A not-for-profit organisation
Encouraging creative writing
The moment when the prizewinners of the 2019 short story and poetry competitions will be revealed is just over one day away.
This is the climax to BIWC's competition year and the organisers are excited to be meeting, face to face, some of the entrants who have taken part this year.
Whether you have been shortlisted or not you are welcome to come along and enjoy a drink at the theatre bar while chatting to the judges, BIWC committee members and fellow contestants. Then take a seat in the theatre and listen as the results are announced and the winning entries read to the audience.
In addition to the announcement of results, donations stemming from the competition entry fees will made to representatives of the charities, SMART and the organisation helping to improve childhood literacy, Schoolreaders.
BIWC had a record number of entries in 2019 which is especially encouraging when there are so many other competitions in existence. They would like to thank all entrants and let them know that their taking part is very much appreciated.
The evening is open to anyone and entrants and their friends are especially welcome. There is no charge but it would be appreciated if the competition administrator could be advised in advance by emailing administrator@bedfordwritingcompetition.co.uk of those intending to be present.
The evening will include:
After the presentations, the attendees will have the chance to meet the judges, readers and competition organisors as well as their fellow entrants informally in the bar.
Eleanor is a respected Editor and publisher. After working as publishing director of Avon, the commercial fiction arm of HarperCollins, she moved to Bonnier Zaffre where she spearheaded the commercial women's fiction and reading group list and she published bestselling authors Louise Pentland, Lydia Syson, Patricia Wilson and saga brand Rosie Goodwin Publishing where she had overall responsibility for women's fiction.
Other authors she has worked with include Jeffrey Archer, Angela Clarke and Kate Mosse.
In April this year she joined Headline Review imprint, home to authors Victoria Hislop, Jill Mansell and Alison Weir, as leader of their commercial fiction team.
Eleanor is also the co-founder of the Feminist Book Society, a monthly get-together that hosts active panels about feminism with authors and industry insiders.
Nick Everett is founder and co-editor of New Walk Editions poetry pamphlets. He teaches poetry writing and contemporary poetry at the University of Leicester.
Having gained experience as an author, publisher, publicist and marketer, Kate has seen every side of publishing and has used her background to set up her own literary agency so she could do "the best job in publishing". Kate's reading tastes - from romance to thrillers - are highly commercial.
Kate has a degree in History (BA Hons.) from the University of York and later gained distinction with two undergraduate modules in Creative Writing and Literature from the Open University. She also holds a postgraduate certificate from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).
Kate enjoys travel, wine, the theatre and fine art. She is also a trustee of the Catholic Truth Society (CTS), a 150-year-old charity who are the UK publishers to the Holy See.
Kate Nash is listed 20th in UK Fiction by Publishers Marketplace, based on number of deals made (Feb 2017). Kate was named as The Bookseller Rising Star in 2018.
Find out more about Kate Nash from her website
.| Story title | Author |
| Caught Kindly by the Tides | Jeremy Galgutt - Nottingham |
| Chad Woz 'Ere | Nicola Ratnett - Llangammarch Wells |
| Changes, The Keeper of All Things | Michael Roe - Wimbourne - Chester |
| The Fish Tree | Louise Wilford - Barnsley |
| In Search of Puffins | Jacci Gooding - Fenny Compton |
| Influence | Sarah Price _ London |
| A Last Light Breaking | Meg Holdsworth - Cheltenham |
| The Longest Rope | Torshia Seales - Princes Town, Trinidad & Tobago |
| Miss Bird Catches a Wave | Diana Powell - Haverford West |
| Mr Jemba | Stephen Palmer - Stockport |
| Okavanga Theft | Jennifer Walne - Cambridge |
| Wayne's Name | Hannah Retallick - Menai Bridge |
| Poem title | Poet |
| The Black Mountain | Estelle Price - Wilmslow |
| Fungi Foray | Adrian Buckner - Derby |
| Geese | Jim Green - Norwich |
| The Land of Epilogue | Anthony Watts - Taunton |
| My Neighbour the Magician | Chris Raetschus - Hexham |
| Northride | Gwen Seabourne - Bristol |
| The Orchid Room | Molly Underwood - London |
| Poldark III | Sharon Black - St André de Valborgne, France |
| Il Ponte di Morandi, Genoa 2018 | Caroline Maldonado - London |
| Private Viewing | Georgina Titmus - Truro |
| a recurring drama in one act | Lucy Crispin - Kendal |
| Spider | Tarquin Landseer - London |
| Story title | Author |
| Amazons Teetering on the Edge of a Black Sea | Shannon Savvas - Nicosia, Cyprus |
| The Assassination of a President | Richard Hooton - Ashton-under-Lyne |
| Caught Kindly by the Tides | Jeremy Galgutt - Nottingham |
| Chad Woz 'Ere | Nicola Ratnett - Llangammarch Wells |
| Changes, The Keeper of All Things | Michael Roe - Wimbourne - Chester |
| The Elephant played the Trumpet | M Valentine Williams - Market Drayton |
| The Fish Tree | Louise Wilford - Barnsley |
| The Goat | Andrew Canty - Deal |
