Write About Walking and Listening

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Write About Walking is what we are inviting you to put your hands to in the next 6 weeks. The pandemic has opened our eyes to what is within walking distance of our homes. Restricted both in time and distance, each of us have had to find ways to endure lockdowns, and for many of us the daily walk has been a saviour.  However, we are not wanting to restrict you in what you write about walking, it can be fiction, factual or memoire, and not be limited to your lockdown walk, we are only seeking to have you consider what you might have listened to while walking, in just 250 words (or fewer).

We invite you to write a (flash) story or poem of 250 words or under about walking and listening

We will publish an anthology of the best poetry and prose submitted both in an illustrated chapbook anthology as well as an audio book, as part of this year’s Sound Walk September, the month during which we celebrate everything about audio, listening and sound walks. On Sunday 26 September, we will showcase the winning poems and stories by inviting the winning authors and poets of this writing competition to read their work.

We take submissions from now, until midnight (UTC) on Sunday 8 August.

Winners will be published in Walking, a limited edition chapbook anthology, published by Sampson Low Publishers, the net proceeds of which will go towards funding future instances of Sound Walk September. The anthology will also be made available as an audio book, and where possible, stories will be geo-located.

Our judges will draw up a long-list. All poems and stories on the list will be published on the walk · listen · create website during September. Shortlisted poems and stories will be chosen and published in the illustrated chapbook anthology, and as an audio book, and made available for public sale by the beginning of September. 
Shortlisted authors will receive 2 complimentary copies of the anthology, be invited to an exclusive Writers’ Circle event on Sunday 19 September, and will be invited to read their work at the Write About Walking Showcase on the final Sunday of Sound Walk September, 26 September.

The judges will be asked to choose their winner and runner up in both the poetry and prose categories, for which the winners will be invited to be walk · listen · create on-line Poet- or Writer-in-residence for 2021/2. They and the runners up, will each receive an artwork that illustrates their poem or story, created by Alban Low. 

The competition closes at midnight UTC,  Sunday 8 August, and the long-list will be announced and published on the walk · listen · create website on Wednesday 1 September. There is an entry fee (to cover administration costs) of €6 for one flash piece or poem and €9 for two (entrants are limited to 2 entries only – you may submit a poem and a story, two poems or two stories). The entry fee will be waived for those unable to afford it.

We are delighted to announce that Dr Kerri Andrews and Geert Vermeire have volunteered to act as judges for the poetry competition. They join Nigel Bristow and Nick Hallissey, who are the judges for the prose pieces. 
Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone will edit the anthology, and it will be illustrated by Alban Low. The Write About Walking competition is run by the Museum of Walking and walk · listen · create.

You can get creative writing tips from Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone, the anthology editor, by downloading this audio-guide.

If you wish to enter please read the guidelines below.

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).

The Theme

We want to read poems and stories about walking and listening. The stories or poems can be fiction or factual, travelogue, reportage or memoire but must be no more than 250 words in length. Judges’ decisions on this matter are final.

Poetry judges

Kerri Andrews

(United Kingdom)

Kerri Andrews is a writer and academic, working on women's literature and the history of walking. She is also a keen hill walker and Munro 'bagger'. Her book, Wanderers: A History of Women Walking, combines all these passions, and is published by Reaktion ...

4 followers More

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Geert Vermeire

co-founder of walk · listen · create (Belgium)

Founder Online Jury 2022 Online Jury 2023

Geert Vermeire is a curator, poet and artist, moving constantly between Greece, Portugal and Brazil, with a focus on spatial writing, locative sound & performance and social practices. He develops collaborative processes, departing from the ethical in...

25 followers More

Prose judges

NG Bristow

 

In 2019 Nigel wrote and directed DUMBSTRUCK ON BAZELY STREET one half of ONE OH EIGHT - a pair of geolocated audio dramas set on the 108 bus routes in London and Cape Town. The listener downloads the app which triggers the audio drama to play on their pho...

