Pens of the Earth ‘Community’ Competition Rules
Please read all of these rules carefully. Failure to comply with the rules may result in disqualification.
All correspondence about the competition must be directed solely to the competition secretary, Andrew Larder and not to anyone else involved with Pens of the Earth. Andrew has no part in the judging process, and his duty is to ensure that all judging is anonymous.
The theme of the competition is ‘community’. It’s all about telling a story or writing a poem with a positive environmental slant where community and not the hero is at the centre of your narrative. Read more about what we’re after here. Pens of the Earth is about positive environmentalism, so please do not send us stark warnings or dystopias.
Entries must be written in English.
Entries must be the original work of the author and must not have been previously published in print or online (including on your own website or blog), accepted for publication elsewhere or broadcast.
All entries will be judged anonymously. Please do not include your name, address, phone number, email, website or any other identifying information in your submission or its title.
Make sure you submit the latest version of your story – updates cannot be made after the submission has been received.
1st prize receives:
- Publication in the 2024 Pens of the Earth book of short stories, poems and articles.
- Two tickets to the book launch.
- Pens of the Earth book, signed by the competition judge.
- A Solent Seagrass Seed Pod will be sponsored in your name. You will receive a certificate & postcard from the organisation.
2nd Prize receives:
- Publication in the 2024 Pens of the Earth book of short stories, poems and articles.
- Two tickets to the book launch.
- Pens of the Earth Book, signed by the competition judge.
- A Rainforest Saver e-certificate, offsetting your carbon footprint for one month (or longer if you’re careful!).
Selected others: Publication in the Pens of the Earth book or online. Your work will be promoted on our website and on social media.
Formatting:
- Format your work in 12pt Times New Roman or Garamond.
- Use 1.5 line or double spacing.
- Stories must be under 2000 words in length; poems must have a maximum of 40 lines. The title is not included in this word/line count.
- The file name must be the same as the title of the story/poem.
- We accept files in the following formats: .doc, .docx, .odt, .rtf, .pdf, .txt. We do not accept .pages files (please export your file as a Word document or PDF instead).
How to enter:
- Send your entry fee via Paypal to andrewlarder@nullpensoftheearth.co.uk
- Short story fee: £7
- Poem fee: £4 (three poems for £8)
- Inclusivity: We want to make this competition available to all entrants. If you can’t afford the entry fee, please contact Andrew Larder to discuss a low cost entry.
- Email your entry to Andrew at andrewlarder@nullpensoftheearth.co.uk
- You will receive an acknowledgement within 72 hours to confirm your entry and entry fee have been received. If you do not, please contact Andrew Larder.
Postal entries cannot be accepted.
The deadline for submissions is Midnight (BST) on Sunday 14th January.
Any money raised in excess of what is required to publish the Pens of the Earth book will also be donated to the Solent Seagrass Restoration Project.
The judges’ decision is final and no individual correspondence can be entered into. Judges cannot comment on individual entries.
Copyright for each entry remains with the author but Pens of the Earth retains the right to publish competition entries in its forthcoming book and/or on the website.
Results will be announced by 30th April 2024.
Prize winners will be invited to a prize-giving ceremony which will take place at the Pens of the Earth Book Launch (October 2024), for which they will also receive two free tickets.
Good luck, and we look forward to reading your entries!