Competition
A fine romance
In Competition No. 3249, you were invited to submit an extract from a Mills & Boon novel whose central character…
Where there’s a will
In Competition No. 3248, you were asked to submit the last will and testament of a fictional character. In a…
The road not taken
In Competition No. 3247, you were asked to submit the reflections of a well-known writer on a career path they…
Let’s get physical
In Competition No. 3246, you were invited to submit a poem in the style of the poet of your choice…
French connection
In Competition No. 3245, you were asked to take a passage from a classic of French literature and recast it…
Worse verse
In Competition No. 3244, you were invited to submit a poem to mark St George’s Day that rivals in awfulness…
Lost and found
In Competition No. 3243, you were invited to submit a poem about the recent discovery of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance.…
Cli-Fi plus
In Competition No. 3242, you were asked to submit a short story that is a mash-up of cli-fi with a…
Vernal
In Competition No. 3241, you were invited to submit a spring triolet. Banjo Paterson, the bard of the bush, had…
A life in limericks
In Competition No. 3240, you were invited to tell the life story of a well-known figure in three limericks. In…
Bookish
In Competition No. 3239, you were invited to submit political manifestos inspired by literary heroes. Sajid Javid loves Ayn Rand:…
Fighting talk
In Competition No. 3238, you were invited to submit a poem about a literary feud. Wallace Stevens’s 1936 fisticuffs with…
Single-minded
In Competition No. 3237, you were invited to submit a short story using words of only one syllable. This challenge…
Love is …
In Competition No. 3236, you were invited to submit a poem that begins ‘Oh my love is like…’ . From…
A bit previous
In Competition No. 3235, you were invited to invent a prequel to a well-known work of literature and supply an…
Time for a change
In Competition No. 3234, you were invited to submit either a poem or a short story entitled ‘Covid’s metamorphoses’. Thanks…
Mr and misses
In Competition No. 3233, you were invited to invent a new character for the Mr Men/Little Miss series by Roger…
Have I got news for you
In Competition No. 3232, you were invited to retell a news story from the past year in sonnet form. An…
Vindalism
In Competition No. 3231, you were invited to supply an example of pretentious wine writing. Space is tight and the…
Double issue
In Competition No. 3230, you were invited to supply a double acrostic poem, the first and last letters of each…
Born again
In Competition No. 3229, you were invited to provide the story of the Nativity retold in the style of a…
Small-minded
In Competition No. 3228, you were invited to provide a well-known extract from adult literature rewritten for inclusion in an…
Mnemonic
In Competition No. 3227, you were invited to provide verses to help children remember the sequence of the last eight…
Show time
In Competition No. 3226, you were invited to rewrite, in pompous and prolix style, any well-known simple poem. The seed…
Night terrors
In Competition No. 3225, you were invited to provide a version of the Lord Chancellor’s ‘Nightmare Song’ from Iolanthe for…
