Writers from every country around the world are invited to submit entries to the Global Short Story Competition.
Run out of North East England, the competition was launched two and a half years ago and, according to the organizers, attracts entries from “all over the world, from Australia and New Zealand to the United States and Canada, from India and the rest of Asia to Continental Europe and the United Kingdom.”
It is run by the media and communication company Certys Limited, of Darlington, County Durham and supported by Darlingon Arts Centre in Darlington, County Durham England. Certys reportedly launched the Global Short Story Competition because they feel that the short story is endangered and they want to give undiscovered writers a voice and a chance to earn some money and gain exposure from their work.
Each month a winning story is selected as well as a highly commended work to receive a cash prize. £100 is awarded to the first-prize winner and £25 goes to the writer of the highly commended story. Winning stories will be posted on the website. At the end of twelve months, each winning story will be considered for an annual cash prize of £250. The prize money awarded to date has topped £4,000. All rights remain with the writer throughout.
The entry fee is £5 and the judge is Northumberland-based author Fiona Cooper. Writers wishing to find out more about the competition, or to send entries, should visit http://www.globalshortstories.net. You can submit your entry online or post it direct to the administrator John Dean at 18 Milbank Court, Darlington, Co Durham, England DL3 9PF, or to the Certys office at Livingstone House, 29 High Northgate, Darlington, Co Durham, England DL1 1UQ, marked ’Global Short Story Competition’, and containing a £5 entry fee. Cheques should be made payable to Certys Limited. The closing day for each competition is the last day of the month.
The organizers also run a free social networking site for authors at http://www.globalwriters.net which includes news, views and a free flash (short) fiction competition running until the end of June (2010).
Bill Bryson, OBE, the Chancellor of Durham University and author of several books including Notes from a Small Island, is supporting the competition.
“The demise of our traditional communities and the compromises of modern family life mean that for many the telling or re-telling of stories is a forgotten craft as the demand for multimedia experiences and the mind-numbing repackaging of tired tales continues to rise,” said Bryson. “It is wonderful therefore to hear that a competition has been developed to showcase new creative talent and in turn create a community of writers and story-makers across the globe. The Global Short Story Competition is founded on a love and enthusiasm for writing and short stories and it is a passion I share. I would like to express my admiration to everyone involved and wish you all luck in the competition.”
Competition administrator, the crime novelist and creative writing tutor John Dean, said: “We are constantly impressed by the quality of the stories we receive and are delighted that we have been able to pay £4,200 to winning authors. We have plans to extend our activities even further and are looking forward with anticipation to the next twelve months … Already we are discovering exciting writers all across the world and the fact that Bill [Bryson] is backing us is very exciting.”
Caribbean/African Book Blog 
Hi
Many thanks for mentioning the Global Short Story Competition. We have had very few writers entering from the Caribbean (same for our social networking site at globalwriters.net) and we would love to hear from you!
John Dean Competition administrator
The team behind the monthly Global Short Story Competition, which you kindly mention on your site, has published its first e-anthology, featuring work by writers from all over the world.
Global Shorts contains 22 stories from writers who were successful entrants to the first year of the Global Short Story Competition.
Run out of North East England, the competition was launched two and a half years ago and attracts entries from Australia and New Zealand to the United States and Canada, from India and the rest of Asia to Continental Europe and the United Kingdom. It has already paid out more than £4,000 in prize money.
The anthology showcases some of the very best stories entered into the competition, which is run by Certys Limited, of Darlington, County Durham, which each month awards a £100 first prize with a £25 prize for the highly commended story.
The e-book can be purchased, at a price of £6.50, from the storefront at the company’s site globalwriters.net
Competition administrator, the crime novelist John Dean, said: “Global Shorts is a cracking read and we are delighted to publish it as an e-book. The quality of the stories emphasises why we set up the competition, to find new and exciting writers and give them the chance to be read. And to be able to pay royalties on each copy sold will give a real boost to the selected authors.”
How to buy the book
The book is sold from globalwriters.net
Prospective purchasers have to register with the site (which is free) then go to the shopfront at the top and go into Sales and Subscriptions. They will then click on the anthology icon (the red one), which will take them through payment then the anthology will be emailed to them.
* Writers wishing to find out more about the competition, or to send entries, should visit the main competition site at http://www.globalshortstories.net
The Global Short Stories competition is a crock of shite. Has anyone actually read any of the crap they call ‘winners’? If that’s the future of the book publishing industry, it’s no wonder no one is buying books anymore.
Not quite sure I quite understand the comment, John. Many of our winners have also won other competitions and some have gone onto see their work in print. Just because you do not like the winners does not necessarily mean they are of poor quality. Might just mean you do not like them. Certainly it’s no excuse for being so offensive.
Yours
John Dean Competition administrator
Well August 2011 “winner” Sharon Birch’s story was so boring, I couldn’t pass the first couple of paragraphs. There’s nothing gripping about the beginning of her story in the slightest, why would anyone want to read on?
And yet our judge did. Sometimes a story needs effort to discover its true worth. However, not particularly after a debate, just thought it was a bit unfair to describe everything we do as a crock of shite given how much we do to promote undiscovered writers around the planet. Have a good day.
A lot of tragedy about writing and the future. I say … nothing.