We are two Brighton-based writers, who have just set up our own website. It is called the Brighton COW. (The COW part stands for ‘Community of Writers’.) We are aiming to promote new writers and writing through a range of competitions. We will run several short story and flash fiction competitions throughout the year, some with an open-theme, some with specific ones. We are planning some fun free-to-enter contests too.

Our first writing competition has an open theme with a 3,000 word limit. There are three prizes to the top three winning writers of £100, £50 and £25. There will also be the opportunity for the stories to be published on our website as well as being recorded for Brighton’s Coastway Hospital Radio, which provides music and entertainment to a network of Brighton hospitals. The competition is just £4 (four pounds) to enter, via PayPal or cheque, and the competition is open to writers worldwide. Stories can be submitted online along with payment or by post with a cheque. The deadline is 1 November 2010.

We will notify all entrants of receipt of their story. Each entry will be judged impartially and be read at least twice in full before judging decisions are made. Titles and authors of shortlisted stories will be displayed on our site by the end of November and winners will be announced on the site on 7 December 2010. We also offer a range of other services, such as editing, proofreading and critiques. Hopefully we have covered most queries on the FAQ section of the site. Please take a look for more details. We welcome feedback on the site and are keen to link with other related writing websites.

Our website went live 23 August 2010. The address is www.brightoncow.co.uk

Please come and visit us!

Andrew Campbell-Kearsey (Centurion Road) and Steve Myers (Montpelier Terrace)