ENTRIES have been flooding in for the Daily Echo short story and poetry competition - but there is still time to enter. The closing date is next Friday.

The winners in each category will be published in the Creative Writing Supplement to be published on May 18, and winners in each category will receive £150, with £75 for 2nd place and £50 for third.

There will also be several highly-commended places, and all winners will receive their prizes at a special presentation evening at the Daily Echo, where there will be an opportunity to meet the judges and Daily Echo staff.

Before entering the competition, make sure you read and follow the rules!

SHORT STORIES:

Theme: A City Mystery

Stories can approach the theme in any way, but must not exceed 1500 words.

The judge of the short story competition is Russell Celyn Jones, acclaimed novelist and reviewer. Russell Celyn Jones is the author of five novels, including Soldiers and Innocents, which won the David Higham Prize, He has taught on the MA programme in creative writing at the University of East Anglia and is currently a lecturer at Warwick University and is a judge for the Booker prize.

POEMS:

The theme is Sailing into Hope.

There is no restriction on form or approach to the theme, but poems must not exceed 30 lines.

The judge of the poetry competition is Elizabeth Bewick, a well-known poet who has lived in Winchester for more than forty years. Heatsease, her first full collection, was published by Peterloo Poets in 1991, followed by Making a Roux from the same publisher in 2000. In 1994 Elizabeth received the Southampton City Writers' annual award for her contribution to poetry.

RULES:

1. The closing date for both competitions is Friday, April 26.

2. Entries should be marked Competition Entry and sent to Polly Clark, poet-in-residence, at the address below.

3. Type or print on one side only of A4.

4. Include name, address and contact number.

5. The judges' decision is final.