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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260622
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260623
DTSTAMP:20260531T160519Z
CREATED:20260531T160519Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260531T160519Z
UID:3541-1782086400-1782172799@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \n  \nThe RSL V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize seeks to find the best unpublished short story of the year. \nThe 2027 V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize is now open for entry until Monday 22 June at 5pm. Please ensure you have read and understood the V.S. Pritchett Prize Eligibility and Guidelines prior to entering. \n  \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-v-s-pritchett-short-story-prize/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260623T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260623T210000
DTSTAMP:20260617T165622Z
CREATED:20260617T165622Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260617T165622Z
UID:3557-1782241200-1782248400@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Event: Ben Pester and Keith Ridgway at Bàrd Books
DESCRIPTION:Join author Ben Pester and Keith Ridgway with Barry Pierce to discuss their new books \n\n\n\n\nDoors 630pm\, event start 7pm prompt \nBEN PESTER is the author of the short story collection Am I in the Right Place? (2021) and the novel The Expansion Project (2025)\, which was shortlisted for the Nero Book Awards and the Goldsmiths Prize. \n“Pester is a genius of capturing the vicissitudes of contemporary life” LUKE KENNARD \nSail Away Land is the space where we might go when we’re no longer alive (sometimes only temporarily). In this uncommon and disarming collection\, the characters go ‘there’ with or without knowing it. Maybe they have been living there all along without noticing – just like they hadn’t really noticed that everyone is carrying a shiny black suitcase. \nThese stories are about normal things – losing the people we’re closest to\, forgiving them\, finding love and managing to hold onto it – but also about going to parties through a door in the back of a colleague’s head\, housebreaking in search of a sister’s ghost\, and asking the strangers in the kitchen to resurrect you at midnight. \nLike brilliant and strange anxiety dreams in prose\, the stories in Sail Away Land are full of temporal weirdness\, life and non-being\, psychological acuity\, imagination and wit\, all while being effortlessly\, seductively readable and incredibly moving. \n“Moving deftly between corporate weirdness\, the anxiety of rejection\, and the warm haze of childhood memory\, Sail Away Land is just how I like my short story collections: playful and particular. I feel lucky to have read it.” SABA SAMS \nKeith Ridgway is a Dubliner living in London. His novels include A Shock\, which won the 2021 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction and was shortlisted for the Goldsmith’s Prize; Hawthorn & Child; and Animals. His first novel The Long Falling was filmed by Martin Provost as Où Va La Nuit in 2011. He has been awarded the Prix Fémina Étranger and Premier Roman Étranger\, the O Henry award and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. Dooneen is published by Fitzcarraldo Editions and by New Directions. \nThe astonishing Irish literary magician Keith Ridgway pulls from his hat the Great Dublin Novel for the 21st century \nBartholomew Port\, known to all as Mew\, steps into the bushes in a London park and steps out of the bushes in a Dublin one. Not only that—there are no cars; there are moving footpaths; there is no church; everything seems quite queer. Home by invitation\, he has arrived in a Dublin that is alive with song\, with rumor\, with tunnels\, with ghosts\, and with an unmistakable sense of insurgency. In this suspiciously timeless city that breathes an old revolutionary air\, Mew fiercely misses his beloved Mootie\, back home in London. \nAn unraveling\, an impossibility\, a gathering of voices\, and a single dream\, Dooneen is the layered\, allusive and wildly original new novel from Keith Ridgway\, “one of Ireland’s best writers\, in a country with no shortage of them” (The Times).
