Sowing literary seeds with 'Writer in the Garden' competition
21 January 2005 :: Posted by Susan Poupard
If gardens or gardening inspire you to write, here is your chance to enter this exciting competition, organised by the Royal Horticultural Society and the British Library.
The title of your piece is ‘The Writer in the Garden’ which you can choose to interpret from either a literary or a horticultural perspective. What you write can be factual or fictional and can be inspired from any aspect of gardening or gardens. Record your own experience of a particular place or plant, write a horticultural critique of something in the garden that fascinates you, profile an author or create your own story. The scope is wide but your entry must be original and no more than 750 words.
The judges will be looking for originality of thought and expression, stylistic flair, literacy, accuracy and imaginative skill, as well as for pieces that evoke a personal, emotional response. The judging panel includes leading garden designer and writer Dan Pearson, Ian Hodgson, Editor The Garden and Chris Fletcher, Curator from the British Library.
The British Library has teamed up with Hewlett Packard and Suttons Seeds to offer prizes that will make writing in the garden a truly inspirational experience. The winning entrant in each category - Literary and Horticultural- will receive a beautiful wooden arbour for the garden and a Tablet computer. The runner-up in each category will receive a seed hamper and a selection of books from the British Library Bookshop. The winners may also see their writing published in The Garden magazine, the journal of the RHS, and on the British Library and RHS websites.
How to enter
- Type your entry on A4 paper, double-spaced, using one side of the paper only.
- Put your name and address on each sheet.
- State whether you are entering the Literary or Horticultural category.
(If you submit more than one entry, each new entry should begin on a new sheet.)
Send your entry to:
The Writer in the Garden Competition
British Library Marketing
Floor 4
96 Euston Road
London NW1 2BD
We are unable to accept entries sent by fax or by email.
The deadline for entries is Friday 4 March 2005.
For further information and images please contact Tracey Saunders at the British Library Press Office, Telephone +44 (0)20 7412 7114, e-mail tracey.saunders@bl.uk.
Notes for editors
The British Library - is the national library of the United Kingdom. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive research collection. Further information is available on the Library’s website.
For ideas and inspiration visit The Writer in the Garden exhibition at The British Library for free. Or one of the four Royal Horticultural Society Gardens (Wisley in Surrey, Hyde Hall in Essex, Harlow Carr in Yorkshire or Rosemoor in Devon) or the RHS Lindley Library in London.