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BBC My Story

Information
Closing date: 
16 December 2009
Entry: 
New Prize for a short story of 300 to 1500 words + a brief summary Open only to UK residents who are over 18
Prize: 
First prize: a publishing deal with HarperTrue

BBC My Story

New Prize for a short story of 300 to 1500 words + a brief summary

Closing date 16 December 2009

Open only to UK residents who are over 18

First prize: a publishing deal with HarperTrue

My Story is a story telling competition to find the nation's most remarkable true stories. The most compelling stories will be told on BBC One in 2010 and the winners will see their experiences published as paperback books. Stories may be published on the website if they conform with the My Story online House Rules.

True stories have inspired some of the most successful books and films of all time; by offering the chance to follow in their footsteps, My Story is a BBC campaign that hopes to get the whole nation writing and reading.

How to enter

There will be several stages of judging. Initially all summaries will be read by the judges selected by the organisers. They will select a long list of entrants based on the following criteria, which is used throughout the process for both the summary and full story phases: -

  • Is it remarkable?
  • Does it have a strong central theme?
  • Does it or is it likely to engage the reader?
  • Does it or is it likely to provoke empathy?
  • Does it have strong characters?
  • Is it or is it likely to be entertaining and/or informative?
  • Does it or is it likely to offer support to the reader?
  • Is it inspiring in some way?

The judges will be basing their opinion on the events described in the stories rather than the quality of the writing. Stories will be judged on their potential for development as an engaging non-fiction book rather than as an assessment of the author's writing or grammatical skills.

The rules are quite complicated, so a thorough look at the website is recommended.

Writing tips from Lenny Henry and friends.

Entry guidelines

Closing date: 
16 December 2009
Entry: 
New Prize for a short story of 300 to 1500 words + a brief summary Open only to UK residents who are over 18
Prize: 
First prize: a publishing deal with HarperTrue