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Are you a budding writer? Enter the Borders Writers' Forum competition (closing date March 31) and help raise funds for Sick Kids.

The competition is open to both published and unpublished authors writing in any genre, including children's fiction. 

Judges are now confirmed as Ron Butlin for poetry and Professor Ian Campbell for prose (short stories). It is hoped that winning entries will be read out at the Borders Writers' Forum event at the Borders Book Festival in Melrose in June.

Theme

Illness and the Child

Anything that in some way connects a child with illness. It could be from the perspective of an ill child or a child with an ill parent, other relative or friend, or the experience by an adult carer (parent or otherwise) of a sick child. The theme is wide open ... any historical period, any country ... as long as the writing somehow links a child (or children) with illness.

Entries may be in the form of a Poem (max. 60 lines) or a Short Story, fictional or true-life (max 3000 words).

Prizes

The short story and poetry winners will each receive a piece of beautiful Borders Art Glass. This will be a lasting reminder of your success in the Borders Writers' Forum competition in aid of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation.

The prizes are unique hand made pieces by Borders Art Glass in Hawick where Peter and Andrew Holmes carry on age-old glass-making traditions.

Submissions

Stories should be a maximum of 3,000 words in length, with no lower limit.
Poetry should be a maximum of 60 lines.

The entry fee for each story and poem is £5.00 GBP, payment to be made to Edinburgh Sick Kids Foundation either via this web-site or by cheque payable to Edinburgh Sick Kids Foundation, 20 Millerfield Place, Edinburgh, EH9 1LW, and clearly marked BWF - Illness and the Child Writing Competition.

There is no limit on the number of entries any one person may enter, but no author may win more than one prize.

Submissions: We regret only electronic submissions can be accepted. Entrants should include on the first page of each submission their name, address, telephone number, mobile number (if applicable) and email address, along with the title of submission and word count. Entrants should also confirm that they have paid the £5 entry fee by donation to Edinburgh Sick Kids Foundation.

Entries should be as Word (.doc) attachments (not .docx please), or pdfs. Your submission(s) should include a 'header' with your story/poem title and page numbers only. The header should not contain your name. Your story/poem should be clearly typed in English (12pt standard typeface) and double-spaced.

Entries should be emailed to bwfcompetitions@gmail.com by March 31st 2012

No entries will be returned, so make sure you keep a copy of your story/poem.

Entries with defamatory or other writing considered unsuited to the competition will be disqualified by our judges. Also, any entries which do not comply with our rules will be disqualified.

The Judges' decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

Judges for the competition will shortly be listed on this website.

The winner of the short story and poetry prizes will be announced at end of May 2012, with the winning stories published on this website. Winners will be asked to provide a short (50 - 100 word) biography.

It is hoped that winning entries can also be read out at the Borders Writers' Forum event at the Borders Book Festival in Melrose during June, 2012.

Copyright remains with the author, but Borders Writers' Forum and Sick Kids Friends Foundation have the unrestricted right to publish the winning story and poem online and in print for the purpose of raising funds for the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, Edinburgh. Additional publishing of the story/poem will be made with the consultation and agreement of the author.

Check list

Please check each entry contains an initial page with name, address, telephone number, mobile number (if applicable), email address, title of submission and word count. Please also confirm fee payment either online or by cheque.

Please also ensure that your entry includes a header with the title of your submission and page numbers.

Borders Writers' Forum is an organisation, based in the Scottish Borders, that brings together local writers. It aims to raise the profile of contemporary local writers, provide a focus for writing related events in the Scottish Borders along with networking opportunities and support for professional development through regular readings and workshops

Borders Writers' Forum members precluded from entry. Stories/poems must not have been previously published elsewhere either in print or online. Authors must be at least eighteen years of age.