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/event-ben-pester-and-keith-ridgway-at-bard-books/
LOCATION:Bàrd Books\, 341-343 Roman Road\, London\, E3 5QR
CATEGORIES:Event
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260630
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260701
DTSTAMP:20260531T160704Z
CREATED:20260531T160704Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260531T160704Z
UID:3543-1782777600-1782863999@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \n  \nThe 2026 Queen Mary  Wasafiri New Writing Prize is now open.\nThe seventeenth edition of the prize is now open for original entries and entries in translation across Fiction\, Life Writing\, and Poetry. \n  \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-queen-mary-wasafiri-new-writing-prize/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260630
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260701
DTSTAMP:20260531T160838Z
CREATED:20260531T160838Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260531T160838Z
UID:3545-1782777600-1782863999@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: Fiction Factory Short Story Competition
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \n  \n\n\nTop prize- £500 \nLength of story: max 3\,000 words \nEntries should be as a Word document. \nAll types of stories are welcome (excluding Children’s and Young Adult\nFiction). \nEntry Fee: £7.00 (£13 for 2 stories\, £18 for 3 stories) \nEntry fee plus optional critique: £35.00 \n\n\n\n\nWinning stories will be published on this website and\, at a later date in a planned anthology \n\n\n\n  \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-fiction-factory-short-story-competition/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260630
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260701
DTSTAMP:20260531T160947Z
CREATED:20260531T160947Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260531T160947Z
UID:3547-1782777600-1782863999@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: Wells Short Story Competition
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \n  \nGot a potential page-turner inside you? Then polish up your prose and send your entry to this year’s Short Story Competition. First prize is £750\, while second and third-place winners will receive £300 and £200 respectively.\nThere is also a special prize of £100 in the category for best local author.\nCompetitions open on 1 April and close on 30 June. \n  \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-wells-short-story-competition/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260630
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260701
DTSTAMP:20260531T161100Z
CREATED:20260531T161100Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260531T161100Z
UID:3549-1782777600-1782863999@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: The Olga Sinclair Prize
DESCRIPTION:From the competition deadline: \n  \nTheme: WALLS \nWord Limit: 2000 words (excluding the title) \nThe Brief: Judges are looking for wise choices of vocabulary\, well-structured plotting and description\, sparkling dialogue\, pace and precision. Although the theme is always selected to represent Norwich you are free to interpret this however you see fit. Your story does not have to be connected to Norwich\, but it does need to have the concept of Walls as its central theme. \n  \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-the-olga-sinclair-prize/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260630
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260701
DTSTAMP:20260617T172210Z
CREATED:20260617T172210Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260617T172210Z
UID:3576-1782777600-1782863999@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Residency: Jaunpils Writers’ Castle Residency (Latvia 2026)
DESCRIPTION:The Tukums UNESCO City of Literature Writer-in-Residence Programme will be based at Jaunpils Castle in the Tukums region of Latvia. Traditionally published writers\, poets\, playwrights and screenwriters connected to UNESCO Cities of Literature are invited to apply. \nThe residency will take place in October 2026 and will run for 2-4 weeks. The application deadline is 30 June 2026.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/residency-jaunpils-writers-castle-residency-latvia-2026/
LOCATION:The National Centre for Writing
CATEGORIES:Residency
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260701T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260701T200000
DTSTAMP:20260617T171555Z
CREATED:20260617T171013Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260617T171555Z
UID:3562-1782932400-1782936000@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Event: Sara Baume & Emily LaBarge discuss Opening Night
DESCRIPTION:Shortly after the pandemic lockdown Sara Baume came across a painting in a pop-up exhibition in a renovated West Cork shed. Fascinated by it\, she became determined to make the painter’s acquaintance – although a native of North Dakota the artist Mollie Douthit was now living and working in rural Ireland. Bonded by a common love of nature and a commitment to their respective artistic practices\, they began to meet regularly\, to talk\, to eat and to swim. What would it be like\, Baume wondered\, to write a book in the style of Mollie’s painting? Opening Night is the result. She will be in conversation with Emily LaBarge\, author of Dog Days.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/event-sara-baume-emily-labarge-discuss-opening-night/
