Are you an aspiring writer? Show off your talents with a story competition from the International Agatha Christie Festival.
More information below:
Calling all young writers! We want you to write a story of no more than 1,000 words, and submit it to the IACF 2020 Mystery Short Story Competition by the closing date, which is Sunday the 16th of August 2020.
The IACF 2020 Mystery Short Story Competition is free to enter. It is open to children and young people who live or go to school or college in Devon. There are two categories: entrants between 8 and 13 years of age on Sunday the 16th of August 2020; and entrants between 14 and 18 years of age on Sunday the 16th of August 2020.
IACF 2020 Mystery Short Story Competition: The Rules
We will give each of the two winners an Apple iPad Mini™. We will also give the winner and the runner-up in the older category a copy of the superb new book, Howdunnit! A Masterclass in the Craft of Crime Writing, which includes advice from Agatha Christie and many other writers.
We are grateful for the generous support of our sponsors: PKF Francis Clark, HarperCollins UK and Wollens Solicitors Torquay.
The prizes will be presented by Martin Edwards, the editor of Howdunnit! and a recipient of the Diamond Dagger, the highest honour in British crime writing. He is a former chairman of the Crime Writers’ Association and in 2015 he was elected the eighth president of the Detection Club. He writes the Lake District Mysteries and his latest novel is Mortmain Hall.
IACF 2020 Mystery Short Story Competition: The Judges
Our wonderful judges are the award-winning authors Patrice Lawrence and John Curran, and Dee Lalljee who runs Crediton Community Bookshop.
What the Judges Are Looking For
- your originality and imagination – you must create your own characters;
- the quality of your writing and your use of language;
- your ability to tell a story and how you hold the reader’s attention;
- your clever plotting, how you lay clues for the reader and how the mystery is solved.
IACF 2020 Mystery Short Story Competition: The Deadline
The closing date is Sunday the 16th of August 2020.
We are grateful for the very kind support of our partners: Devon Arts In Schools Initiative Arts (DAISI); Doorstep Arts; Libraries Unlimited; LiteratureWorks; Onyx Media & Communications Ltd; and Thom Hill.