This weeks competitions that have caught my eye:

Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction
Category:   Fiction
Closes:   28th October 2011
Fees:   £15 for one entry.
Prizes:   £10,000 for first place. Also publishing contract.
Details:   For chilren’s books up to 80,000 words aimed at children aged 9-16.
Contact:   The Chicken House, 2 Palmer Street, Frome, Somerset, BA11 1DS
Country:   United Kingdom
Email:   chickenhouse@doublecluck.com
Website:   http://www.doublecluck.com/submissions

William Richey Short Fiction Contest
Category:   Fiction
Closes:   30th November 2011
Fees:   $10 for one entry.
Prizes:   $1,000 for first place. Also magazine publication.
Details:   For short stories up to 10,000 words.
Country:   United States
Website:   http://yemassee.submishmash.com/submit

Meridian Writing Winter Competition
Category:   Fiction
Closes:   31st December 2011
Fees:   £5 for one entry.
Prizes:   £100 for first place. 2nd Place – £50, 3rd Place – £25 with firstwriter.com voucher for each winner.
Details:   Short stories wanted in any theme/genre. 3000 words max but with no lower limit. Open to new and published authors. Critique service available. See website for full submission details.
Country:   United Kingdom
Email:   info@meridian-writing.co.uk
Website:   http://www.meridian-writing.co.uk

Harvest the Cash Fall Contest
Category:   Fiction
Closes:   21st October 2011
Fees:   $10 for one entry.
Prizes:   $400 for first place.
Details:   1500 Word Limit Entry fee: $10. Critique fee: $5 (optional) First prize – $400, Second prize – $150, Third prize – $50. See website for additional guidelines.
Contact:   Hamilton Writers Guild P.O. Box 1205 Hamilton, OH 45012
Country:   United States
Email:   ldswink@cinci.rr.com
Website:   http://www.hamiltonwritersguild.org

Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize
Category:   Fiction
Closes:   15th October 2011
Fees:   £0 for one entry.
Prizes:   £750 for first place. £500.
Details:   For fiction and nonfiction by writers aged 18-25 on the theme: Light often arises from a collision of opinions, as fire from flint and steel.
Country:   United Kingdom
Email:   info@benjaminfranklinhouse.org
Website:   http://www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org/site/sections/news/literary_prize.html

BBC TELEVISION Opportunities

Collabor8te
Deadline: 03 October 2011
Win a budget of up to £10,000 to have your short film developed and produced.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/collabor8ate_2011.shtml

Newsjack
Deadline: 17 October 2011
BBC Radio 4 Extra’s topical sketch show is now open for submissions of sketches and short jokes.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/newsjack_2011_2.shtml

Face 2 Face with Stephen Butchard
Deadline: 18 October 2011
An opportunity to put your questions to Stephen Butchard, one of the leading screenwriters of his generation.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/face_to_face.shtml

Channel 4 Drama presents….4Screenwriting
Deadline: 01 November 2011
Channel 4 Drama are looking for 12 talented writers who currently have no broadcast credit.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/4screenwriting_2011.shtml

Immersive Writing Lab Competition
Deadline: 21 November 2011
Create a cross-platform storyworld and win a £6k development fund.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/immersive_writing_lab_2011.shtml

Steyning Festival Theatre Trail 2012
Deadline: 02 December 2011
Steyning Festival Theatre Trail 2012 is seeking 6 new plays from playwrights in the South East.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/steyning_festival_theatre_trail_2012.shtml

The BBC Writersroom Future Talent Award for Writers
Deadline: 15 December 2011
Opportunity for north-based student/recent graduate drama writers to access development opportunities and mentoring from the BBC.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/future_talent_award_for_writers.shtml

RWA Competitions

**The Write Stuff 2011/2012
Sponsor: Connecticut RWA
Fee: $20–30.00
Deadline: December 5, 2011
Eligibility: Non-PAN Recognized Authors
Entry: Electronic entry only. First 20 pages, no synopsis.
Categories: Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance, Paranormal Romance, Adult Mainstream Fiction, Young Adult Fiction
Judges: Trained published and unpublished authors.
Final Judges: Editors & Agents TBA.
Top Prize: $100 for 1st place in each category.
FMI, http://ctrwa.org/writestuff/.

Good luck and let me know how you get on.

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