LOCATION:London Review Bookshop\, 14 Bury Pl\, London\, WC1A 2JL
CATEGORIES:Event
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260729
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260730
DTSTAMP:20260716T112609Z
CREATED:20260716T112609Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260716T112609Z
UID:3596-1785283200-1785369599@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: The Letter Review Prize for Short Fiction
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \nThe Letter Review Prize is an internationally celebrated event\, offered every four months in the categories of Short Fiction\, Poetry\, and Books. We publish our winners\, maintain shortlists\, submit to The Pushcart\, and award over $16\,000 USD annually to writers\, meaning our prize is among the highest paying literary prizes administered by a literary journal in the world. \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-the-letter-review-prize-for-short-fiction/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260731
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260801
DTSTAMP:20260716T112747Z
CREATED:20260716T112747Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260716T112747Z
UID:3598-1785456000-1785542399@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: Anthology Short Story Competition
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \nEstablished to recognise and encourage creative writing and provide a platform for publication\, the Anthology Short Story Competition is open to original and previously unpublished short stories in the English language by a writer of any nationality\, living anywhere in the world. There is no restriction on theme or style. Stories submitted must not exceed the maximum of 1\,500 words. Writers can submit as many entries as they wish. Each submission will require a separate entry form and is subject to a separate entry fee. \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-anthology-short-story-competition/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260731
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260801
DTSTAMP:20260716T112937Z
CREATED:20260716T112937Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260716T112937Z
UID:3601-1785456000-1785542399@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: Southlands Creative Writing Competition 2026
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \nSouthlands Arts Centre is excited to announce the launch of our annual creative writing competition. We are open for submissions from Sunday\, 22nd February.  \nWe are taking entries from over 18s and under 18s. There are life writing and fiction categories.  \nContinuing with our tradition the fiction category is themed. This year’s theme is architecture. By this we mean\, buildings of all kinds — from homes to halls\, castles to cabins\, all structures and spaces. \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-southlands-creative-writing-competition-2026/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260815
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260816
DTSTAMP:20260805T105452Z
CREATED:20260805T105452Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260805T105452Z
UID:3631-1786752000-1786838399@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: The Bournemouth Writing Prize
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \n  \n\nBournemouth has a rich literary heritage. World-renowned writers – from Bram Stoker to Bill Bryson\, Mary Shelley to JRR Tolkien\, all took inspiration from our seaside oasis on the south coast of Dorset. Originally\, Bournemouth was a spa town\, attracting people from across the country (and polluted cities!) to use the sea air to revitalise their wellbeing. Where relaxation exists\, creativity springs. \nDrawing on Bournemouth’s incredible creative scene – including two world-class universities\, colleges and language schools – and a thriving\, engaged and inclusive creative community\, our 2027 writing competition – in partnership with the Bournemouth Writing Prize – invites writers from across the world to be inspired by Bournemouth’s rich literary history to send us entries on any subject. \n\n\nShort stories (up to 3\,000 words) \n\n\nPoems (up to 30 lines). \n\n\n\n\nThe costs to enter are: \n\n\n£10 for a Short Story (up to 3\,000 words) \n\n\n£10 for up to three poems (up to 30 lines). All poems need to be in one document. \n\n\nSubmit in either Word or PDF. \n  \n\nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-the-bournemouth-writing-prize/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260822T133000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260822T143000
DTSTAMP:20260617T171352Z
CREATED:20260617T171352Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260617T171352Z
UID:3567-1787405400-1787409000@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Event: Lucy Caldwell & Nell Stevens\, Short Story Magic
DESCRIPTION:BBC National Short Story Award-winning Lucy Caldwell (author of Openings and These Days) and Nell Stevens (author of The Original and Somerset Maugham Award-winning Mrs Gaskell & Me) are both masters at catapulting you into characters’ lives\, conjuring entirely new worlds in a matter of pages. In this conversation they discuss their new story collections\, Devotions and The Good Time\, talking stories of love\, grief\, haunted lives\, emotional crossroads\, and irresistible humour with Di Speirs.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/event-lucy-caldwell-nell-stevens-short-story-magic/
