And the Winners...Aren't

On my last post a commenter asked how I manage to win so many competitions.

I replied that you have to enter to win, which is a bit of a disappointment. I mean that's kind of obvious, isn't it? Still, people often overlook it. How can I be jealous of people for getting published in this magazine and that when I haven't even submitted? I can't. Not reasonably anyway.

That said, this is my blog. So obviously everything is a bit one-sided and biased. For example, let's see how many times I've posted about not winning/placing in a competition....

Not once.
(small margin of error here - I might possibly have posted once or twice)

So this post is about all the competitions I haven't won (kind of a difficult feat considering I like to block out these rejections of my work, but I'll work from what I do remember).

Firstly: Foyle Young Poets Competition. I entered in 2010 and 2011 and I did not receive a thing - not even a special mention. Then there's my story Wizened, which I really like. I entered a fantasy writing contest with it and got...nothing. Then a special secondary-schools story competition in the Clare Champion with the same story. Once again, nothing.

Those are the reasons I then decided to focus on my poetry. Even so, I didn't get a thing in Cuisle this year. You can submit up to three poems and I submitted three. None on par with Creation and Evolution I guess.

That's all I can remember off-hand that I have entered but haven't won. Like I said, my mind blocks out losing.

P.S. Lovely bit of graffiti, that, isn't it? These pictures were part of the final result of a photography course we took in school.

And the Winners Are...

I didn't mention it here, but Visit Woods and the WWF were running a short story competition called the Big Forest Story Picnic. The theme was to be about the forest and the woods, and simply to do with conservation I suppose. I forget the exact parameters if there were any. Anyway, the winners have finally been choosen after a month's extension on the announcement date. And, I have won the sixteen and under section. See below :)

{Edit 2014: This can no longer be viewed online. VisitWoods began in 2008 with the aim of bringing together information about woods that are open to the public and inspiring people about visiting woods. The project was funded by the Big Lottery Fund (administered by Natural England) for 5 years and came to an end on 31st December 2013.}

I win free books. If I had one the older age category it would have been a Kindle, but I suppose I will have to live with ten books of my choice. Heehee...

In addition, you might recall a competition I did mention here, which was the Concern Creative Writing Competition. I have been told recently that my entry (short-listed as I found out) is to be included in the Concern Creative Writing Competition book, which will be published by Liffey Press. Last year I got nothing, so as you can see I am slowly scaling the steps to the top.