5 followers More

Nick Hallissey

(United Kingdom)

Nick is the Deputy Editor of Country Walking, Britain's bestselling walking magazine. He was pressganged into walking by his parents at a young age (in an act of borderline child cruelty, they dragged him along the South Downs Way at the age of four) and s...

1 followers More

Anthology Editor

Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone

 

I'm a writer, editor and creative writing tutor and One Circuitous Path is my second soundwalk piece. Inspired by my collaboration with The Museum of Walking, my first soundwalk piece The Creative Writing Walkshop was developed from a series of walkshops c...

3 followers More

Anthology illustrator

Alban Low

(United Kingdom)

From leaving art college in the 1990s, like many artists it was a matter of survival, trying to earn enough while finding time to work. I worked at Kingston College and Brunel University as a drawing lecturer; travelling around signwriting blackboards and ...

2 followers More

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.
4. Entries must not have been previously published in print or online, been broadcast or won a prize.
5. Entries must not include any defamatory language.
6. Entries must clearly respond to the theme, be original and written in English. They must also be for adult or young adult readers. Non-fiction and fiction written for children under 13 years 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. Maximum length is 250 words excluding the title (that mustn’t exceed 8 words).
2. Entries can be either fiction or non-fiction.
3. Entries should be typed in a plain legible font. A sans 12pt font is suggested.
4. Entries will be read and judged anonymously so do not put your name, address, email, telephone number or any personally identifying information on any page.
5. If the piece has no title, then its first five words must be used as the title.
6. 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.

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,  Sunday 8 August 2021.

Payment

The standard fee is €6.00 for one submission and €9.00 for two (which can be either 2 stories, 2 poems or one of each). The entry fee will be waived for those unable to afford the fee – please contact us here.

Editing the longlist and anthology

As the anthology editor may need to make slight editorial changes, long listed authors grant access to their email address by the editor.

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

1. One winner in each category: poetry and prose will be invited to become an walk · listen · create on-line Poet- or Writer-in-residence for 2021/2, they also receive an artwork illustration by Alban Low and 2 copies of Walking the illustrated limited edition chapbook.  New prize added 20/7/21: Each winner received Silver Membership to walk · listen · create (worth €50)
   The runner up in each category will receive an artwork illustration by Alban Low and 2 copies of the illustrated limited edition chapbook. 
   All the authors of shortlisted entries will receive 2 copies of the illustrated limited edition chapbook, be invited to an exclusive Writers’ Circle event on Sunday 19 September, and be invited to read their work at a live on-line showcase event on the final Sunday of Sound Walk September, on 26 September .
   Long-listed entries will be published on the walk · listen · create website during September.
2. The results of the competition will be announced on the walk · listen · create and Museum of Walking websites.
3. Entrants retain copyright.

Entry constitutes acceptance of all rules. Entries that fail to comply with the rules will be disqualified. No correspondence can be entered into, judges’ decisions are final.

Sampson Low Publishers, as an imprint, has existed for over two hundred years. Today it’s still managed by the Low family, and based just outside London. They have published diverse works from Noddy to Jules Verne to sporting heroes like Dennis Compton. One newish interest is in publishing small-scale chapbooks, often combining the work of writers and artists. The format is perfect for pithy written works that can be enjoyed in one sitting.

Museum of Walking. It was at the Banff Centre in the Canadian Rockies on a Walking and Art Residency in 2007 that an idea of a Museum dedicated solely to walking and art was developed by Andrew Stuck. The museum would be a showpiece for events around walking. It would promote walking and it would promote art and creativity and bring the two together. We chose to broaden it by inviting Co-creators to work together to create a variety of different walking opportunities. Our intention has always been to encourage people to dip their toes into trying new things, out and about on foot, giving them the chance of being more creative “the art is in taking part”.

walk · listen · create is a not for profit art organisation which 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.