Today marks the launch of the Evesham Festival of Words, a short story competition that celebrates words in all of their forms: written, spoken or sung.
The deadline for entries is 5pm on Friday 10th March 2023, but there is an early bird incentive for anyone submitting their story before midnight on 31st January 2023.
The names of all authors submitting entries by that date will have their names put into a hat and the chance to win a £20 book token.
Sue Ablett, festival chair, said: "We are delighted to have Droitwich-based author, Alison Jean Lester as our judge this year.
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"She is very much looking forward to judging the Competition."
Alison Jean Lester said: "If you've got a story that made you uncomfortable to write, or confronted you with something you didn't know you were concerned with, or spoke to you for years before it became words on the page, those are the ones I want to see.
"If a story felt easy in the writing, not just technically but also emotionally, I'm pretty sure it's unlikely to be your most compelling one."
Full competition rules can be found on the Evesham Festival of Words website here.
Entrants are urged to read the rules carefully before submitting their entries, particularly taking note of the word count and anonymising their entries.
It costs just £5 for each entry submitted and prizes are £200, £100 and £75 for the first three winning entries.
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