Here's a great competition for Writer's Block readers who enjoy writing crime stories. The Harrogate Advertiser has teamed up with Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival to offer one lucky person the chance to pick up loads of tips at Creative Thursday. You'll have to be quick penning your 300 word entry though - the closing date for entries is 5pm on Friday, June 13.
The Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, held in Harrogate, is now Europe’s biggest crime writing event. The Festival is a four-day event held annually bringing together the very best in crime fiction together, in a series of events, interviews, and panel sessions.
To enter the writing competition, you must use the following sentence as your introduction and finish the story in no more than 300 words:
"Next to the body lay a bottle of Theakstons Old Peculier and an upturned book; it was a crime novel and the already lurid jacket was spattered with real blood."
The prize for the winning story is a free ticket to Creative Thursday at the Crown Hotel, Harrogate, on July 17 from 9am to 5pm.
The competition, in its fourth year, will be judged by author Ann Cleeves, the festival's reader in residence, and the top entries will be published in the Harrogate Advertiser series.
The website says: "This year's festival, run with education partner Leeds Metropolitan University, offers new sessions for budding authors. A session on the "cosy" side of crime, led by author Zoe Sharpe, will look at how to commit murder using just the contents of a handbag. Stuart MacBride and Jason Goodwin will share their tips on topics such as writing convincing sex, romance and relationships within the crime genre. There will be practical tutorials from creative writing specialist Greg Mosse and a chance to find out more about the process of getting published with Hilary Hale and a team from Little, Brown publishers.
"Informative and entertaining, this day is for anyone interested in crime writing or harbouring ambitions of authorship.Whether you have always wanted to start a novel but not known where to begin, have a half-finished but abandoned manuscript in need of direction, or are sitting on a completed work but unsure how to make the next step - Creative Thursday is the day for you. Our fresh programme for 2008 covers many of the facets involved in successful crime writing. From the initial inception of a novel, to the honing of core writing skills, through to the journey a book goes on from finished manuscript to your local bookshop’s bookshelf.
Terms and Conditions
Send your short story competition entries to ackrill.news@ypn.co.uk with Crime Writing Competition as the title, or post to Crime Writing Competition, Ackrill Media Group, 1 Cardale Park, Beckwith Head Road, Harrogate, HG3 1RZ. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. Entrants must be aged 18 or over. Tickets are not transferable and no cash alternative will be offered. The judge's decision is final. The full article contains 389 words and appears in Harrogate Advertiser newspaper.The closing date for entries is 5pm on Friday, June 13. The winner will be announced on Friday, June 27.
For those who don't win a pass for the full day is £100 including lunch, more details at www.harrogate-festival.org.uk/crime.
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