Former online workshop participant Chris Hazelgrove, of England, won the 2007 Guildford Book Festival Short Story Competition for “End of Summer,” which was fiction based on memoir. Congratulations, Chris! Chris had previously made the top ten in the 2006 Writers’ Circle of Durham Region 24-Hour Writing Contest. To read “End of Summer” online, click under “Links” in the sidebar.
A note from Chris:
Yes — ’tis part of the Guildford Book Festival, various components of which are sponsored by BBC (Southern Radio) or other august bodies. The writing ‘stars’ of their firmament are considerable, so I feel particularly buoyant about this. And haven’t they presented the story beautifully, with that picture of a lone child on the beach?
It HAS taken me about five years so far learning the craft of writing through courses, books and application, but once the nuts and bolts are learned I found I became far more fluent and found it more gratifying. My debt to you is enormous; thank you SO much for the encouragement you gave me.
There are loads of contests about, but I suspect many organisations are just in it for the entry fee and then choose a friend as winner — in fact met someone who runs just such a website! DO encourage your wonderful group to go for the Big Ones! What is there to lose — and you might just be what they are looking for.
Chris