Competition
Beyond the cringe
In Competition No. 3274, you were invited to supply toe-curling analogies. Bad writing has attracted some high-brow fans. J.R.R. Tolkien…
Dear diary
In Competition No. 3272, you were invited to imagine a well-known diarist, real or fictitious, commenting on contemporary events. This…
Serial drama
In Competition No. 3271, you were invited to submit a poem about the Oxford comma. Thérèse Coffey’s much-maligned edict about…
Lines on lines
In Competition No. 3270, you were invited to submit a short story entitled ‘The Queue’. As well as inspiring this…
Queen’s favourite
In Competition No. 3269, you were invited to write a poem about Her late Majesty’s favourite things. Alongside the more…
Blood and honey
In Competition No. 3268, you were invited to recast an extract from children’s literature in the horror genre. In the…
Do the business
In Competition No. 3267, you were invited to supply a song from the songbook of one of today’s corporate giants.…
Larkin about
In Competition No. 3266, you were invited to reimagine one of Philip Larkin’s poems in the style of a poet…
Gimme gimme gimme
In Competition No. 3265, you were invited to submit a letter to a friend asking for a loan as it…
Surreptitious sonnet
In Competition No. 3264, you were invited to submit a poem in response to the following journal entry by Wallace…
Cosy crime
In Competition No. 3263, you were invited to submit a short story, written in the style of a cosy mystery…
Initial embarrassment
In Competition No. 3262, you were invited to submit a poem on behalf of Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss in…
Watch this space
In Competition No. 3261, you were invited to submit a poem about the James Webb Space Telescope. The first dazzling…
Hidden agenda
In Competition No. 3260, a challenge suggested by a reader, you were invited to reveal the existence of a hitherto…
County lines
In Competition No. 3259, you were invited to submit a poem entitled ‘A(n) [insert county of your choice] Lad’. There…
Storybook holiday
In Competition No. 3258, you were invited to submit a postcard sent while on holiday in a well-known fictional destination…
Filmericks
In Competition No. 3257, you were invited to summarise a film in limerick form. A nod to Ezra Haber Glenn,…
Prosaic
In Competition No. 3256, you were invited to take a well-known poem and recast it as a short story. Ben…
Measure for measure
In Competition No. 3255, you were invited to submit a poem about imperial measures. Brian Bilston’s terrific poem ‘The Empire’s…
Hard times
In Competition No. 3254, you were invited to tweak a well-known book title to reflect the straitened times we live…
Me time
In Competition No. 3253, you were invited to write a poem entitled ‘Song of Myself’ in the style of the…
Sorry effort
In Competition No. 3252, you were invited to write a letter of condolence on the mis-fortune of an acquaintance which,…
Going platinum
In Competition No. 3251, you were invited to submit a poem to mark the Queen’s platinum jubilee in the style…
On the money
In Competition No. 3250, you were invited to submit a sonnet to Mammon. It was ‘Epigram for Wall Street’, attributed…
