Metro customers are being encouraged to use their daily commute as inspiration for a new short story competition.
Tyne and Wear Metro has teamed up with New Writing North to challenge writers, both aspiring and established, to pen a 250-word short story.
The story should be based around the theme ‘Metro Morning’ which is inspired by an artwork of the same name, by artist Anthony Lowe, located at Regent Centre Metro station.
Writers of all ages can enter with prizes up for grabs in two categories; adults (16 and over) and children (under 16). The winning adult will receive £100 Waterstones vouchers and the child winner will get an Amazon Fire tablet.
The winners in both categories will also see their winning stories displayed in Metro stations.
Paul Walker, Customer Service Director at DB Regio Tyne and Wear, which operates Metro on behalf of Nexus, said: “Thousands of people across Tyne and Wear use the Metro on a daily basis to get to and from work, to go shopping, to events or on nights out. These journeys provide a bit of a time out from people’s busy lives and we hope this competition gives our customers the chance to try something a bit different and creative.
“Whether stories are inspired by scenes you pass or conversations you hear while on the Metro, we’re looking forward to reading everyone’s interpretations of the ‘Metro Morning’ theme. The stories can be any genre, all that we ask is that is no more than 250 words.
“We’re very pleased to have New Writing North on board to help select the winning entries.”
Claire Malcolm, Chief Executive at New Writing North, added: “New Writing North are delighted to be working with Metro on this exciting project which I’m sure is going to unlock some writing talent in the region. Short stories are a fantastic way for aspiring writers to develop their writing skills but it’s also a challenge to grab a reader in 250 words. I look forward to seeing what our regional commuters surprise us with.”
Metro has also enlisted the support of Angela Readman, an award-winning North East poet and short story writer, who has written an example story - titled The Curator of Losses - to help inspire others.
Angela said: “A short story can be about almost anything. It can take the form of a conversation between people, a small incident or event, or something unusual that changes someone's day. With 250 word stories, the key thing is to get in there fast and create a sense of where we are and who's there straight away. It can be simple, it can be strange, but the important thing is the story pulls us along to the end. Every word counts.”
The competition is open for entries now. The deadline for entries is midnight on Monday 26 September 2016. To enter, send your story and full name, age, address and contact number to [email protected]
Click here for more information on the rules of the competition.