CATEGORIES:Event
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260831
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260901
DTSTAMP:20260805T105624Z
CREATED:20260805T105624Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260805T105624Z
UID:3633-1788134400-1788220799@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: Oxford Flash Fiction Prize
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \n  \n1st Prize: £1000 / 2nd Prize: £200 / New Voice Prize: £200 / 3rd Prize: £100 / Hidden Element Prize £100\nShortlisted entrants will be offered publication in our end of year anthology. \n  \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-oxford-flash-fiction-prize/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260831
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260901
DTSTAMP:20260805T105809Z
CREATED:20260805T105809Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260805T105809Z
UID:3635-1788134400-1788220799@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: Aesthetica Creative Writing Award
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \n  \n\nPoetry entries should be no more than 40 lines.\nFiction entries should be no more than 2\,000 words.\nWorks published or entered elsewhere are accepted.\nWe accept works on any theme.\nYou may enter the Award as many times as you wish\, although each work requires a fee and new submission form.\n\n  \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-aesthetica-creative-writing-award/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260831
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260901
DTSTAMP:20260827T161214Z
CREATED:20260827T161214Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260827T161214Z
UID:3712-1788134400-1788220799@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Residency: Writer’s residency in Brussels with Passa Porta
DESCRIPTION:The National Centre for Writing is collaborating with the International House of Literature Passa Porta and Flanders Literature to offer a month-long writing residency in Brussels in 2027. The exact date of the residency will be agreed by Passa Porta with the successful applicant. \n\nThe residency is part of an exchange with the National Centre for Writing\, who will hosting a writer from Flanders in Norwich in March 2027. \n\n\n\nAbout the residency \n\n\nPassa Porta is a multilingual house of literature at the heart of Brussels\, providing a showcase\, a platform and a workplace for literature. It includes a literary stage\, a multilingual bookshop\, a corner for reading\, conversation and rendezvous\, space for workshops\, offices\, and a flat for a writer in residence. Passa Porta has a broad network of contacts with the press\, publishers\, translators and cultural organisations in Belgium and abroad. \nEvery two years\, the Passa Porta Festival draws about 100 Belgian and international writers\, thinkers and artists to Brussels\, bearing witness to their love of the written word\, shining their light on hot topics\, and paying tribute to the best new literature from around the world. \nThis residency will offer the writer a quiet place to write. However\, there will be the opportunity to take part in public events in Flanders and Brussels\, as well as to meet and collaborate with fellow authors and translators. \nThe writer in residence will be expected to devote most of their time in Brussels to working on a manuscript. In their letter of application\, they should present a concise and concrete plan of work regarding their stay. The author will be asked to mention Passa Porta in the final publication of the manuscript they worked on during their stay. \nPassa Porta may invite the writer to play an active role during one or more of its public events\, to present themselves to the Belgian audience in a video interview\, or to write a short text reflecting on a topic close to their heart. These small assignments are not an obligation and will be renumerated accordingly. \nYou can find out more about Passa Porta’s residency programme on their website. \n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\nTravel and accommodation \n\n\nThe writer will be offered free accommodation in a self-catering flat at the Passa Porta house of literature. This distinctive and comfortable flat has a floor area of 90 sq. m. and is situated above the Passa Porta Bookshop in Rue Antoine Dansaert / Antoine Dansaertstraat\, close to the Grand Place. The flat comprises a large living room\, a study\, a dining room\, a bedroom\, a bathroom and a kitchen. See below for images. It is equipped with an internet connection\, printer and\, if required\, a laptop. A telephone is available at the guest’s expense. \nThe National Centre for Writing will cover the cost of train travel to and from Brussels and Passa Porta will pay a stipend of 1200 euros towards living expenses. The writer should take out their own travel and health insurance for the period of their journey and stay. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\nHow to apply \n\n\nThis opportunity is open to writers based in England. It is open to writers of novels\, short stories\, poetry or literary non-fiction. Authors working on a manuscript as part of academic research do not qualify. The author must have had at least one work published by a literary publisher (not self-published). \nWriters wishing to apply for the residency should send their application to residencies@nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk \nApplications should include: \n\nA covering letter explaining:\n\nWhy you wish to take part in the residency\, what you will bring to it and what you hope to get out of it.\nA description of the manuscript or project on which you will work.\nWhy Brussels\, and any Norwich connections\n\n\nA curriculum vitae listing your publications in your own and other languages.\nA short writing sample (up to 1\,000 words).\n\nThe selection will be carried out jointly by Passa Porta and the National Centre for Writing\, and the successful applicant will be informed by the beginning of October 2026. \nThe deadline for applications is Monday 31 August 2026.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/residency-writers-residency-in-brussels-with-passa-porta/
