Came back a few days ago after teaching in France for a week, and am beginning to get into the groove of writing again. One of the emails alerts I received was for the annual Franco-British Council short story competition. Stories should be inspired by one of the following quotes:
Words are loaded pistols. Jean-Paul Sartre
Art must take reality by surprise. Francoise Sagan
The poet is a madman lost in adventure. Paul Verlaine
I am an artist…I am here to live out loud. Emile Zola
The writer of originality, unless dead, is always shocking, scandalous; novelty disturbs and repels. Simone de Beauvoir
Language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, while all the time we long to move the stars to pity. Gustav Flaubert
But wait! There’s a catch…you have to be aged between 16-25 – yet another reminder that ‘new’ talent has an age limit in the publishing world. But you know what? I’m buoyed by Jason Wallace’s journey to publish Out of Shadows (100 rejections and he wins the Costa Children’s Book Award 2011). So, given that my recent French experience is still seared in my skull, I’m going to ignore the limitations placed on me by some of these competitions and write something anyway. Not for the Franco-British Council though, just for you…watch this space…
Nilam McGrath 