 Competition Results
Results are published Below. Make sure you check back regularly to get the latest competiton news and themes.
If you run your own website or blog, a link to the website will help our search engine ranking too. Links from websites such as the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/newtalent/opportunities/) are helping our rankings and now we're up to page 1 of Google for the search phrase "UK writing competitions" but more links to us from other sites will help us to rank higher, which will mean more visits to the website and so more competition entries, and therefor greater prize money.
Remember, whilst the act of entring the competitions is easy, writing a compelling story in just 154 characters takes some doing, but it's excellent writing practice and makes for good disciplined writing.
All competitions cost £1 per entry plus the cost of a standard text message from your mobile phone service provider.
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July 09 Competition: Theme - Ghost Story |
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Winning Entry: Helen sat alone in the cemetery. Midnight. She heard footsteps and closed her eyes. Cold lips brushed her cheek. 'Happy Anniversary,' she whispered.  Well done to Dan Purdue from Warwickshire who wins our ghost story competition for July. Dan has been writing fiction since 2004 and has had some success with 'microfiction' (up to 250 words) which he says feels positively epic compared to Txtlit; and has managed to get three stories into "The Wonderful World of Worders" published by Guildhall Press. More recently, he was a finalist in the Guardian's 2009 Summer Short Story competition. This has been Dan's first competition win however and he says it has given him a huge confidence boost. He finds that the discipline and focus demanded by the 154 character limit is definitely a useful exercise for anybody who wants to hone their writing skills. Dan is currently working on a novel, which he aims to have finished by the end of the year. Good luck with that Dan.
The ever popular Ghost Story theme proved to be a huge success again, both in terms of the number of entries we received, and in the quality of the entries. Perhaps it's the extra element of the supernatural that brings out the best in you all. The winning entry from Dan Purdue impressed us because it really told a story and managed to create a believable atmosphere. With our main character sat alone in a cemetry at midnight, this could be nothing other than a ghost story, and as it unfurls we understand that the footsteps bring an anticipated presence until finally we realise Helen's sad loss that she is unable to let go of. A ghost story and a love story rolled into one.
Other Shortlisted Entries:
Nothing happened. Children and dogs played on happily. Rattle 'em louder, he said. I AM rattling, I said. He sighed. You'll learn, you've got eternity.
By Lucy Douglas
'I thought you were a ghost!' he joked, startled. 'What are you doing?' The man at the grave put down the chisel and said, 'They spelt my name wrong.'By Ray Cluley
No - no - it can't be! I'm human, flesh and blood, no longer invisible; I feel pain, anger, acid fear... Why did my fellow ghosts so mercilessly kill me?
By Uta Coutts, HItchin, Hertfordshire
And this one we couldn't resist:
The ghostly message was in Italian - which served them right for trying to contact the spirit world with a Luigi board!
By Iain Pattison of Warmley, Bristol
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June 09 Competition: Theme - Fairy Tale |
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Winning Entry: With a hopeful heart lonely Zelda kissed the ugly beast. In a flash her green eyes bulged and filled with love as she heard him croak: 'My Princess'. The winner of June's 'Fairy Tale' Txtlit competition is Linda Erskine of Musselburgh, East Lothian. A retired Social worker, Linda dislikes mobile phones intensly and only began texting (laboriously as she puts it) in order to enter our competitions. As a winner she'll no doubt see mobile phones in a new light.
You all seemed to have had lots of fun with the June competition and it's theme of a Fairy Tale was interpreted in a number of very creative ways; as the other shortlisted entries, below, clearly demonstrate. The winning entry was chosen because it contained many elements of a classic fairy tale whilst retaining originality. The hopeful heart, the ugly beast and kissing the frog all brought back fond childhood memories. We are treated to a final twist also when realise that Zelda too is a frog, and whilst no princely transformation has taken place she has found her true love after all. A great bedtime story for all those 'pushed for time' parents out there.
Other Shortlisted Entries:
The government ministers apologised. They resigned gracefully, gratefully. Politics was clean again. We all lived happily ever after. The end?
By Carl Selby
'I thought it was a kiss?' said the confused Princess. 'This is a particularly strong spell' replied the crafty frog as the she drew the bedroom curtains.By Richard Turner of Wigan
I had three wishes. Wow! A wardrobe of new clothes, an exciting nightlife, and I had always wanted to fly. The fairy waved her wand... and I was a moth.
By previous judge Vivien Hampshire, Ickenham, Middx.
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May 09 Competition: Theme - Open |
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Winning Entry: His brow dripped sweat. Halfway across he nearly turned back. Forcing himself on, he finally reached the other side. Now, nobody could call him chicken.  Well done to Brian Macfarland of Watford for this winning entry of our May 'open' competition. An aspiring writer, Brian has recently written a few short stories and is currently having a go at writing a novel and a screenplay. He finds that when entering Txtlit competitions, he is forced to use words concisely and effectively to convey images, making them a useful toning exercise for writing in general; captured brilliantly by Brian in his description of 'literary press-ups!' .