LOCATION:Passa Porta
CATEGORIES:Residency
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260901
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260902
DTSTAMP:20260805T105932Z
CREATED:20260805T105932Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260805T105932Z
UID:3637-1788220800-1788307199@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: Best in Rural Writing Contest
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \n  \nContest submissions may be previously published\, and will also be read within 3-4 months of submitting with an eye towards publication on the site\, as well as the forthcoming Best in Rural Writing print anthologies. (Note: shortlisting in the contest does not automatically secure a place in the anthology\, unless selected as one of the two finalists. The work will be considered by future anthology committees\, however). Go to our submit page for more details. \nAlthough the contest and anthology are seperate initiatives\, we recommend reading the anthology to get an idea of the type of work that typically gets recognized (and also because it supports The Milk House). You can order a copy here. \nSubmissions may be up to 7\,000 words. \n  \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-best-in-rural-writing-contest/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260901
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260902
DTSTAMP:20260825T164204Z
CREATED:20260825T164204Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260825T164204Z
UID:3665-1788220800-1788307199@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: The Observer / Redstone Press Postcard Story Prize 2026
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \n  \nOpen to writers of all ages and backgrounds. \nA postcard is a simple thing: image on one side\, writing on the other. But the relationship between image and text can be complex and teasing. Postcards always tell a story of some kind and are often glimpses into larger stories\, inklings of whole lives… \nWe invite you to submit an imaginative short story\, piece of text\, or poem (up to 250 words) in response to a postcard image. The text need not necessarily correspond to the image on the postcard (it may even be more interesting if it doesn’t\, as with many of the postcards we do send).  \nJudging panel: Julian Barnes\, Tom Gatti\, Jan Carson\, Ardashir Vakil \n  \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-the-observer-redstone-press-postcard-story-prize-2026/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260901
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260902
DTSTAMP:20260825T164425Z
CREATED:20260825T164249Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260825T164425Z
UID:3667-1788220800-1788307199@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: Plough Short Fiction Contest
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \n  \nPlough is thrilled to announce its inaugural annual short fiction contest\, open to writers anywhere in the world. \nThe winning writer will receive a two thousand dollar award and the winning story will be published in Plough. In addition\, up to three finalists will receive two hundred and fifty dollars as well as publication in Plough (print and/or online). \nPlough is seeking short fiction that honors the mysterious nature of reality and finds transcendence and redemption in unexpected places. We are interested in the skillful use of fictional elements like magical realism and a traditional “tale” voice\, but the contest is not limited to stories with these elements. Here are some authors we see as exemplary: Italo Calvino\, Jorge Luis Borges\, Susanna Clarke\, Toni Morrison\, Isak Dinesen\, Eugene Vodolazkin\, Tim Powers\, Karen Russell\, and James McBride. \nJudging will be blind. Plough editors will select ten to fifteen stories for further consideration\, and then the editors will reach a consensus on the winner and finalists. \n  \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-plough-short-fiction-contest/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260901
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260927
DTSTAMP:20260827T155154Z
CREATED:20260827T155154Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260827T155154Z
UID:3698-1788220800-1790467199@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Event: WRITE Festival at The Word\, South Shields
