We announced this year’s Short Short Story Competition (maybe it will be an annual thing!) yesterday. There are some great prizes and here are some photos of them.
These are the books:

And inside them is … Darren Shan’s signature! I want them but I can’t as one of you guys will get to win them.

Only authors are allowed to write in books! And sometimes librarians.

And as well as the books there is a t-shirt and a bunch of movie passes to see Cirque Du Freak : The Vampire’s Assistant when it opens on January 7th 2010.

Here’s a photo of the lot! Thanks, Paramount!

All this could be yours! Only if you enter the competition. All the details are here.

[Ed: some of the bunch of movie passes will go to excellent short stories that weren’t the winner but were fabulous anyway]

Update: the competition is now closed. Tune in some time early next year to find out who won.

Are you aged somewhere between 13 and 18? Can you write a good short story?

It’s back! The 2009 Short Short Story Competition is here: write an excellent short short story and you could win a Cirque du Freak prize pack, including signed copies of the first six books in The Saga of Darren Shan series, a limited edition t-shirt and movie passes (thanks to the people at Paramount). It’s a fantastic prize, and it’s all very simple really.

So what do you have to do? Write a short story, not more than 350 words (it can be as short as you like), that includes each of the following three words (think outside the box: is the word a noun only, or can it be used another way? Can it be added to, for example -ish or -ed?):

1. paramount
2. freak
3. violet

Your story can be about anything. We will be particularly impressed if:

• – the story is well written and grammatically correct
• – the three things listed above are well concealed in the story
• – the story has a clever twist or point of interest.

Send your stories to teenblog@wcl.govt.nz before 5pm on Monday 21 December 2009. Please include your name and your library card number (very important!). The winner will be announced early in the new year.

Small print:
You must be aged between 13 and 18 to enter 12 and 18 to enter. You must also be a Wellington City Libraries member. Judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into etc etc., although we do like getting emails and comments. The winning story and any others that are particularly special will be published on the teen blog, so if you send a story in be prepared for it to be published.

Good luck!

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, in cinemas January 7 2010. Go to www.thevampiresassistant.co.nz for movie info.

Sick of swans, forks and carpets yet?

You’ve got almost exactly one week to get your short stories into us! Remember that the close off time is 12pm on Wednesday the 24th of December.

Some things to remember: make sure you include the following things (exactly); “forks”, “a swan” and “red carpet”. Make sure your story is no more than 350 words long too. And don’t forget to include your name and  your library card number with your entry.

See all the rules here.

By the way, you can enter more than one story, but remember that we’re not pulling names out of a hat; you’re just as likely to win with one entry as with ten, so make sure it’s as good as you can get it.