KENT NEWS: A short-story competition to celebrate the works of HG Wells has failed to attract a single entry – despite the £1,000 prize.
Budding young writers were invited to send their short stories creating a picture of contemporary life in Kent, to Reg Turnill, a former BBC aerospace correspondent who as a young reporter interviewed Wells.
But due to what Mr Turnill now believes were over-strict rules, he has had to change the entry conditions.
The 94-year-old said: “I wanted people to write the stories by hand as a condition of entry to address the low standard of literacy and handwriting these days.
“It’s an important art in itself and many of our most famous authors find that’s the best way to do creative writing.
“I also wanted the stories to reflect life in 2010 so they would interest readers in 2110, in the way that Wells’ stories do.
“My aim in offering the £1,000 prize was to get people to mimic what Wells did in the 1900s.”
Mr Turnill said last year’s HG Wells competition entries consisted mostly of sci-fi, so he wanted to be more specific in what this year’s should contain.
“Last year there were plenty of entries because the competition was open to writers of all ages and stories could include science fiction, depicting ghastly invasions of our everyday lives by all sorts of nameless horrors,” he said.
“This year there is a separate £250 prize for writers aged over 25, and those entries are coming in.
“But I’m afraid for the younger category my conditions have proved too difficult and I’ll have to water them down.”
The closing date has been extended and sci-fi stories will now be considered. Handwritten stories will get extra marks, but are not obligatory.
The competition forms part of the HG Wells festival in Folkestone, where the author – known as the father of science fiction – spent 13 years of his life.
Wells was one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, famous for novels including The War of the Worlds, and The Invisible Man.
He penned many of his works during his time in Sandgate, including The History of Mr Polly, and Kipps, which featured scenes set in the area.
But in 1909, controversy surrounding his novel A Modern Utopia led him and his family to move to London.
To celebrate the author’s works and mark the 100 years since he left Sandgate, Mr Turnill came up with the idea of an HG Wells festival in 2009.
Part of the event was a short-story competition where a 13-year-old boy from the Harvey Grammar scooped the prize.
But coming into its second year, the festival – which runs from September 17-19 at the Grand Hotel on the Leas – has been unable to attract entries.
The £1,000 prize is due to be presented by HG Wells’ great-grandson, Dominic Wells.
Judges of the short-story competition include novelist Sandra Howard, wife of former Tory leader Michael Howard.
The festival will be opened by Alex Wells, great-great-grandson of HG Wells.
To download an entry form for the competition or for information about the festival, visit www.wellsfestival.com.
POSTED: 18/07/2010 17:00:00
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