DESCRIPTION:Celebrate stories\, poetry\, writing and everything in between with another fantastic line up of events\, workshops and performances. \nAvid readers can look forward to a brilliant mix of author talks featuring local talent\, regional writers and bestselling favourites. We have two costume talks\, creative calligraphy\, a regency tea dance workshop and lots more. \nIf you’re a writer looking for feedback on your work\, interested in poetry\, or eager to learn how to get published\, we’ve got a whole host of workshops just for you. You’ll also have the chance to get advice and insights from industry professionals. \nWe will be closing the festival on Saturday 26 September as Bay Tales return with The Word is Murder – South Tyneside’s Crime Fiction Festival. \nEvents will be taking place at The Word\, with some at Cleadon Park\, Jarrow Focus and Hebburn Central too.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/event-write-festival-at-the-word-south-shields/
LOCATION:The Word
CATEGORIES:Event
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260905
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260906
DTSTAMP:20260825T164733Z
CREATED:20260825T164733Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260825T164733Z
UID:3671-1788566400-1788652799@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: The McNeile Writing Competition
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \n  \nA short story competition organised by Clapham Writers charity in honour of the late Penelope McNeile; celebrating creativity\, diversity\, storytelling\, and emerging literary voices. Whether you are writing your first short story or have been writing for years\, the McNeile Competition is an opportunity to share your voice\, challenge your creativity\, and be part of the vibrant writing community in South West London. \nOpen to unpublished and self published writers of all levels\, the competition invites you to submit an opening section of a short story inspired by the theme “Absent Friends.” Writers are encouraged to interpret the theme broadly\, exploring ideas of memory\, loss\, distance\, reunion\, nostalgia\, or the enduring presence of those no longer with us. \nThe competition is now open and entries close on 5th September 2026. Winners will be announced at the Clapham Book Festival on 17th October. \nEntry costs £5\, or free with the purchase of a ticket to the Clapham Book Festival. \n  \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-the-mcneile-writing-competition/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260913
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260914
DTSTAMP:20260825T164023Z
CREATED:20260825T164023Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260825T164023Z
UID:3663-1789257600-1789343999@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: The BPA Short Story Award
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \n  \nThe Short Story Award is open to unrepresented writers anywhere in the world. All you need is a complete short story up to 2\,500 words. \nPrize: cash + agent introduction\, 1st Prize £1\,000 + agent introduction\, 2nd Prize £300\, 3rd Prize £100This year’s judges are literary agent\, Corissa Hollenbeck\, at Janklow & Nesbit\, and writer\, Sussie Anie. \n  \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-the-bpa-short-story-award/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260920
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260922
DTSTAMP:20260827T160750Z
CREATED:20260827T150306Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260827T160750Z
UID:3684-1789862400-1790035199@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Event: Short Story September Festival\, Phoenix Leicester
DESCRIPTION:Hosted by short story publisher Dahlia Books\, the Short Story September Festival is the ultimate weekend for writers looking to master the art of writing short stories. \nOur main festival sessions will take place on Saturday 20th September in Leicester. \nAdditional writing workshops will take place on Sunday 21st September via Zoom. \nAll online workshops will be recorded and will be available on playback for up to 30 days. \nBook your ticket via the Eventbrite box office. \nFESTIVAL PROGRAMME (subject to change) \nSaturday 20th September 2025 – Phoenix Square\, Leicester \n10.30 AM Registration & Warm-up workshop \nIn this warm-up workshop\, we will start generating new ideas for fiction by playing a series of writing games and prompts. Meet in the Phoenix cafe. \n11 AM – 12 PM Developing Your Short Story Craft – Panel Discussion \nIn this panel discussion on developing your craft\, writers Catherine Menon\, Rebecca Burns\, Laura Besley and Jonathan Taylor will share their writing process\, the tools and tricks they use to master the short story form\, and discuss how and why they return to writing short stories alongside their other works and responsibilities. \n12 PM comfort break \n12.15 – 1 PM – Interactive roundtable: Is Writing Short Stories Sustainable? \nIn this interactive roundtable and listening space\, we will split up into groups to share our experiences of writing short stories. We will discuss what we’ve heard about working in this form\, from family and friends\, and publishing professionals and begin to answer the question whether writing short stories is sustainable? If you love the form but are constantly told you should be working on a novel\, this session will nourish your soul. This session will be facilitated by Dahlia Books authors. Post it notes\, pens and paper will be provided. \n1 – 2 PM – Lunch (not included) \n2 – 3 PM Abi Hynes and Malachi McIntosh in conversation \nWinner of this year’s Edge Hill Short Story Prize Debut and author of Parables\, Fables\, Nightmares Malachi McIntosh will be in conversation with Abi Hynes\, fellow shortlisted writer and author of Monstrous Longing. This session will be followed by a Q&A. \n3 – 3.45 PM Everything You Wanted to Know About a Small Press But Were Too Afraid to Ask \nWhat does a small