We chose to run our May competition as an open competition with no particular theme to give you all an opportunity to submit any micro stories that you had ideas for, but couldn't match to any of the themes we had specified. The result was our most popular competition to date. Despite this, we were very impressed that such a high standard was maintained. However, this entry by Brian Macfarland clearly stood to be the winner. Brian takes what has become an almost iconic joke and cleverly retells it in a delightfully visual and expressive way. So much so that we really don't see the connection until the very last moment. A real treat.
Other Shortlisted Entries:
A close one I said, hoping he would hurry. The light outside was fading and I could smell home cooked pies. The barber smiled and tilted the chair.
By Jane Batkin, Lincolnshire
I had the best hiding spot. I had to cover my giggles. 'I like hiding too,' said a voice in the darkness with me and suddenly I wasn't giggling any more.By Ray Cluley
He knows I'm here. My heartbeat punctures perfect silence. The air thick with terror, I sit, helpless. Then - Bang! Door open. 'Found you. You're it.'
Awaiting authors details
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April 09 Competition: Theme - Crime |
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Winning Entry: Her breath came in sharp desperate gasps, she could feel him gaining on her. Suddenly she hit the ground, the cuffs were on, her time on the run was up.  Coral Winters of Ferndown, Dorset wins the April Txtlit competition with her very first entry. Obvioulsy she's very pleased although winning has come completely unexpectedly. Coral is 39 years old and work in telecoms. She loves books and thinks about writing a lot more than actually doing it. Lets hope her win here will inspire her to write more.
Crime was the first competition theme that we ever ran on Txtlit and we decided to run it again to give those of you who have joined us since our launch the chance to enter one of the most popular genres. We liked the winning entry because of the way we are immediatley thrust into what is clearly a tense situation. The 'sharp, desperate gasps' paint a vivid picture of someone in a stressful situation. As the story progresses the tension mounts as the subject hits the ground but then the twist comes as we discover that it is a criminal on the run rather than a victim that is being described. By using a female as the main character, we jump to the conclusion that she will be the victim, making for an effective twist at the end of the story. A simple but effective technique.
Other Shortlisted Entries:
Seems like it would be a crime not to have one last kiss, she sighed. Hearing the knocking, and pouring the poison onto her own lips, she opened the door.
By Josh Williams of Reading, Berkshire
'You killed him!' shouted the man. 'I saw you!'. 'Yes,' agreed Miss Marple, 'but who are the police going to believe, me or you?'By Chloe Banks, Bristol
It was a crime that aroused passion in all who witnessed it: a shockingly brazen robbery. There was no way it should have been a penalty.
Also by Chloe Banks, Bristol
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March Competition: Theme - Biography |
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Winning Entry: He hung out with all the wrong crowd. He was a rebel-rouser, a misfit and an uncomfortable dinner guest. He was homeless and hated, adored and crucified.  Congratulations to Chloe Banks who wins March's competition. Chloe, 22, lives in Bristol and despite graduating in Biological Anthropology last year ranks writingas her biggest love. She was once set a challenge by a friend of writing a novel in her second year of university; and so she did. Entitled 'No More Chocolate' Chloe's novel was shortlisted for the Helene du Coudray award for undergraduate novellists. Apart from that though she only started writing short stories last autumn and tends to find that the lower the word limit the better she does, as confirmed by her win here.
We didn't quite know what to expect when we set biography as a competition theme. Biography writing can be seen as a specialised skill but we were impressed by how many of you entered. A lot of entries failed because they either focussed on a single event or it was not clear enough who the subject was. Chloe's winning entry leaves us in no doubt who she is talking about by using the word 'crucified' to conclude her biography. This also has the effect of a reveal, so it is only when we get to the final word that we are completely sure who the subject is, although we are invited to guess from the clues given to us along the way. Although the story behind this biography has been told many times, we were also struck by its originality. We never consider Jesus as being homeless, but when you think about it, he was.
Other Shortlisted Entries:
Hah, look at me, I'm the king of England... hang on, what's that pesky Frenchman William doing over here? And what's that in the air? - ow, my eye!
By Priya Venkatesan of Tooting, London
He came. He saw. He conquered. What more can one say? Only this. If he hadn't ignored the soothsayer he might have escaped the backstabbers!By Brian Macfarland, Watford, Herts
I felt a shudder and knew instantly something wasnt right. I walked to the deck, an old lady came up to me. Are we going to sink mr Andrews? She asked.
By Louise
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