Time to tidy up those tales and perfect those poems that inspiration drove you to write during lockdown, or maybe you need to delve into past writings and dust them off?

The clock is ticking and time is running out! The Wells Festival of Literature's competitions for short stories, a book for children and open poetry are about to close. The deadline is midnight on 30 June 2020. Although our competitions draw entries from all across Britain, as well as from around the world, we have always had a firm focus on local talent.

We have a prestigious lineup of judges waiting to scrutinise all the entries and award prizes of £750, £300 and £200 for the short stories and books for children, with £1,000, £500 and £250 for the poetry. There is a local prize of £100 awarded in each category. In addition there is a competition for young poets which carries prizes of £150, £75 and £50 plus one year's subscription to the Poetry Society.

Last year Janet Manning's short story won the Wyvern Prize. Sue Hilton, the local winner of the book for children said:

"I was absolutely thrilled when ….. The Timeslip Stone ….. won the local prize. It was the first time I had had any success in a competition ….. a great confidence booster. It inspired me to continue and expand my writing ….. to improve my skills. Knowing that the judges thought my writing was worth reading also gave me the confidence to go into a local school to share one of my stories with the children. I have since written several short stories for adults and am now working on another book for children."

Nico Mann, from Axbridge, wrote the winning poem 'Icarus in the Underworld', a powerful re- imagining of the father/son aspect of the story of Daedalus and Icarus. Simon Armitage, our poet laureate and last year's poetry judge praised:

"new energies and significances ….. the final couplet is very unsettling and powerful given that the son voices it in such a succinct and accusatory manner ….. the poem takes on a universal, everyman tone, as if it speaks from deep psychological human trauma, rather than just an old tale."

This praise from such a renowned poet was, I'm sure, the icing on the cake and treasured as much as the cash prize! This shows the judges' commitment and should hearten all you writers out there to see what this year might bring……

All the volunteers working for the Wells Festival of Literature are driven by a desire to encourage people of all ages to share a love of literature. With this in mind, please remember £1.25 of every £6 entry fee goes towards education projects in many schools in the wider local community. For details of all competitions go here