 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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December Competition: Theme - Seasons |
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Winning Entry: She lay still felled by the fatal blow. Rusty leaves covered her, then a shroud of snow. Spring speeded her decay but her acorn sprouted by Midsummer Day.
Well done Clare Marsh, winner of the December 2011 Txtlit competition. Clare lives in Kent where she prepares reports for a living. She started creative writing two years ago and is now completely addicted. She has since studied with the Open University and attends the Tonbridge Writers’ Circle. Recently Clare had a piece published in a national anthology of memoirs written by WI members: ‘Crocodiles, Cakes and the Queen’s Petticoats’. Clare admits that her entry started out as a story and then began to rhyme, giving it a poetic angle. She doesn't ‘do’ poetry but sometimes a piece of writing just takes on a life of its own.
December's theme was "seasons" and we gave you the option to tell a story that involved one, some or all of the four seasons. So, plenty of scope which led to some very interesting entries. We chose Clare Marsh's story as the winner because, despite the limitations of a Txtlit story, this really has the feeling of a much bigger tale. There is some excellent use of language and the description of 'rusty leaves' to describe the effects of autumn and the 'shroud of snow' for winter enables the reader to conjure up a very vivid image. Let's also not overlook the classic story construction that treats us to a twist at the end. By describing the tree as 'she' at the outset we are drawn to believe that the story is about a person, but when we learn of the acorn in the final few words we are hit with the realisation that we are reading the fate of an oak tree. You will also note that Clare has cleverly crafted her story to rhyme, however please note that as this was not a poetry competition the judging was not influenced by this at all. Ignoring the rhyming, this was still a clear winner.
Other Shortlisted Entries:
Summer passed. As the longer nights crept in, so too did death in their shadow. The table was laid, his place was set. No-one would ask his name.
By Juliet Thorne
The snowman under the tree knows daffodils are a death sentence. His stone eyes drip at the thought of never seeing summer.
By David Salisbury
I hate winter. Simply because of that Christmas madness I get pulled into. Call me a miser, but I'm not doing it again...if I can talk Mrs Claus round!
By Delphine Richards of Dryslwyn, Carmarthen
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November Competition: Theme - Luck |
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Winning Entry: As the last ball appeared, Jim couldn't believe his luck. £6.2 million? If only he'd bought the damn syndicate ticket. He winced as the phone rang.
November winner Andrew Clarke was a little late sending us his details but his photo shows us the reason why.  His daughter Heidi was born shortly before Christmas, so he clearly had his hands full with more pressing issues. With a busy job and now a second child filling his time, (Heidi has a 16 month old brother) Andrew finds himself drawn mostly to reading and writing short stories. He has written a few stories over the last 10 years but had never previously had the confidence to enter any competitions or try to get published. Apart from being a great challenge Andrew finds Txtlit is something you can do in any spare minute you have,like sitting on the bus. Andrew's win here might just spur him on to have a proper go again in 2012.
We had lower than average entries for November but that didn't effect the standard and we were treated to some excellent micro stories. With the theme of Luck, storylines were pretty evenly split between good luck and bad luck. A few tried to combine good and bad luck but we think our winner did the best job of this. We are immediatley able to grasp that the situation is about a lottery draw and we are led to believe that Jim has just landed himself a big win. Then we realise that in fact this is a stroke of bad luck for Jim as he has failed to buy his syndicate's ticket. Where others may have finished the story here, we are given a final line that leads us to contemplate the consequences of Jim's misdemeanour, wether it be deliberate or a mistake. We were wincing as much as Jim is when he hears the phone ring.
Other Shortlisted Entries:
He watched the women walking by and tossed a coin. "Heads. Lucky." He tossed the coin again. "Tails." He followed the next woman. "Not your lucky day."
By Andy Brown of East Lothian
The wishbone wedged in her windpipe. She gagged, tears trickling, as they slid the stretcher into the ambulance. She was comatose when the collision came.
By Katie Gelbart
The balls roll in: 12 11 52, 07 04 55. The day we met, the day we married. It means nothing without you, love. I'll donate the lot to cancer research.
By Catriona Mackay from London
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October Competition: Theme - Empty |
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Winning Entry: Today I shall conquer my enemy. The cursor blinks mockingly as time passes quickly by. Still the page remains empty. Procrastination defeats me again.
October's competition has been won by Andrea Hayward of Bury St Edmunds. This is the second win from  Andrea who has also had a number of runner up places. Andrea has had a career change since her last Txtlit win and has been busy setting up her own business as a freelance beauty therapist, meaning she's unfortunately not been able to spend much time writing. However, she tells us that she is delighted to have won a second time it's iven her the boost she needed to make her determined that that empty page will be a thing of the past. Clearly the ease of the Txtlit competition format has played its part in re-igniting Andrea's interest in writing.
