NEWS RELEASE

'Spread the Word' Short Story Competition from

Hobeck Books

‘the story I have always wanted to write’

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Proceeds to support NHS frontline staff

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Have you got a story within you, one that has long been burning to get out? Are you feeling the itch to put finger to keyboard, pen to paper? Is your imagination suddenly taking you places you haven’t been allowed to go to before?

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We find ourselves in challenging times. Everything feels so uncertain at the moment and the future is full of unknowns. We feel that our freedom to move has been curtailed. However, the one thing many of us find we now have is time. Time to think and to worry but, more positively, time to pursue things that daily life does not normally permit.

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We can’t control the circumstance we find ourselves in right now, but we can control what we do with that time. That has got us thinking at Hobeck Books. We had a light-bulb moment.

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We want to inspire you to get creative while stuck indoors AND support the brilliant NHS staff who are fighting to beat the COVID-19 crisis.

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We will be publishing an anthology of short stories by first-time authors like you, with proceeds to be donated to the NHS Charities Covid-19 Urgent Appeal.

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What do we want? Submissions of fiction from unpublished authors of up to 3,000 words, the twelve best as selected by our panel of experts will be published in the Spread the Word anthology.

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Prize:

Everyone who enters the competition, whether they are selected or not, will receive editorial feedback from us.

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In addition, the twelve selected writers will receive three paperback copies of the anthology.

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All entries must be submitted by midnight on 30 April 2020.

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Shortlisted submissions will be contacted on 15 May 2020.

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Winners will be announced on 31 May 2020.

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Submission details:

Please email your submission to hobeckbooks@gmail.com.

Please include name, address and telephone number in the covering email.

Submissions must be attached to the email with no identifier as to name of entrant in the name of the document or within the document itself.

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Judging:

The initial judging will be carried out by Adrian Hobart and Rebecca Collins who will select a short list of 24 stories.

The shortlisted stories will be judged by a panel of judges.

The panel consists of:

Adrian Hobart, director of Hobeck Books, writer and audio narrator.

Rebecca Collins, director of Hobeck Books, editor, artist and aspiring writer.

Adam Croft, best-selling writer of crime and psychological thrillers.

Robert Daws, award-winning TV and stage actor and crime-writer.

Louise Rose-Innes, best-selling author of contemporary romance and romantic-suspense.

Competition Rules:

Please ensure you read the rules carefully before entering. Entry implies acceptance of the rules.

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Eligibility:

• Entries can be on any subject and in any genre but they must be fictional. They must have been written after 31 January 2020 as the theme is ‘the story I have always wanted to write’.

• Entries must be in English.

• The competition is open to adults age 18+.

• The competition is not restricted by location.

• Submissions must be in a Word document (.doc). Text must be double spaced, at least 10pt, and in a recognisable Word font.

• Please do not include your name in the Word document. Your name, address, telephone number must be in the covering email only.

• Relatives of the directors of Hobeck Books may not enter.

• We are unable to accept stories with illustrations.

• Submissions must not have been previously published or previously entered into a competition.

• Non-fiction and fiction for children under 18 are not eligible.

• Entries must be entirely the work of the entrant and by submitting you are confirming that the work is your own.

• Entrants must not have previously published a work of fiction as a novel either in book form or ebook form.

• Simultaneous submissions are allowed but the judges will choose one story per author if the entrant reaches the shortlist.

• Should you submit your story elsewhere, and it is selected, you must inform Hobeck Books straight away and withdraw your entry from this competition.

• All entries are to be judged anonymously.

• We reserve the right to disqualify any entries over the word limit.

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Copyright:

Worldwide copyright remains with the author but Hobeck Books has the unrestricted right to publish the winning twelve stories in book and ebook format and any extracts in any relevant promotional material.