| A Good House In A Storm | Jeremy Galgut - Nottingham |
| Hogwarts, We Have a Problem | Stephen Brown - Greenisland |
| In Search of Puffins | Jacci Gooding - Fenny Compton |
| Influence | Sarah Price _ London |
| A Last Light Breaking | Meg Holdsworth - Cheltenham |
| The Longest Rope | Torshia Seales - Princes Town, Trinidad & Tobago |
| A Mile in Her Shoes | Shannon Savvas - Nicosia, Cyprus |
| Miss Bird Catches a Wave | Diana Powell - Haverford West |
| Mr Jemba | Stephen Palmer - Stockport |
| Nightcaps for Wild Boys | Bruce Harris - Seaton |
| No Answer | Eamon Oleary - Cork, Ireland |
| Okavanga Theft | Jennifer Walne - Cambridge |
| A Pocket for Secrets | Angela Williams - Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Sex like slugs | Gemma Williams - Newhaven |
| Snake in the Grass | Judith Tremaine Drazin - Bristol |
| Sorrow Bees | Pete Pitman - Stapleford |
| Stop Them Talking | Lucy Banks - Exeter |
| Tides | Anita Goodfellow - Marlow |
| Wayne's Name | Hannah Retallick - Menai Bridge |
| Poem title | Poet |
| The Black Mountain | Estelle Price - Wilmslow |
| Clearing His Father's House | Adrian Buckner - Derby |
| This Culture/This Life | Caroline Maldonado - London |
| The Dutch Room, picture no. 12 | Neil Elder - Harrow |
| Encrypted | Angela Croft - London |
| Fixed Odds | Peter Branson - Rode Heath |
| Fungi Foray | Adrian Buckner - Derby |
| The Gate | Maurice Franceschi - Glasgow |
| Geese | Jim Green - Norwich |
| Home/Back to the Root | Ambrin Mcbrinn - Teddington |
| Knives are the New Norm | Caroline Maldonado - London |
| The Land of Epilogue | Anthony Watts - Taunton |
| My Neighbour the Magician | Chris Raetschus - Hexham |
| Northride | Gwen Seabourne - Bristol |
| The Orchid Room | Molly Underwood - London |
| Poldark I | Sharon Black - St André de Valborgne, France |
| Poldark III | Sharon Black - St André de Valborgne, France |
| Il Ponte di Morandi, Genoa 2018 | Caroline Maldonado - London |
| Private Viewing | Georgina Titmus - Truro |
| Rant | Rowena Warwick - Thame |
| A Recurring Drama in One Act | Lucy Crispin - Kendal |
| Remembryo | Oliver Jones - London |
| Seminar, or I close my eyes and count to ten in Welsh | Gwen Seabourne - Bristol |
| The Silver Grey | Lizzie Holden - London |
| Speed Dating in a Northern Town | Peter Burgham - York |
| Spider | Tarquin Landseer - London |
| Stop Kicking | Oliver Jones - London |
| The Thoughts of Charles Byrne | Ben Ray - Ross-on-Wye |
| Triangulation | Mark Totterdell - Exeter |
| You Want to Come to Mine? | Eleni Cay - Milton Keynes |
Sophie Hannah is a best-selling author of atmospheric, psychological thrillers and her poetry is studied for exams. In September 2015 BWC invited her to be interviewed before a live audience at the Trinity Theatre, Bedford. She entertained us with her recollections of how she became a successful writer and shared some of her novel-writing secrets.
Ruth Hogan was the 2017 short story competition judge and has been a regular supporter of the competition since its start. Being a local author she represents the cultural reputation of Bedford which the BIWC aims to promote. Having spent her early working life in local government she wrote stories as part of her therapy while recovering from cancer. Her success with her first published novel in 2017 is testament to her never giving up hope of becoming a best-selling author and is a fine example to all writers with similar ambitions.
Toby Litt is an English writer and academic in the Department of English and Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London. He has several publications to his name both novels and collections of short stories. Born in Ampthill and a former pupil of Bedford Modern School. In 2016 he was the judge of the BIWC Short Story Competition.
Ian McEwen was the judge for the 2016 Poetry Competition. He has had his poems published in a variety of magazines as well as producing a pamphlet, The Stammering Man and his first full collection in book form, Intermittent Beings. He is interested in opportunities to broaden the practice and appreciation of poetry, through readings, workshops or residencies.
Sue Moorcroft is a Sunday Times and international bestselling author and has reached the coveted No.1 spot on Amazon Kindle. She's won the Readers' Best Romantic Novel award, the Katie Fforde Bursary, and has been nominated on several other occasions, including for the Romantic Novel of the Year Awards.
She is a former judge of the Writers' Forum competitions.
Her short stories, serials, columns, writing guides and courses have appeared all over the world.
Margaret Norwich was the judge of the Bedford Prize in 2015 and 2016. She studied liberal arts at Vassar College, New York and then came over to England to read English at Girton College, Cambridge. As well as working in publishing and the voluntary sector, Margaret lectured for many years on English Language and Literature at De Montfort and Cranfield Universities. American born, she now regards herself a true Bedfordian.
Leigh Russell is a best-selling crime novelist. Her association with the BIWC began in 2014 when the competition went 'nternational'. She has been the judge for the 2014 and the 2015 competitions. We are extremely grateful for the encouragement that she has given us and gives to writers of all abilities.
© 2020 The Bedford Writing Competition. Developed by Xiaorong Tan