• Don’t send the same story or poem to several competitions at once. If two rival competitions select your story you could find yourself in an embarrassing situation; no prize money and blacklisted by both in future years. And don’t think no-one will notice – it’s surprising how many judges adjudicate for more than one competition and keep an eye on the winners of other major competitions.
  
  
• Don’t send the same story to the same competition two years running. We certainly tend to use the same judges; so they will probably remember your work. If they didn’t like it last year, why should they change their mind this year?
  
  
• Proofread your work carefully before sending it in. Nothing puts judges off more than poor spelling, illogical punctuation and unappealing presentation.
  
  
• Don’t submit a story or poem which you have already had published elsewhere or which has already won a prize in an earlier competition. Someone, somewhere will recognise the work when the list of winning entries is published and you’ll be stripped of your prize. It’s not something you can easily live down.
  
  
• We know that competitions offer more freedom of subject and style than most mainstream magazines, but there are still taboos that mustn’t be broken.
  
  
• Always avoid sexual swear words, any sex act that is illegal, any story or poem which glorifies violence, abuse or rape and any material that would obviously cross the good taste boundary such as cannibalism, mutilation, bestiality, torture, incest and the humorous treatment of AIDS.
  
  
• It’s basically a case of using common sense. You should instinctively know when you are heading on to dangerous territory. Don’t risk your work being rejected for a tacky thrill.
  
  
• Remember that the judge will be looking for a poem or short story that can safely be published in a mainstream magazine if it wins, and which won’t offend an average, fair-minded audience.

So, think before you start writing and good luck with your entry/ies.

Remind yourself of the competition rules here