In association with Placecloud.io the platform for place-based stories, you are invited to write creative and descriptive non-fiction, about buildings, parks, streets, trees and views.

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Read the announcement of the competition winners and catch up on the shortlisted written pieces.

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We invite you to write a non-fiction story of between 250 and 350 words about a place familiar to you.

Write a non-fiction story (either creative or descriptive non-fiction) about a place familiar to you. We will facilitate submission to Placecloud.io for the most appropriate submissions, as determined by our jury and the team at walk · listen · create.

Fond of a Café in your neighbourhood, know a secret about an abandoned prison, the architect of an unusual building, the celebrity who lived here, the tree that grows on the corner of your street, a tragic accident, the school that was burned down, a festival that took place here, the view only to be seen from here, the street art that’s become an icon, what the Romans built here? Stories of all of these and more are already available to listen to on Placecloud, and now we want to hear your stories too.

We accept submissions from Sunday 7 January 2024, until midnight (UTC) on Tuesday 2 April 2024.

Judges will be asked to make their decision based on the written story. We will separately select submissions for inclusion on Placecloud. Keep in mind that Placecloud is an open platform, and, if you so choose, you can add viewpoints to Placecloud at any time, but this is not a requirement for participation in this competition.

Cash prizes for runners-up and the winning story, with the winner walking away with a specially commissioned artwork from Alban Low. What might that mean? Have a look at some of Alban’s work that illustrates this Viewpoint about an unusual Square in Peckham, south London – he also designed the feature image for the competition. There’s also an additional cash prize for a Viewpoint of Bath, specifically its surrounding countryside, and should you be a resident of regional New South Wales (excluding Sydney) there is a cash prize for a submission from and about there too. We are working with the Urban Tree Festival 2024 and hope to secure funding for a prize specifically for an Urban Forest-pertinent entry.

Key dates

• Launch online Sunday 7 January, 2024.
• Submission deadline: midnight (UTC) on Tuesday 2 April 2024.
• Sunday 28 April – shortlisted submissions announced
• Sunday 5 May – winners and runners-up announced.

Prizes

Judges will be asked to make their decision based on the written story, and will draw up a shortlist, from which runners-up and a winner will be selected. Each runner-up will receive a cash prize of €30, with the winner receiving €100 and an artwork that responds to their story, created by Alban Low. 

Happen to have a story for a Viewpoint of Bath, specifically its surrounding countryside? Then there’s a chance to win an additional prize of €100 generously gifted by the Bathscape Landscape Partnership.

Orana Arts are sponsoring an additional €100, plus a year’s membership to Studio Co!Lab (valued at A$60), for a story about Regional New South Wales, Australia, submitted by a resident living and working in the regions (excluding Sydney).

Entry

There is an entry fee of €8 for one non-fiction story and €12 for two (entrants are limited to 2 entries only). Student discounted tickets at €2 for one submission, €3 for two are available (75% off full price), ask your tutor to contact us to receive a discount code. The entry fee will be waived for those unable to afford it. Use the get in Touch form at the bottom of this page.

For each submission, we will ask you to provide a precise location to which your story is linked.

Our judges

We are delighted to announce our volunteer judges:

Kim V. Goldsmith interdisciplinary artist, audio producer and author – listen to a Placecloud Viewpoint she wrote and recorded here.

Nick Hunt travel writer, novelist and editor of the ‘Dark Mountain Project’.

Anna Liu award winning architect and landscape designer

Geoff Nicholson author of ‘The Suburbanist’ and ‘Walking on Thin Air’, plus a slew of novels.

Pamela Smith Senior National Consultant for Gardens and Parklands, The National Trust

Fay Stevens archeologist and award-winning lecturer and researcher.

Paul Wood aka ‘The Street Tree’  – author of ‘London is a Forest’.

The Neighbourhood Narratives  competition is run by walk · listen · create.

You can get tips on how to write (and record) a Placecloud Viewpoint from here

Terms and Conditions

You need to register on the walk · listen · create website, return to the top of this page to pay the submission fee (a purchase), check that your purchase has been successful on your profile page, and then submit your piece(s).

If you wish to enter please read the guidelines below.

Eligibility

1. Entrants must be 16 years or over.
2. Entry is open to everyone.
3. An entry can only be made by the work’s individual author (and not include anther party copyrighted material).
4. Entries must not have been previously published in print, as audio or online, been broadcast or won a prize.
5. Entries must not include any defamatory language.
6. Entries must clearly be non-fiction, be original and written in English. They must also be for adult or young adult readers (12+). Any fiction is not eligible.
7. Simultaneous submission is permitted. Should your writing piece win a prize or be published elsewhere, please let us know so that we may remove your entry from the current competition.
8. Authors retain full worldwide copyright throughout.

Format

1. Entries must be between 250 and 350 words excluding the title (that mustn’t exceed 8 words).
2. Entries should be typed in a plain legible font. A sans 12pt font is suggested.
3. Entries can either be creative or descriptive non-fiction.
4. Entries must include a precise location to which the story links.
5. Entries will be read and judged anonymously so do not include your name, address, email, telephone number or any personally identifying information on any page.
6. If the piece has no title, then its first five words must be used as the title.
7. Acceptable file types are PDF only.

Submitting

You need to register on the walk · listen · create website and submit your piece(s) at the top of this page. You can check the entry procedure by downloading an illustrated guide (forthcoming).

1. Entries will not be returned so please keep a copy.
2. Entries can be retracted at any time up to the closure of the competition.
3. Entrants are limited to 2 entries each.
4. The competition closes at midnight UTC, Tuesday 2 April 2024.
5. No correspondence will be entered into regarding the judges’s decisions and no feedback will be provided.

Payment

The standard fee is €8.00 for one submission and €12.00 for two. Student discounted tickets at €2 for one submission, €3 for two are available (75% off full price), ask your tutor to contact us to receive a discount code. The entry fee will be waived for those unable to afford the fee. Use the form below to contact us.

Time line

• Launch online Sunday 7 January, 2024.
• The Competition closes with the Submission deadline at: midnight (UTC) on Tuesday 2 April.
• Sunday 28 April – shortlisted submissions announced
• Sunday 5 May – winners and runners-up announced.

Editing stories of pieces

As some pieces may require slight editorial changes to make appropriate for recording, authors grant access to their email address by the editor.

Audio recording of pieces

Authors will be invited to record themselves reading their work, or can choose to be contacted by the organisers, to record them over the Internet, or have a reader hired by the organisers, to read their work on their behalf.

Refunds

1. Full no quibble refunds are available up to the closing date. Contact us should the need arise.
2. Once the closing date has passed, no refunds can be made.

Prizes

Judges will be asked to make their decision based on the written story, and will draw up a shortlist, from which runners-up and a winner will be selected. Each runner-up will receive a cash prize of €30, with the winner receiving €100 and an artwork that responds to their story, created by Alban Low. Judges will also choose a winner for our two regional sponsors, Orana Arts are sponsoring an additional €100 (plus a year’s membership to Studio Co!Lab (valued at A$60)) for a story submitted by a resident for regional New South Wales, Australia (excluding Sydney residents), plus there is an additional €100 for a Viewpoint from the Bathscape Landscape Partnership area which best encapsulates rural views into and from the City of Bath – walk up to the surrounding hills for your inspiration!

Our judges

walk · listen · create is a not-for-profit art organisation that encourages collaborations between artists, performers and writers and catalogues the publications of artists who walk, and provide a place for walking artists to share their work, thoughts, pieces and events.

Placecloud is owned and operated by walk · listen · create.