New Creative Writing Competition

http://dyingmatters.org/stilltime
While There’s Still Time: Writing about putting things right

Regrets? I’ve had a few...


Life is shockingly unpredictable and too often ends before we’ve told our nearest and dearest how much we love them, registered a will to avoid chaos after we’ve gone, visited a long-neglected relative or got in touch with someone we know we treated badly. Omissions like these gnaw at us now and are likely to be bitterly regretted when we face the final curtain.
So with that in mind, our new writing competition, While There’s Still Time, is aimed at generating shared experiences that will help more people set about putting things right, planning their future and getting the best from the rest of their life. Reading about other people’s setbacks, sadness and happiness helps us cope with our own ups and downs, and writing about experiences too painful to talk about can in itself generate a wonderful sense relief and release.
Anyone touched by regret or reconciliation - the outcome, for example, of a family rift, professional row, absence of a will or of someone’s failure to make their wishes known - is urged to submit their story. The judges will be looking for original prose or poetry in which the author’s feelings and thoughts have been well crafted into a piece of work that attracts the reader’s attention and retains their interest.
While There’s Still Time is expected to attract a great deal of public attention and may lead to the publication of a selected anthology.
Some entries will, subject to the authors’ agreement, be used to promote the Dying Matters Coalition and will feature on Dying Matters' website.
This stimulating competition is open now and closes at midnight on 30 June 2014.
While There’s Still Time follows on from the Coalition’s hugely successful Final Tweets and Final Chapters projects. Final Chapters attracted 1,400 entries, a selection of which has been published by Jessica Kingsley.

Summary
Prizes: 1st prize - £200, 2nd prize - £100, 3rd prize - £50, plus highly commended certificates
No entry fee
Entries must be original and unpublished
Maximum 2,500 words of prose or 40 lines of poetry, in English
You may submit up to three entries
Entry by email or post
If unable to write yourself, a transcription will be accepted
Do not use real names in your story or poem
All entries considered for publication
Entries to be received by midnight on 30 June 2014
How to enter

To enter by email: in the body of the email give your full name, address, telephone number if you have one and title(s) of your entries. Attach each entry as a Word (.doc) document. Put the Title of your entry on every page. Do not show the author's name or any other identifying marks on submitted work. Please number the pages. Send email plus attachment(s) to stilltimewriting@gmail.com. Emailed entries will be acknowledged by email. No other correspondence will be entered into.
To enter by post: there is no special entry form - write or type each entry on single-sided A4 white paper, put the title of your entry on every page and number your pages. Do not show the author's name or any other identifying marks on submitted work. Please don’t use staples. Add a covering note with your full Name, Address, Email address and Telephone number if you have them, and the Title(s) of your entries. Postal entries should be sent to: While There’s Still Time Competition, Dying Matters Coalition, The Fitzpatrick Building, 188-194 York Way, London N7 9AS.
We are not able to return copies of entries and will only be able to acknowledge email entries.

Terms & Conditions

Entry to the While There’s Still Time competition implies acceptance of these terms and conditions, failure to comply with which will result in disqualification:

The competition is open to anyone except employees or trustees of the National Council for Palliative Care.
Each entry submitted must be no longer than a maximum 2,500 words of prose or 40 lines of poetry.
Entries must be in English, and be the entrant’s original work and not previously awarded a prize or published.
Entries must not contain names or identifying elements of any person, or copyright material belonging to a third party.
No alterations can be made after submission.
We will accept transcriptions if you are unable to write yourself.
The judges' decision is final and no individual correspondence will be entered into.
Proof of postage will not be accepted as proof of receipt.
The Dying Matters Coalition and National Council for Palliative Care are free to use competition entries in publicity materials. As regards consideration of entries for publication online or in print form by the Dying Matters Coalition, National Council for Palliative Care or another reputable publisher, or in an online form, any such publication is subject to a separate agreement with the author. Copyright remains with the author.
The Dying Matters Coalition reserves the right to modify the competition if it believes the competition is not capable of being conducted as specified; or in the event of a virus, computer bug, unauthorised human intervention or other cause beyond the Dying Matters Coalition’s reasonable control that could affect the administration, security or normal course of the competition. Neither the Dying Matters Coalition, nor the National Council for Palliative Care, is responsible for losses or delays caused by events beyond their control. The Dying Matters Coalition will not be responsible for damage, loss or injury resulting from participation in the competition; for technical, hardware or software failures; lost, faulty or unavailable network connections, or other difficulties that may limit or prohibit people’s ability to participate in the competition.
Dying Matters may contact you by email after the closing date of the competition to notify you of competition winners and other relevant information. We will never pass your information on to any third parties.
Conditions are subject to change.
The competition is governed by English law.