We have launched The News’s popular annual Christmas writing competition, when we ask you to think scary and spooky as you pen your own festive tale.
Just like Portsmouth’s literary legend Charles Dickens, who wrote the all-time classic A Christmas Carol, we want you to come up with stories that have a Christmas
flavour.
They can be set in times gone by or the modern world.
The characters, content and how the storyline develops are entirely up to you.
There are two age categories – one for authors aged 15 and under and one for those aged 16 and above.
We’ll be publishing the entries of the winners and runners-up in each category in The News in the run-up to Christmas.
There are also prizes to be won – as well as the thrill of seeing your stories in print and recorded for The News website.
The Hayling Island Bookshop is once again providing prizes for the winners of the competition, £50 to spend in-store.
It is one of the smallest bookshops in the UK but manages to run or support events with authors for about 20,000 people each year – in a normal year!
Events manager Colin Telford said: ‘It’s great that The News is once again running this competition to encourage writers young and old to submit a story.
‘Portsmouth is the birthplace of one of the most famous ghost story writers of all time. So let’s see if there’s another Christmas Carol out there!’
Mark Waldron, the editor of The News, said: ‘It’s that time of year again when we ask you to come up with spooky tales that send a shiver down the spine.
‘We always look forward to reading your festive stories and seeing how creative you can be.
‘And don’t think you need to be an experienced writer to be in with a chance of winning. Some of the best entries we’ve had in previous years have been from people who had never had anything published before.’
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ENTERING our Christmas ghost story contest couldn’t be easier.
All you need to do is write a ghost story with a Christmas theme.
It must be no more than 1,000 words long and it must be all your own work – but apart from that the content is up to you.
Please e-mail your story to [email protected] or post it to: Christmas Ghost Story Competition, Features Department, The News, 1000 Lakeside, North Harbour, Portsmouth PO6 3EN.
Please make sure you include your full name, address, age and a daytime phone number. The competition closes at midnight on Sunday, December 5, 2021.
The editor’s decision is final.
A message from the editor, Mark Waldron
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