Our short story writing competition is back after the success of last year’s which produced some very high quality entries. This is the 14th year of the competition; originally started by our patrons, RC Bridgestock, international crime writing authors.
Chris Cane, competition organiser, said, ‘This is an exciting opportunity for budding Island writers to become published authors and win some great prizes by very talented people. This year’s theme is ‘The Future’ which will give our writers scope, creativity and a chance to let their imagination go wild! Our Award Ceremony will be on Friday 8th December at the Riverside Centre. Doors open at 6:30pm with a 7:00pm start. We will have entertainment as usual and a chance to hear some of the winning stories.
There are some great prizes to be won, including the four winning categories who will have their story recorded by one of our celebrities. They will also have the opportunity for their winning stories to be published in the County Press and Isle of Wight Observer. Vectis Radio will interview the winners on air and they will receive a podcast of their time on the radio. In addition there are also ferry vouchers, family days out at Island attractions, meal vouchers and much more!
We are delighted to announce this year’s celebrity readers who have kindly agreed to donate their time to read the winning stories.’
CHESNEY HAWKES
Chesney is an English pop singer and occasional actor. He started his career at the age of 19 when he appeared in the film Buddy’s Song, which featured his best-known single “The One and Only”, which topped the UK Singles Chart for five weeks and reached the top 10 in the United States. Follow-up single “I’m a Man Not a Boy” peaked at 27 in the UK, with subsequent singles including “What’s Wrong with This Picture?”, “Stay Away Baby Jane” (a collaboration with Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne) and “Another Fine Mess” also charting in the top 100.
Aside from music, he appeared on Channel 4’s The Games in 2005, winning a Bronze Medal. Chesney appeared on the shows, Hit Me Baby One More Time, Let’s Dance for Comic Relief, and Sing If You Can. He also appeared in the musical, Can’t Smile Without You, as the role of Tony Lowiman.
DEBBIE McGEE
Debbie is an English television, radio and stage performer who is best known as the assistant and widow of magician Paul Daniels; she is a former ballet dancer and for three years was artistic director of her own ballet company.
She presents a Sunday morning show for BBC Radio Berkshire. McGee was a finalist in BBC’s 2017 Strictly Come Dancing, a winner of the 2019 Christmas Special, and as of January 2018 is a recurring member of the Loose Women panel.
RC BRIDGESTOCK
RC. Bridgestock is the name that husband and wife co-authors Robert (Bob) and Carol Bridgestock write under. Between them they have 50 years of police experience, offering an authentic edge to their stories. Bob was a highly commended career detective of 30 years, retiring at the rank of Detective Superintendent. He was also a trained hostage negotiator dealing with suicide interventions, kidnap and extortion. As a police civilian supervisor Carol also received a Chief Constable’s commendation for outstanding work. Bob and Carol are also Patrons of Sight for Wight.
RICHARD CADELL
Richard is a British illusionist, puppeteer and screenwriter, best known for being the in-vision presenter and the hand of puppet Sooty since succeeding Matthew Corbett in 1998. He is a Gold Star Member of the Inner Magic Circle and Past President of the British section of International Brotherhood of Magicians. This is Richard’s third year reading for us.
This year we are introducing the Edana Minghella Award, as a tribute to the lovely Edana Minghella who sadly passed away last year. This award will be for a story with depth, emotion, well-being and creativity.
PHOTO ABOVE: Edana with Chris Cane
You can download an entry form by clicking Entry Form
