Flash Writing and Poetry Competition
DEADLINE TONIGHT Monday 18 April
Announcing our third Urban Tree Festival writing competition, with our 2021 winners choosing the theme for this year’s competition as well as stepping up to volunteer as judges. Chris Cuninghame (poetry) and Sarah Wheeler (prose) have chosen “Healing Trees” as the theme: “the power of trees to heal themselves and us, to contribute to well-being and to sustain eco-systems.” Your challenge is to write 250 words or under on “Healing Trees”.
We invite you to write a flash story or poem of 250 words or under about “Healing Trees”. We know how valuable are trees in urban areas - whether in streets, green space or woodlands - they enhance our mood and general health, however, you can be as wide ranging as you wish in interpreting the theme.
In May this year, we will be running the Urban Tree Festival (14-22 May 2022) to celebrate trees in urban and suburban neighbourhoods, with many events on the ground and some on-line. We are especially keen this year to promote better access for all; to trees, greens spaces and urban woodland.
On Sunday 22 May, we will showcase the winning poems and stories by inviting the winning authors and poets of our current writing competition to read their work. Our current competition runs until midnight (GMT) on Monday 18 April (Easter Monday) 2022.
Winners will be published in Canopy, a limited edition chapbook anthology, published by Sampson Low Publishers the net proceeds of which will go towards funding future Urban Tree Festivals.
Our judges will draw up a long list - all poems and stories on the list will be published on the Urban Tree Festival website during May. Shortlisted poems and stories will be chosen and published in the illustrated chapbook anthology and made available for public sale by the start of the Festival. Shortlisted authors will receive 2 complimentary copies of the anthology, will be invited to join an exclusive nature writing on-line roundtable during the Festival, and will be invited to read their work at the WRITE ABOUT TREES Showcase on the final day of the Urban Tree Festival (Sunday 22 May).
The judges will be asked to choose their winner and runner up in both the poetry and prose categories, for which the winners will be invited to be on-line Poet- or Writer-in-residence at the 2023 Urban Tree Festival. They and the runners up, will each receive an artwork that illustrates their poem or story, created by Alban Low.
The competition closes midnight GMT Monday 18 April 2022 and the longlist will be announced no later than Friday 29 April. There is an entry fee (to cover administration costs) of £6 for one flash piece or poem and £9 for two (entrants are limited to 2 entries only - you may submit a poem and a flash story, two poems or two stories). If you are genuinely unable to afford the entry fee, we will waive the fee and you may submit your piece(s).
We are delighted to announce that Chris Cuninghame our current Poet-in-residence and Anita Roy have volunteered to act as judges for the poetry competition. They join Writer-in-residence, Sarah Wheeler and Nigel Bristow who will judge the prose entries. Chris Bestwick will edit the anthology, and it will be illustrated by Alban Low. The WRITE ABOUT TREES competition is run by the Museum of Walking on behalf of the Urban Tree Festival.
Former competition runner-up, El Rhodes led her popular Writing Wood Words 2 hour on-line nature writing workshop on the theme of Healing Trees on Thursday 17 March - a video recording is available to purchase for £10 - to order email flash@museumofwalking.org.uk
You can get creative writing tips from Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone (the anthology editor) by downloading this audio-guide.
Want to purchase copies of previous editions of our Canopy anthology? - visit the festival shop
If you wish to enter please read the guidelines below before paying your submission fees:
Submission fees
The Urban Tree Festival Competition is run by Rethinking Cities Ltd. / The Museum of Walking - submission fees will be paid to Rethinking Cities Ltd.
Terms and Conditions
Ensure you keep your PayPal receipt as you will need to forward it with your submission (as an attachment) to flash@museumofwalking.org.uk
The Theme
We want to read poems and stories about “Healing Trees”. The stories or poems can be fact or fiction but must be no more than 250 words in length. Judges’ decisions on this matter are final.
