Christopher Fielden has recently updated his very useful list of writing competitions. He has listed comps in various categories, which makes it easier to find what you're looking for. So you'll find lists of prestigious comps with big prizes, annual comps, one-off comps, and more.

You can also see, at a glance, the closing date, entry fee (if any), word count, and prize. This is handy, as it saves clicking through to the comp site only to find your story doesn't fit the word count or that you've missed the deadline!

If you enjoy entering writing competitions check out his page here.

I’ve just finished reading one of my Christmas presents, which was Jonathan Pinnock’s Dip Flash. An entertaining collection of quirky, witty and surreal short stories.
 
My absolute favourite was Ventriloquism for Dummies. I’ve read several ventriloquist-dummy stories over the years, and Pinnock’s version is the best, in my opinion. It was deliciously different, and I loved the ending.
 
Other stories I liked were Adagio Assai and Around The Block.
 
I also recently finished reading Stephen King’s The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, which is another collection of short stories. My favourite story was Obits, which was about a writer who can actually kill people off just by writing their obituary. It stayed with me long after I’d finished reading. Just think what it would be like to have that sort of power. I think the world would be a very different place. And what obituaries would I write if I had that power? And would I really use that power? Hmm…

I found Black Hare Press via another writer's website, and was inspired by the submission opportunities there. The anthology Oceans will be full of 100-word drabbles set in or on the ocean. It will be #9 in their Dark Drabbles series.

I was pleased to hear that they will be including my dark story The Artist. It's a great start to the New Year, and I'll definitely be trying to write more drabbles.

I believe publication is due sometime in April this year.