Burnham-On-Sea Book Festival’s 2024 writing and book-cover competitions are now open for entries.
The 2024 festival – which is set to return from May 17th-19th – is inviting local people to get involved with the new competitions.
Sponsored by Burnham’s best-selling crime author Damien Boyd, entries are now open and close on midnight March 4th, 2024.
Book festival treasurer Jonathan Pinnock says there has been a change this year to the competitions: “Damien has upped the prizes in the children’s categories, hoping to inspire more young people to write. We’ve also made the decision to offer £100 to the winner of the book cover competition.”
“There are competitions for short-story writers and poets in three age categories: 11 and under, 12 – 18, and 19+ (Adults); the book cover competition is open to all ages. There’s a maximum of three entries per author/illustrator in each category.”
Organiser Lewis Coleman adds: “The competitions are free to anybody in Somerset or North Somerset, so we encourage them to write three poems, stories or illustrations, to increase their chances of making the shortlist.”
The writing competition is open to anybody in the UK, but there is a fee for entrants outside of Somerset and North Somerset. The book cover competition is only open to residents of Somerset or North Somerset. It’s free to enter.
“Last year, we had more entries than the previous year, some from as far away as Scotland and Cambridge,” Lewis added. “Despite the wider reach, most of the shortlist were from Somerset and North Somerset. There’s so much writing talent in our area. We look forward to reading this year’s entries.”
Entries will be accepted online, at https://subbub.org/login/
Burnham Book Festival writing contest categories:
- 19+ (Adult) Short Story – 2000 word limit – Prize £100
- 19+ (Adult) Poetry – Prize £100
- 12 – 18 Short Story – 1000 word limit – Prize £50
- 12 – 18 Poetry – Prize £50
- 11 & Under Short Story – 500 word limit – Prize £50
- 11 & Under Poetry – Prize £50
- All ages Book Cover – Prize £100
See more details at https://burnhambookfest.co.uk/
