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Competition winners 2018

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We had a wonderful launch at the Barbican on the 20th June where we were joined by readers, competition prize winners, our judges Pascale Petit and Nicholas Royle, and a whopping big audience (we didn’t have a spare seat in the house). There was a lovely, celebratory, party feel and we heard some excellent stories and poems until we ran out of time and Pimms & strawberries. We’re hoping to do some more events across the country, and we’ll let you know on our website when we do.

This issue is a bumper 140+ pages, featuring our regular magazine with its feast of new writing, columns from Wayne Burrows and Sarah Passingham (lovely Paul Blake is taking a break from this issue but will be back for the next), and articles from Hilaire & Joolz Sparkes and Robert Chandler. Plus the results of our competition.

We had almost 700 entries of poems and stories and the standard was incredibly high. Pascale Petit, our poetry judge, compared the quality to that of other competitions she’d judged this year, including the National Poetry Competition, and Nicholas Royle, our fiction judge, talked of the difficulty he had in making his final decisions, how stories kept fighting for his attention.

Poetry

First Prize: Cathy Grindrod – Surrender

Second prize: Leonardo Boix – Detail

Third Prize: María Castro Domínguez – When Stealing Water from the Sky Becomes Magic

 

Highly Commended

Leonardo Boix – Tree-Man

Louise Warren – He Come Up for the Day

.

Commended

S M H Davies – Icebreaker

Stuart Charlesworth – Phoenix and Vulture

NJ Hynes – Wave or Particle

.

Short fiction

First Prize: Sally Jubb – The Arrangement

Second Prize: Ren Watson – Sky-sions

Third Prize: Josie Turner – The Guide

..

Highly Commended

Tracy Fells – Telling

Jupiter Jones – Ready Salted

Claire Fuller – Tiny and Pointed

 

Commended

Jeanette Lowe – The Hat the Hat

Lucy Grace – (Hark, Now I Hear Them) Ding Dong Bell

Astra Bloom – Truth, Lies and Pastry in the Modern Age

 

Congratulations to all of our commended, highly commended and winning writers. Have a look from page 73 of the magazine to read the judges’ reports and the winning and commended entries.

Competition Prize Giving and Launch of Brittle Star Issue 42

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We had a wonderful response to our competition this year with almost 700 entries of poems and short stories. Thank you all for supporting us.

The standard, as always, was very high and it was a pleasure to read them. The prize winners, highly commended and commended writers have all been notified now and we’ll be announcing who they are at the Prize Giving on Wednesday 20th June 2018. If you haven’t heard from us, we’re afraid your entry hasn’t won a prize this time.

We’ve also nearly completed the reading for Issue 42 and will be letting people know our decisions as soon as possible (there was about twice as many as usual, so it’s taken us a bit longer than anticipated). To whet your appetite, this issue also has some excellent pieces by Robert Chandler, London Undercurrents and Sarah Passingham.

In the mean time, we’d like to invite you all to the Competition Prize Giving and Launch of Issue 42 at The Barbican Library, Barbican Centre, Silk St, London. Doors open at 6.30 for 7pm- 9pm. There will be readings from both the competition and magazine, plus our usual summer Pimms and strawbs. And you’ll also get a chance to meet our competition judges, the lovely Pascale Petit and Nicholas Royle.

Tickets to the event are free, but space is limited, so you will need to book directly through the Barbican library on 020 7638 0569. We’re looking forward to welcoming you all and hearing some fantastic new writing.

Brittle Star is dedicated to providing a platform for new writing.  We are edited by Jacqueline Gabbitas and Martin Parker on a voluntary basis. We receive no external funding and survive on your subscriptions, sales and patronage through Patreon. Click HERE to subscribe today and receive fresh new writing to your door twice a year.

This one goes to 11! Brittle Star survey.

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Fill in our survey for a chance to win a Stonewood Press print (worth £75), and help us to develop the magazine. 

We came up with 10 questions to help us learn more about what you like about Brittle Star and what you’d like to see included in the future, but when we were checking it over we realised we’d missed out a major question (which goes to show the power of proofing!). So this 10-question survey goes to 11!

It would be brilliant if you could take a little time out of your busy day to fill it in. It really will take only a few minutes (round about 5) and goes well with a cuppa and a bicky in your lunch break or a nice glass of wine of an evening. We’re not asking for any personal information such as your name, postal address, what you ate for breakfast – it’s not that kind of survey – but your answers really will help us to develop. Most of the questions need to be answered for you to move on to the next one. The survey closes 12 April 2018. Thank you for taking the time to help us – Martin & Jacqueline, Editors, Brittle Star.

 

Click on this big blue button to take our survey.

NOTE TO CURRENT SUBSCRIBERS

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Hello lovely subscribers. If you want to enter our competition online, you can enter your 2nd story or poem for FREE and here’s how to do it:

 
Click on the ‘Entry without Subscription’ button. Enter however many poems/stories you want in the dropdown menu.
 
A discount of £3.50 will be deducted at the checkout (you need to have a minimum of 2 entries).
 
Just type in the code – subcompfree2 – when you make your payment and follow the upload instructions.
 
If you’re not sure if you’re currently a subscriber, get in touch and we’ll let you know.
 
If you’re not a subscriber but want to take advantage of our offer, click on one of the ‘Subscribe and Enter the Competition’ buttons.
 
Good luck and good writing!