press do\, and how do they support a short story writer get their work out there? How are they set-up and do they pay an advance? From submitting your work to a small press to handling distribution and subsidiary rights\, this session is your opportunity to put your questions to Farhana Shaikh and have them answered – with no question off the table! Participants can submit their questions in advance via email to f.shaikh@dahliapublishing.co.uk. \n3.45 PM Comfort break / Doors open for ceremony only \n4 – 5 PM – Leicester Writes Short Story Prize Ceremony \nThe Leicester Writes Short Story Prize was set up in 2017 to recognise and reward the best short story writing talent. Join us to celebrate this year’s fantastic long-listed writers and listen to the short stories that made it to our top 20 from just under 400 entries! Our prize anthology featuring all 20 short stories will be launched on the day. Readers on the night tbc. \nSunday 21st September 2025 – Zoom\, online \n10.30 AM Registration & Warm-up workshop \nIn this warm-up workshop\, we will mine our personal histories and life experiences to generate material for short stories. You will leave with a handful of fragments and titles. Please bring a photograph of you as a child to the session. \n11.00 – 12.15 PM The Significance of Voice Workshop \nIn this workshop Mona Dash\, Catherine Menon\, and Reshma Ruia – members of The Whole Kahani – will discuss the crucial building blocks for writing authentically. They will examine different types of voices\, cread and discuss their own writing\, and give us a peek behind the workshopping process they use to develop their single author collections and their group’s anthologies. \n12.15 – 1.30 PM Lunch break – virual brownies and tea for all \n1.30 – 2.45 PM How to Pitch a Short Story Collection Workshop \nIn this session with publisher Farhana Shaikh\, participants will learn what makes a good pitch for a short story collection. We will look at live pitches received by Dahlia Books\, think about what makes a successful pitch\, and have a go at writing and pitching our own collections. You will leave feeling confident in approaching publishers and talking about your stories to absolutely anyone. \n3 – 4.10 PM Planning a Short Story in 60 Minutes Workshop \nIn this workshop with three-time novelist\, short story writer and editor Leone Ross\, participants will learn how to plan a beginning\, middle\, and end of a short story in just 60 minutes. You will leave with the bones of a new short story to work on. \n4 – 4.30 PM – Plenary \n\n\nBooking & payment\n\nBook your place via Eventbrite. \nYou can join us in person\, or online\, or for the entire weekend. \nTicket prices vary. From £25 (plus booking fee).
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/short-story-september-festival-phoenix-leicester/
CATEGORIES:Event
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260921
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260922
DTSTAMP:20260825T163713Z
CREATED:20260825T163713Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260825T163713Z
UID:3659-1789948800-1790035199@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: The Sareeta Domingo Prize
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \n  \nThe Sareeta Domingo Prize is a free-to-enter writing prize created to discover and support unpublished writers from Black and Global Majority backgrounds\, founded by bestselling author Dorothy Koomson in association with Sareeta Domingo’s family\, Hachette UK\, Jacaranda Books and David Higham Associates. \n  \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-the-sareeta-domingo-prize/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260921
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260922
DTSTAMP:20260825T163858Z
CREATED:20260825T163858Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260825T163858Z
UID:3661-1789948800-1790035199@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: Mslexia Women's Fiction Competition 2026 - Short Story
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \n  \n1st prize £3\,000. Three additional finalists will each receive £150 and all four winning entries are published in Issue 112 of Mslexia. Winning entries plus eight more shortlisted entries will receive £75 and be published in Mslexia’s ebook anthology Best Women’s Short Fiction 2026. Entry fee: £14. \n  \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-mslexia-womens-fiction-competition-2026-short-story/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260922T163000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20260922T180000
DTSTAMP:20260827T155425Z
CREATED:20260827T155425Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260827T155425Z
UID:3705-1790094600-1790100000@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Event: Sahra Hersi\, Stories and Symbols as Tools for Making (CPD Session) at Charleston House\, Sussex