Judges
Poetry
Christopher Cuninghame lives in north-east London and has worked internationally. He has published poetry in the chapbooks 'Small Change' and 'Canopy' from the 2021 Urban Tree Festival, magazines, ezines and, once or twice, in on-stage performance. He plays music sometimes, closing the windows if he remembers.
Anita Roy is a writer, editor and environmentalist based in Wellington, Somerset. Half English, half Bengali she has spent 20 years in Delhi working in publishing before returning to the UK in 2015 with her son. Recent publications include: 'Gifts of Gravity and Light: A Nature Almanac for the 21st Century' co-edited with Pippa Marland (Hodder), 'A Year in Kingcombe: The Wildflower Meadows of Dorset' (Wilding Press); and children's books - 'Gravepyres School for the Recently Deceased' (Westland) and 'The Power of Ten' (Pratham Books). She has recently taken up scything and is an organiser and volunteer with her local transition town group in Wellington..
Prose
Sarah Wheeler - Erstwhile lawyer, aspiring writer, frazzled mother. Sometime Londoner, she has returned to her rural roots. Now often found outside, with a double expresso, talking to hens.
Nigel Bristow - NG Bristow is a screen writer, director and visual artist. He is rooted at Goldsmiths University of London, where he runs the MA in Directing Fiction.
Anthology Editor
Chris Bestwick - During the pandemic, his usual work as a musician disappeared. He took the enforced lay-off as an opportunity to diversify; training in proofreading and completed The Publishing Training Centre’s Essential Copy-Editing course, passing with a Merit grade. While doing the course, he co-edited noted jazz-author Sammy Stein’s most recent book, has recently been helping authors at a couple of writers groups. He is looking forward to splitting his time between copy-editing and his current musical project, Archie the Goldfish.
Eligibility
Entrants must be 16 years or over.
Entry is open to everyone; locally, nationally and internationally.
An entry can only be made by the work's individual author.
Entries must not have been previously published in print or online, been broadcast or won a prize.
Entries must not include any defamatory language.
Entries must clearly respond to the Urban Tree Festival 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.
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.
Authors retain full worldwide copyright throughout.
Format
Maximum length is 250 words excluding title (that mustn't exceed 8 words).
Entries can be either fiction or non-fiction
Entries should be typed in a plain legible font. A sans 12pt font is suggested.
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.
If the piece has no title, then its first five words must be used as the title.
Acceptable file types are as doc, docx or pdf.
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: flash@museumofwalking.org.uk . Deadline for submissions is Midnight (BST) Monday 18 April, 2022.
Entries will not be returned so please keep a copy.
No corrections or alterations can be made after entries have been received.
Entrants are limited to 2 entries each.
Entries are acknowledged by your receiving of a PayPal receipt.
If you are genuinely unable to afford the entry fee - please contact us by e mail to flash@museumofwalking.org.uk We will waive the fee and you may submit your piece(s) by email to flash@museumofwalking.org.uk
Judges decisions are final. We are unable to offer feedback on any submitted pieces.
Payment
The standard fee is £6.00 GBP for one submission and £9.00 for two (which can be either 2 stories, 2 poems or one of each).
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
Full no quibble refunds are available up to the closing date of each round, contact us should the need arise.
Once the closing date has passed, no refunds can be made.
Prizes
One winner in each category: poetry and prose will be invited to become an on-line Poet or Writer-in-residence at the 2023 Urban Tree Festival, they also receive an artwork illustration by Alban Low and 2 copies of Canopy the illustrated limited edition chapbook.
The runner up in each category will receive an artwork illustration by Alban Low and 2 copies of the illustrated limited edition chapbook.
All the authors of shortlisted entries will receive 2 copies of the illustrated limited edition chapbook, will be invited to an exclusive nature writing on-line roundtable, and be invited to read their work at a live on-line showcase event on the final day of the Urban Tree Festival on Sunday 22 May .
Long listed entries will be published on the Urban Tree Festival website during May.
The results of the competition will be announced on the Urban Tree Festival and Museum of Walking websites.
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”. The Museum of Walking conceived the Urban Tree Festival in 2018 and co-produced the Festivals in 2019 -2021.