Western Riverina Arts' short story competition is drawing to a close in just days, wrapping up on October 31.
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The competition is aimed to be open to all with few limitations on theme or prompt, with the only requirements being that entries must stick to the word count and be original. Entrants must also be located within one of the four areas covered by Western Riverina Arts - Griffith, Leeton, Murrumbidgee or Narrandera.
The competition is a joint project between Western Riverina Arts and the Narrandera Arts & Creative Network, aimed at inspiring creativity and connection in the midst of previous month's lockdowns.
Aanya Whitehead, the executive director of Western Riverina Arts, explained the premise of the competition.
"We noticed that across the region over the months, there's been a sense of not feeling so joyful or connected - so the initiative was about to connect people through competition and to foster self-expression," she said.
"Recently with the COVID rules, it's been very unpredictable - the rules are really confusing and this was a way to bring people some calm and some creativity ... the really nice thing about competitions is that it gets you motivated to do something that you might have wanted to do for a while."
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The competition has three categories. The open category has a word count of between 1000 and 3000 words, and has prize money of $300. The Under-18 category has a word count of between 500 and 1200 words and prize money of $150. Finally, the Under-12 category has a minimum word count of 250 words and is linked to a prize of $150.
Ms Whitehead said that the openness was a deliberate move to allow as many to tap into a story they'd like to tell, but added that they would prefer if entries kept language clean.
The competition is unrelated to the Griffith Riverina Fellowship of Australian Writer's 'Free Spirits' writing competition. It will be closing on the same day, covering topics relating to mental health and creating a book out of entries.
Information on entering the competition is available at the Western Riverina Arts website.
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