Announcing Contests for Writers

Loads of contests for all type of writers!! Should keep us all busy for the next month or so!
1.The Manchester Fiction Prize 2009*
The basics
First prize: £10,000 Deadline for entries: 7th August 2009 Entry fee: £15 Under the direction of Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, the Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University is launching The Manchester Fiction Prize - a new literary competition celebrating excellence in creative writing. The Manchester Fiction Prize is open internationally and will award a cash prize of £10,000* to the writer of the best short story submitted. The competition is open to entrants aged 16 or over; there is no upper age limit. All entrants are asked to submit a complete short story of up to 5,000 words in length. The story can be on any subject, and written in any style, but must be new work, not published or submitted for consideration elsewhere. You can enter online by going to: http://www.manchesterwritingcompetition.co.uk
James Draper Project Manager: Writing School Manchester Metropolitan University
E-mail: j.draper@mmu.ac.uk

2.The India Today Travel Plus Contest @ Chillifreeze*
From the Chillifreeze website:
India Today Travel Plus, in association with Chillifreeze, the website for Indian writers, invites all travel writing enthusiasts to submit an article on a “Weekend” holiday that they have personally been on. This should be a destination within India, which is doable within 3 days from any of the 6 metros. The length of the article must be between 1000 and 1200 words, and the tone must be that of a first-hand experience. Tell the reader about your journey & experience, bringing the place alive for him. The article can be light/ humorous or evocative, depending upon the experience and writing style of the individual.
More info here:http://www.chillifreeze.com/ittptravelcontestform.aspx Hat-tip: Aparna Singh <http://apusworld.com/blog>

3.Virgin - Indianhatkeleague online contest series*
From Monisha Mansukhani of Virginmobile
Hey, we at virgin have created www.indianhatkeleague.com - something we are completely in love with . To spread the message we had thought of engaging with bloggers in India and we are holding a series of online contests for the same. The blogger would be promoting the contest, giving out prizes provided by us in a contest designed by themselves, while we in return would get (free ?? ) publicity. The entire contest would be designed and run by the blogger with no interference on our part except to enforce some basic guidelines to ensure transparency and fair contests. What we require from you as soon as is possible are the following details. 1. Your contact address/number 2. The contest details (of how the contest is to be conducted) 3. Your approximate readership/viewership per day Depending on your contest pattern and your number of readers we would be allocating a number of merchandise for a trial run and if the contest on your site/blog is successful we would try and help make it bigger. In case of any queries please feel free to contact me at monisha.mansukhani@virginmobile.in

4.WiFTy (Wine Food Travel) Scholarship Contest for 2009*
An excerpt from the press release (full content here<http://www.food4media.com/asia/pressrelease.php?id=23126> ):
This will be awarded to a writer who aspires to enter the field of food, wine and/or travel writing, but who is not already a writer in any of those fields where they have received payment for their work. The scholarship for the winner will consist of: Complimentary attendance at the 2010 IFWTWA's 7-day Conference at Sea aboard Holland America's ms Eurodam (including taxes and port charges) with full access to all Professional Development Sessions and two mentoring sessions with a senior IFWTWA member. A one-year membership in IFWTWA; A one-year subscription to Press Pass, IFWTWA's member newsletter, which contains industry news, leads on markets, story Ideas and press trips; The opportunity to publish at least one article in Global Writes, IFWTWA's online magazine.
Among the various requirements, which you will find at the link:
7. Entrants will include a sample of their writing, either published or unpublished, on food, wine or travel or a combination of any of the three topics. Photographs with submission are allowed if available in jpeg format and web resolution The competition closes on August 15, 2009
Hat-tip: food writer and consultant Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal<http://a-perfect-bite.blogspot.com/>

5.Bombadil's Short Story Competition: "A Smile"*
We are inviting entries in English, Spanish and Swedish. The Competition is open for Bombadilians as well as non Bombadilians aged 12 and over, regardless of nationality or country of residence.This is a FREE competition, meaning free to enter. Any one who loves reading and writing short story can participate and contribute their part. For guidelines, kindly visit the following link: http://bombadilpublishing.ning.com/group/Bombadilshortstory or send a mail to info@bombadilpublishing.co Regards, Bombadil Publishing, Sweden (A youth to youth publisher)<http://www.bombadilpublishing.com/>

6. Writing Contest for Science Fiction Writers*
Full details available here<http://www.mywriterscircle.com/index.php?topic=21321.0>. This is an excerpt:
We want short science fiction short (micro, flash or short stories) that tell us a science fiction story around the idea "what if." Where ever you take it, take it interesting! The word limit is 5,000 words. This contest will be judged by science fiction writer T.M. Hunter Schedule: Submission accepted between June 1, 2008 - August 31, 2009.