Science Festival hunts for creative writing with a science twist

26 February 2009

Writers fancying themselves as the next Isaac Asimov or Arthur C Clarke are being encouraged to join in with a competition to celebrate the 2009 Year of Astronomy.

Wrexham Science Festival has launched a literary competition in support of the international astronomy celebration to coincide with the start of the annual festival, which gets underway in March.

Writers are being asked to submit a short story, poem, comic strip or play titled ‘What’s in Space? A Journey Beyond Earth’ for the chance to win up to a £200 cash prize.

The festival received hundreds of entries when it launched a competition for the first time last year and event organiser Corrina Jeffreys, events coordinator at Glyndŵr University, said entries were already flooding in for this year’s.

“We were overwhelmed by the success of the competition we ran last year,” she said. “That was design-based, so we’ve gone for something a little bit different this year which will appeal more to those who are more in touch with words.

“We’ve kept the title for entries deliberately broad so writers can use their imagination to the maximum. I’m sure we’ll have some fantastic stories, poems and plays to read in a few weeks' time.”

All competition entries must be no longer than 1,000 words or two sides of A4. They can either be handwritten, or typed and submitted electronically in MS Word, Notepad or PDF format. Work can be submitted in English or Welsh.

Entries will be judged in one of five categories – 6 and under; 7-11; 12-17; 18+ or groups. For the age group 6 and under, a picture with caption will be accepted.

The best entry in each category will receive vouchers to the value of £15 (6 and under), £50 (7-11 category), £50 (12-17 category), £100 (adults), £200 (groups). Prizes will also be awarded to second and third place in each category. See the full breakdown of prizes.

Wrexham Science Festival is now its 11th year. The festival is being launched on Thursday 26 March 2009 by Philippa Forrester and concludes with the family fun day, Scientriffic, on Saturday 4 April.