction Express for Schools

To celebrate its fourth birthday, Fiction Express for Schools has launched a writing competition for children aged 5 to 11

The competition is being run in association with Primary Times.

The winner's story will be published by Fiction Express and Primary Times. He or she will receive a school visit from an author, a Kindle Paperwhite 3G and an 18-book subscription to Fiction Express for Schools. There is a second prize of a £50 Waterstones voicer, a third prize of a £25 Waterstones voucher and seven finalists will each get a £10 Waterstones voucher.

To enter the Fiction Express for Schools Birthday Competition, children should write a short story no longer than 500 words that has three optional endings, and includes the word 'birthday.'

The closing date is 7 June.

image source: writeawaywithme.com

Creative writing competition: Stories of SW1

SouthWestFest has announced its second annual competition for flash fiction, poetry and short scripts

Flash fiction should be up to 500 words, poetry up to 20 lines and scripts, up to 10 minutes. All entries should be representations and interpretations of the SW1 postcode. Writers do not have to live within that postcode to enter.

The winner of the Stories of SW1 Writing Competition will receive £50, the opportunity to have the piece recorded for radio, publication on the SouthWestFest website and inclusion in the curated art exhibition, Stories of SW1. The judges are playwright Hannah Vincent, performance poet Martin Daws and the Royal Court Theatre.

There is a fee of £3 for one piece of work and £5 for two. Each additional entry costs £2.

The closing date is 16 June.

SouthWestFest takes place between 19 and 28 June.

Poetry prize: All Wales Comic Verse Competition

Funny poems are invited for Carleon Festival's annual competition

Poems may be up to 30 lines, and have to be comical. Poets must live, work or study in Wales.

There is a first prize of £300, a second prize of £150 and a third prize of £50.

There is a £3 fee per poem. Poets may enter up to three poems.

The closing date for the All Wales Comic Verse Competition is 2 June.

The Carleon Festival takes place from 3 to 12 July.

Image source: wikipedia.com

The Book Report - Those Political Books making headlines

On Elaine Charles' Book Report show this weekend (accessible via podcast at bookreportradio.com), the following political books will be reviewed;

FEATURED BOOKS PREVIEWED

“Reagan: The Life” by H.W. Brands

“Twelve Days” by Alex Berenson

“Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848 to 1868″ by Cokie Roberts

“The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783 to 1789″ by Joseph J. Ellis

“Hissing Cousins: The Untold Story of Eleanor Roosevelt and Alice Roosevelt Longworth” by Marc Peyser and Timothy Dwyer

“Madam President” by Nicolle Wallace

“The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House” by Kate Andersen Brower

INTERVIEW
Allan Topol, Author

TUNE INTO THE PROGRAM FOR
An “inside the Beltway” look at political books making headlines. Elaine presents a mix of new histories from Pulitzer Prize winners, page-turning political fiction and White House memoirs.

Image and story from: thebookreportradio.blogspot.com

A New Guide to Copyright

The Authors' Licensing and Collecting Service has published a helpful guide to copyright, Wise Up to Copyright.

The guide is very informative on the importance of copyright and how the ALCS collects royalties on your behalf for books and articles written.

The guide is available for free at:
www.alcs.co.uk/Members-information

New writer for womagwriter's blog

For the past eight years the womagwriter's blog has been the site to visit for information on the commercial short story market. Now there is a new writer for the blog.

The woman writer's blog was created in 2007 by Kath McGurl, but two years ago she chose to concentrate on writing novels. So now she has handed the site to Patsy Collins, a writer of short stories.

The blog contains links to publishers' guidelines, often difficult to find, and updates on magazine news.

Collins has said that she will keep the focus of the blog on short fiction. She also plans to feature interviews with writers.

Many writers, and those who aspire to get published, will be pleased that the blog will continue.

Image: Baddog, Flickr