DESCRIPTION:Join artist and educator Sahra Hersi for a free CPD (continuing professional development) session. \nConnected to our Reimagine project\, a creative learning programme developed with Year 9 students from Priory School in Lewes\, this session is open to all educators and practitioners interested in creative learning\, including teachers\, youth workers\, social workers\, artists and home educators. \nSahra will share an insight into her practice\, which uses stories\, motifs and symbols as tools for collective making. Her work begins with conversations and time spent with people and places\, translating individual ideas and experiences into shared artworks. \nSahra will lead a practical collage activity exploring the idea of an animal as a personal symbol or ‘familiar’\, representing companionship\, protection or something more personal. Using a limited palette of coloured paper\, participants will create individual animal motifs before bringing them together as one collective tile panel. Through cutting\, collage and composition\, you will explore an accessible approach to collaboration that can be adapted for use with young people in educational and community settings. \nSpaces are limited\, so please register to reserve your free place. \nFor more information\, please contact Natasha Holdgate\, Learning Manager at n.holdgate@charleston.org.uk
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/event-sahra-hersi-stories-and-symbols-as-tools-for-making-cpd-session-at-charleston-house-sussex/
LOCATION:Charleston House
CATEGORIES:Event
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260928T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260928T190000
DTSTAMP:20260908T160347Z
CREATED:20260908T154727Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260908T160347Z
UID:3731-1790618400-1790622000@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:ENSFR General Meeting
DESCRIPTION:The European Network for Short Fiction Research invites members to our Annual General Meeting on 28 September at 6pm BST / 7pm CEST. \nWe will look back at the projects\, collaborations\, and developments that have shaped our work over the past year\, and outline our plans and priorities for the year ahead. \nThis meeting is an opportunity to reconnect\, share ideas\, and help shape the future direction of the ENSFR\, as we continue strengthening our community of short‑fiction scholars across Europe. \nThis is an online event\, please join us by clicking on the Teams link below.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/ensfr-general-meeting/
LOCATION:Teams
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260930
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261001
DTSTAMP:20260825T163441Z
CREATED:20260825T163441Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260825T163441Z
UID:3655-1790726400-1790812799@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: SaveAsWriters International Creative Writing Competition 2026
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \n  \nTo celebrate 150 years since the first ever telephone call made by Alexander Graham Bell\, SaveAs Writers invite you to submit poetry or short stories with this theme: ‘Lines of Communication’. \nMethods of communication have developed rapidly since that first phone call in 1876. Therefore\, the theme can be interpreted widely. Submissions might focus on communication in relationships • in the age of the Internet\, the mobile phone and AI • between human beings and aliens or robots • between nations or different cultures.\nWhat are the limits and difficulties of communication? Perhaps you want to explore if better communication means better understanding. Or if it is always used for the best reasons. These are just some of the possibilities. \nGo ahead and communicate your creative ideas by submitting to the competition. We welcome national and international entries. Good luck!  \n  \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-saveaswriters-international-creative-writing-competition-2026/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260930
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261001
DTSTAMP:20260825T163604Z
CREATED:20260825T163604Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260825T163604Z
UID:3657-1790726400-1790812799@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: Anthology Flash Fiction Competition 2026
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \n  \nEstablished to inspire creativity\, great writing and to provide a platform for publication. The Anthology Flash Fiction Competition is open to original and previously unpublished flash fiction pieces on any theme or genre in the English language by writers of any nationality\, living anywhere in the world. We are looking for writing that is clever and unique\, inspires us\, and crafts a compelling story.  \nOpen to both new and established writers\, articles submitted must not exceed 250 words. Writers can submit as many entries as they wish. Each submission will require a separate entry form and is subject to a separate entry fee.  \n  \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-anthology-flash-fiction-competition-2026/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260930
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261001
DTSTAMP:20260825T164910Z
CREATED:20260825T164910Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260825T164910Z
UID:3673-1790726400-1790812799@ensfr.univ-angers.fr
SUMMARY:Competition Deadline: The Creative Writing Ink Short Story Competition 2026
DESCRIPTION:From the competition website: \n  \nThe deadline for receipt of all entries is September 30th\, 2026\, at 5 pm (GMT) \nEntries will only be accepted through Subfolio. \nEntries can be on any subject\, theme or genre. \nEntry fee: £12 per entry. You can submit multiple entries as long as each entry is paid for individually and includes a separate entry form. \nMaximum word count is 3\,000 words. \n  \nEnter here.
URL:https://ensfr.univ-angers.fr/event/competition-deadline-the-creative-writing-ink-short-story-competition-2026/
CATEGORIES:Competition Deadline
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END:VCALENDAR