News from Room 204
News from Room 204:
Room 204 writer Sumaya Kassim has been selected for the Lucy Cavendish Prize Longlist. The list features 16 outstanding debut novels by talented women writers. This prestigious award provides a unique platform for unpublished authors to launch their literary careers.
Room 204 writer Lerah has a short story forthcoming in Fly On The Wall Press’ Modern Gothic anthology coming out in October 2024. “Embark on a chilling journey through nightmarish tales that will captivate the ghoulish modern reader.” The pre-order is active on their website here. Not only that, but Lerah has also signed with an agent!
Annabel Brightling has written episode one of the new drama series SeaView. The show is out now on Amazon prime Video. You can find out more about the show here.
Whale Fall by Room 204 writer Elizabeth O’Connor is now published! ‘It is 1938 and for Manod, a young woman living on a remote island off the coast of Wales, the world looks ready to end just as she is trying to imagine a future for herself’. Elizabeth O’Connor’s beautiful, devastating debut Whale Fall tells a story of longing and betrayal set against the backdrop of a world on the edge of great tumult.
Tim Franks’ debut novel Days of Long Shadows is out now. With intriguing speculative elements, Tim has crafted a unique and unputdownable tale, exploring class resentment and scrutinising state power through the lens of a regional crime novel. You can purchase Tim’s novel here.
Writing Support and Resources
As part of their tenth anniversary celebrations, Speaking Volumes published an anthology, Not Quite Right for Us, which featured forty authors from the UK and around the world, from Poet Laureates to upcoming voices. Many of those authors have shared their advice on writing in short films, which are available as a free resource on the Speaking Volumes website.
Competitions and opportunities
Submissions for the Creative Future Writers Awards 2024 are now open! This is the UK’s only national award for all underrepresented writers. This year’s theme is ‘Reveal’. The competition is open for poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. The deadline to enter is Sunday 19 May 2024. Find out more, including how to enter, here.
National Centre for Writing invite UK-based Black, Asian and Ethnically Diverse literary translators working from any language into English to apply for one of their residencies running from September to November 2024. Translators are also invited to apply for one of their cottage residencies in December 2024 and January 2025. The deadline for applications is Monday 20th May 2024. Apply here.
Applications for the 2024-2025 Emerging Writers Programme are now open. The programme is open to emerging writers over 18 years of age and living in the UK with no more than three years’ experience of being published, who feel they would benefit from the support and insight of a more established writer. Applications close on close on 31 May 2024. You can find out more here.
The 2024 Wasafiri Writing Prizes are now open! The prizes are open to writers from around the world, with no limits on age, gender, nationality, or background. For the Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize, submit by 1 July, 2024. For the Wasafiri Essay Prize, enter by 31 May, 2024. To find out more about the entry requirements of both prizes, click here.
Calling all budding poets! The Stephen Spender Prize for poetry in translation opens on 1 May until 31 July 2024. Translate ANY poem from ANY language into English, and win publication and cash prizes! Open to adults aged 19+ from all over the world – no prior translation experience required. Click here to find out more.
The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is open! Enter your poems by 31 July 2024 at foyleyoungpoets.org. The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious poetry competitions for 11-17 year olds. Every year, 15 top winners and 85 commended poets are chosen, representing some of the most exciting new voices writing today. This year’s judges are the fantastic Vanessa Kisuule and Jack Underwood. Poems can be on any theme and must be no longer than forty lines. If you’re aged 11-17, send in your poems for the chance to be among the winners and further your writing career.