SCOTTISH ARTS CLUB SHORT STORY COMPETITION

SCOTTISH ARTS CLUB SHORT STORY COMPETITION





Chairman of Judges: Alexander McCall Smith

First Prize of £800

Presented during the Scottish Arts Club Short Story Awards Dinner

Saturday 12 September 2015

Signed copies of a novel by Alexander McCall Smith awarded to all finalists

All finalists’ stories will be placed on the Scottish Arts Club website

Read the winning and finalist’s stories from the 2014 competition.

The Scottish Arts Club, located in Rutland Square, Edinburgh, is delighted to announce the second annual Short Story Competition with celebrated author Alexander McCall Smith as chairman of the judging panel. Those familiar with McCall Smith’s work will know that the historic Scottish Arts Club has often featured in his popular 44 Scotland Street novels.

The competition is open to all writers worldwide aged over 16 years, published and unpublished. Stories entered for the competition should be 1,500 words or less and can be on any topic. The stories do not have to be associated with Scotland. Competition entries must not have been previously broadcast on radio, read aloud as part of a commercial performance or published in any format, including on a web site that is open to the public.

All entrants over 16 years are eligible for the first prize award of £800, with the winner selected by Alexander McCall Smith. This year we are also introducing a special SAC Member’s Award for the most popular short story written by a club member.

If you would like to enter the Scottish Arts Club Short Story Competition 2015, please read carefully the terms and conditions of entry below.

Terms and conditions of entry:


1 Closing Date

31 March 2015


2 Word Limit

1,500 words (stories over the word limit will be disqualified)


3. Fees

Every story entered carries a £10 fee:

1. Via Pay Pal

2. By cheque payable against a UK bank, made out to the Scottish Arts Club Charitable Trust

Please follow this link for the entry form and payment details


4. Format

All submissions should be via email, in English, double spaced, 12pt, in Microsoft Word or in a PDF format.


5. Submission

Your entry email should include 2 elements: the Entry Form and The Story

The Entry Form is here

The story pages should include:
The title of the story and page number on every page. (Tip: This should be inserted using the header format option. Please do not insert the story title and number manually because this often goes out of sequence when the story is viewed on other systems, and can result in the title appearing mid-sentence.)
At the end of your story please include the total number of words excluding the title. If your story is over 1500 words (excluding the title) it will be disqualified.
Make sure there is nothing in the story pages that will identify you as the author.
4. Tip: We recommend all authors to carefully proof read their stories before sending. Either ask someone else to read and check the story for you or read it out loud to yourself, or both.


6. Returns, Changes

No corrections can be made after submission, nor fees refunded after entry. If you wish to make changes to your story you may re-submit another version paying another £10 entry fee. No reimbursement will be made for stories that are disqualified for being inconsistent with the terms and conditions.


7. Copyright

The WORK submitted must be original, fictional, and entirely the author’s own work, and not infringe the copyright or any other rights of any third party and not be defamatory of any living person or corporate body. Entries must be in the entrant’s own name. Stories entered should be suitable for an adult audience but not unsuitable for a general audience when published on the Scottish Arts Club website.


8. Judging

The Scottish Arts Club guarantees that judging will be anonymous, impartial and fair. The Chairman of Judges’ decision is final. The Scottish Arts Club cannot enter into discussion with any entrant as to the judging process.


9. Publicity

By entering this competition all writers agree that if they are among the finalists, their identity and town/country of residence may be released to the media and their stories may be published on the Scottish Arts Club website.


10. The Scottish Arts Club Short Story Competition Prize

The finalists in the Short Story Competition will be contacted personally by email or by telephone by 15 August 2015. The award will be presented on 12 September, 2015 during the Scottish Arts Club Short Story Awards Dinner.
A prize of £800 will be presented during the dinner at the Club (or transferred by an agreed means if the winner is unable to attend the award ceremony).
All the finalists will be invited to attend the dinner. The dinner will be free for all finalists. Any guests of finalists will need to pay for their dinner and book in advance.
Finalists will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation costs.
All finalists’ stories will be published on the Scottish Arts Club website by 1st September 2015 to enable the public to read the stories ahead of the announcement of the winner.
All finalists will receive a signed copy of a novel by Alexander McCall Smith.


11. The Scottish Arts Club Member's Prize

The Reading Panel is made up of members of the Scottish Arts Club. Three finalists and the winner of the SAC Member’s Prize will be selected by the Reading Panel from among the short stories entered for the competition by club members. The Member’s Prize will be presented during the dinner at the Club on Saturday 12 September.
All the finalists for the Member’s Prize will be invited to attend the dinner. The dinner will be free for all Member’s Prize finalists. Any guests of finalists will need to pay for their dinner and book in advance.
Member’s Prize Finalists will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation costs.
All finalists’ stories will be published on the Scottish Arts Club website by 1st September 2015 to enable the public to read the stories ahead of the announcement of the winner.


12. Eligibility

Members of the Reading Panel, their immediate family members and members of the club administration directly involved with the Short Story Competition are not eligible to enter the competition.






Enter the Scottish Arts Club Short Story Competition here