Writers Retreat Competition (UK)

West Dean and Myriad Editions have announced the launch of a new competition for writers. The winner will be entitled to a one week writing retreat, with full board, at West Dean College, situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty six miles north of Chichester, South East England. The winning entry will be an extract from a work in progress - novel, collection of short stories or script - and will be chosen purely on the strength and promise of the writing by a panel of expert judges:

* Sue Eckstein, author of The Cloths of Heaven and BBC Radio playwright
* Greg Mosse, writer and tutor of creative writing courses at West Dean
* Hannah Westland, literary agent at Rogers, Coleridge & White
* Ed Wood, editor of Waterstone’s Books Quarterly magazine
* Vicky Blunden, Fiction Editor, Myriad Editions

The prize is designed to allow the winner the chance to write undisturbed in the luxurious surroundings of West Dean. He or she will also have the chance to discuss their work with Myriad’s Fiction Editor Vicky Blunden. The shortlist will be announced in May 2010 at the Brighton Festival.