The Posara Prize

Now, here’s something to inspire you over the Christmas holidays … Write a short piece (no more than 2000 words) with the underlying theme of “A Foreigner in Italy” and you could win yourself £1000! 

The Posara Prize has been set up by Lois and Bill Breckon, who now live in Italy and who run The Watermill at Posara, renowned for its painting and creative writing courses.   

The Posara Prize is a creative writing competition open to everyone.  Here's what Lois and Bill say about it: 

We're looking for original, unpublished pieces of no more than 2,000 words, with the underlying theme of 'A Foreigner in Italy'. The work can be fiction or non-fiction: the important thing is to capture the emotion of Italy, as seen through an outsider's eyes.

You can write about the people, the countryside, art, architecture, food and wine – in fact, anything that makes Italy interesting, inspiring, exasperating or even frightening.

The winner will receive a prize of £1,000.

For more details and an entry form, click here.

There is so much that is inspiring about Italy, and it is such and interesting and romantic country that you don’t need to have been there in order to write about it – that’s what the imagination is for, after all!  I’m one of the three judges, with Sharon Kendrick and Anita Burgh, and I'm really looking forward to reading the entries. 

So what are you waiting for?  Get writing!

And this might be a good time to remind you, too, that I'll be teaching a course at the Watermill next September.  From the Slush Pile to the Shelves: Writing Fiction that Sells does what it says on the tin: it's designed to help you get your manuscript up to publishable standard.  If you're thinking seriously about writing fiction for a living, this is the course for you, so if your loved ones are scratching their heads about what to give you for a Christmas present, why not refer them to the Watermill website - and there's £75 off if you book before the end of the year!  

And there's a generous £200 off all Watermill holidays and courses for a 'non-participating partner' so while you get to grips with the course, your partner can enjoy the unique charms of the Watermill and Lunigiana.  It's a beautiful area, and there's lots to see and do!