We felt that the theme of 'Empty' would give you all plenty of scope for your creativity, and we were certainly impressed by the diversity of the entries for October. One or two ideas were favoured by a number of you, in particular 'empty promises', but otherwise we were treated to a wide range of plots. We liked Andrea Hayward's story because, as writers, we can all relate to the foreboding of an empty page (Or empty mobile phone screen for Txtlit writers). By setting out with a declaration to 'conquer my enemy' we are drawn in and want to learn more about who this potential hero is. Quickly we understand the scenario and by the third sentence we can almost sense the depression. Finally our enemy, procrastination, is the victor, and the fact that it is not the first time it has triumphed adds to the despair we now share with the writer. Nicely done and an excellent tempo.
Other Shortlisted Entries:
Vainly she hurriedly closed the box, but it was almost empty. It left her only hope to cling to, for all else was gone. Bowing her head, Pandora wept.
By Loretta Hegarty
Edith saw the man blush as she shook his hand and felt her faith in human nature restored. It was only later she realised her purse was already empty...
By Lynne Arnot of Edingburgh
In the darkness I probed the empty pack. 'No smokes?' asked Tommy, lighting his own. CRACK! Sniper! 'May as well have yours' I said, closing his eyes.
ByLesley Shaw
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September Competition:Theme - Ghost Story |
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Winning Entry: "Don't leave me," I beg him as they begin CPR. Then the nurse smiles and says, "Looks like we've got him back," and suddenly I'm here all alone again.
September's competition winner is Benjamin Woolley, 30, from East Yorkshire. Following university  and various admin and clerical jobs, Benjamin is currently a voluntary worker helping out with creative projects for people with mental health problems. He is now pursuing a full time career in this area. Benjamin's main creative hobby is music but he's always been interested in creative writing; although he admits that he doesn't have as much time for it as he would really like, a factor which made the idea of a text message story competition appealing. One of the many reasons why Txtlit is appealing of course!
Ghost Story is one of the themes that we repeat and we are always impressed with the originality of the entries each time we run it. We liked Benjamin's story because it is cleverly written from the ghost's perspective, although we don't realise this until the end when the classic twist is cleverly bought into play. At the outset it's clear that we will be asked to show sympathy for our protagonist with a few simple words of dialogue. The use of "CPR" is cleverly employed as it tells us so much about the situation with a minimum of characters. We should be treated to a happy ending as the person undergoing treatment is bought back to life, again neatly described through dialogue. But the final sentence reveals that the protagonist is actually the ghost who was pleading with the patient to remain dead to keep him company. A great story with a perfect sprinkling of melancholy.
Other Shortlisted Entries:
A solitary tear splashed onto my white gown when your serenely cool presence departed at the altar. Death couldn't stop you giving me away, could it dad?
By Samantha Joanne Luton from Leek, Staffordshire
The band plays on and we waltz to timeless currents, dine in first class luxury, roam unrestricted, all 1500 of us equal now here on our Titanic.
By Brian Macfarland from Watford, Hertfordshire
Bess always was Dad's dog. We knew she could still see him, because she gave her special bark when he was around. The noise faded a year after she died.
By Alice Dryden from Bromley, Kent
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August Competition: Theme - Missing |
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Winning Entry: Desperately he searched for his missing ticket. Now no chance of a new life in America. He watched in despair as the Titanic set sail.
La-Verne Hamil wins August's competition, the theme for which was 'Missing. La-Verne retired from her job as a teaching assistant two years ago and moved from West London to Sussex with her husband Tony. She tells us that she is finding retirement extremely busy and rewarding as she now has time to pursue a variety of interests. She has always loved writing and finds Txtlit extremely challenging and enjoyable. Well, that's why we're here.
We had a fantastic response to our August competition. The theme of 'Missing' was deliberately chosen to encourage diversity in your entries and you didn't disappoint. We finally opted for this entry by XXX as the winner for a number of reasons. Overall, the story is clever, without being over-complicated, meaning you 'get it' on the first read. The inclusion of the Titanic does lots of the story telling in a single word whilst simultaneously providing the twist in what is a classically constructed story. And we just loved the irony. Imagine the rollercoaster of emotions somebody who was actually in that situation might experience. Very thought provoking.
Other Shortlisted Entries:
The bound man has done no wrong, we know. I aim high and miss. But the nine beside me are trained to obey, not question. My groans are drowned by his.
By Jacqui Skelly from London
No sun in the sky. No birds in the trees. No cat on the doorstep. No welcoming face at the window. Serves me right for buying a jumble sale jigsaw.
By Alice Dryden from Bromley, Kent
She hobbled back into the house on one shoe,she'd made that coach by a whisker. But it had been worth every minute, blisters and all. She'd had a ball.
ByVal Fish from Peterborough And see if you can work this one out... Th plcmn ws ntnt n gttng t th bttm f th rbbry. Tws vdnt tht th crm ws a qstn f vwl mvmnt. Eoieaaieoeioeoooeoaeieaaaueioooeoee. Awaiting author's details
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