One small step flash writing competition

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first astronaut to step on the Moon’s surface on  20 July 1969, and to complement our One Small Step Flash Writing Walkshop, we are running a One Small Step Flash Writing Competition for fact or fiction flashes of 50 words or under inspired by the first Moon walk. Imagine what types of stories might be found in a “Lunar Library’ or which stories you would take on a journey to the Moon. The competition opens on Saturday 29 June.

Winners will be published in One Small Step, a limited edition chapbook, published by Sampson Low Publishers. Winners receive  3 copies of the limited edition chapbook. The competition closes midnight GMT Saturday 17 August and the winners will be announced on the Friday 30 August. There is an entry fee (to cover administration costs) of £3 for one flash piece or £5 for two (entrants are limited to 2 entries only). Participants in the One Small Step Flash Writing Walkshop enter the competition for free – find out more about the walkshop here.

If you wish to enter please read the guidelines below before paying your submission fees:

One Small Step Flash Writing Submission
Title of your flash piece
Title of your 2nd flash piece



Ensure you keep your PayPal receipt as you will need to forward it with your submission (as an attachment) to  [email protected]

The Theme

To celebrate 50 years since the publication the first moon walk, your flash writing entry must clearly respond and be inspired by the themes and issues surrounding the space race to land a human on the moon. Judge’s decisions on this matter are final.

Judges

Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone – Author, editor and creative writing tutor for the Novel Studio, City, University of London.

 

Nigel Bristow – NG Bristow is a screen writer, director and visual artist. He is currently marooned at Goldsmiths University of London, where he runs the MA in Directing Fiction.

 

 

Andrew Stuck – Founder of the Museum of Walking, Producer Talking Walking podcasts, he worked in rights and sales for Hodder for 10 years.

 

Eligibility

  1. Entrants must be 16 years or over.
  2. Entry is open to everyone; locally, nationally and internationally.
  3. An entry can only be made by the work’s individual author.
  4. Entries must not have been previously published in print or online, been broadcast or won a prize.
  5. Entries must not include any defamatory language.
  6. Entries must clearly respond to the moon landing theme, be original and written in English. They must also be for adult or young adult readers. Non-fiction and fiction written for children under 13 years is not eligible.
  7. Simultaneous submission is permitted. Should your writing piece win a prize or be published elsewhere, please let us know so that we may remove your entry from the current competition.
  8. Authors retain full worldwide copyright throughout.

Format

  1. Maximum length is 50 words excluding title (that mustn’t exceed 8 words).
  2. Entries can be either fiction or non-fiction
  3. Entries should be typed in a plain legible font. A sans 12pt font is suggested.
  4. Entries will be read and judged anonymously so do not put your name, address, email, telephone number or any personally identifying information on any page.
  5. If the piece has no title, then its first five words must be used as the title.
  6. Acceptable file types are odt, doc, docx, txt and pdf.
  7. The file name must be the title of your piece, punctuation removed. If your piece does not have a title, then the file name must be its first five words, punctuation removed.

Submitting

Entry is online via email and only through the a PayPal gateway on this webpage. We do not accept postal entries. Following payment using the PayPal buttons on the submission page, PayPal will email you your receipt. To enter, simply ‘Forward’ that email – ensuring to ‘Attach’ your work – to this email address: [email protected] . If you participated in a One Small Step flash writing Walkshop, your entry is free, forward your ticket and attach your work as above.

  1. Entries will not be returned so please keep a copy.
  2. No corrections or alterations can be made after entries have been received.
  3. Entrants are limited to 2 entries each.
  4. Entries are acknowledged by your receiving of a PayPal receipt.

Payment

  1. The standard fee is £3.00 GBP for one submission and £5.00 for two.
  2. Submissions must be paid for via the PayPal buttons on this site. Payment can be made using your PayPal account or via Credit/Debit card option on the PayPal page.

Refunds

  1. Full no quibble refunds are available up to the closing date of each round, contact us should the need arise.
  2. Once the closing date has passed, no refunds can be made.

Prize

  1. The prize is publication in the limited edition One Small Step chapbook anthology – the

    Samples of chapbooks

    winners receive 3 copies of the limited edition chapbook.

  2. The results of the competition will be announced on the Museum of Walking website.
  3. Entrants retain copyright.

Entry constitutes acceptance of all Museum of Walking Rules. Entries that fail to comply with the rules will be disqualified. No correspondence can be entered into, Judges’ decisions are final.

Sampson Low Publishers, as an imprint, has existed for over two hundred years. Today it’s still managed by the Low family, and based just outside London. They have published diverse works from Noddy to Jules Verne to sporting heroes like Dennis Compton. One newish interest is in publishing small-scale chapbooks, often combining the work of writers and artists. The format is perfect for pithy written works that can be enjoyed in one sitting.

Museum of Walking: It was at the Banff Centre in the Canadian Rockies on a Walking and Art Residency in 2007 that an idea of a Museum dedicated solely to walking and art was developed by Andrew Stuck. The museum would be a showpiece for events around walking. It would promote walking and it would promote art and creativity and bring the two together. We chose to broaden it by inviting Co-creators to work together to create a variety of different walking opportunities. Our intention has always been to encourage people to dip their toes into trying new things, out and about on foot, giving them the chance of being more creative – “the art is in taking part”.