The Henshaw Short Story Competition

Our September Competition is now open  with  a closing date of 30th September.

After the success of 'Backstories' his book of short stories one of our Prize  winning authors, Simon van de Velde,  has just published his f irst Novel 'The Silent Brother.   

          The Silent Brother is a beautifully written story of the life of Tommy in a rundown exhausted northern city. A life where there is little hope and the only opportunities for survival are alcohol or crime. The story follows Tommy through his life in an area where Levelling Up is an empty political slogan. The development of the characters Tommy meets is superb, all are fully rounded and realistic. The quality of the writing carries you into their world to such a degree that you begin to see the Newcastle world from each of the characters point of view. It is a story that is not only about the life of Tommy but is a scathing reflection on the social conditions that exist in some of the old industrial areas of Britain. This is the best crime fiction book I have read for a long time. Once you start to read you will not put it down until you have read the last page. If you buy one book this year buy this one

                       Prizes in the September competition are:-

             1st Prize £200, 2nd Prize £100, 3rd Prize £50

            The entry fee is £6 and the fee for a critique is £14.

We now offer a Proof Reading Service

If this is your first competition entry or if you are concerned about the presentation of your story do read our writing tips and our guides to presentation on the Story Presentation Page, before submitting your entry.

Competition Rules

1. Entries must be a fictional short story of up to 2000 words on any theme.

2. Entries must be on A4, double spaced and page numbered with the title on each page..

3. All entries must be the original work of the Author, must not have been published before the date of submission and must be accompanied by the author's name, address and telephone number which must be included on a separate page or within  the body of the e mail

4. The Author's name must not appear as a title or in the body of any page other than the author information page.

5. Entries received after the closing date will not be considered.

6. Do keep a copy of your entry, manuscripts cannot be returned.

7. The judges’ view is final and no correspondence will be entered into in connection with the award of the prizes.

8. Prize Winning Stories will be published on this site.

9. Entries may be made by E mail as a Word document  (pdfs cannot be accepted), or by post.

10. Winning entrants will be offered the opportunity to have their stories included in an Henshaw anthology.  It is intended to produce our next anthology when there have been sufficient prize winning stories.

11. Receipt of all entries will be acknowledged by e-mail or by post where no e-mail address is available. Please remember to check your Junk Box.

12. Entrants must be aged over sixteen. If you are sixteen or under do have a look at our Young Writers page.

Each entry by post must be accompanied by a cheque for £6 payable to G. Jennings and sent to:

The Henshaw Competition

24 Rowlandson Close
Northampton
NN3 3PB

Entries by E-mail should pay the appropriate fee using the button below and send their story separately to:-
editor@henshawpress.co.uk

For an extra £14 the judges will provide a critique  (of any story entered into the competition)  after the results of the competition have been published. Please, where possible, send your stories to us by e-mail.  It is much easier for the Judges and the Critique writers to read them and gain an overall view of the story.