New contest gives chance to get published

Has rejection from a publisher or the lack of opportunities prevented you from showcasing the writer in you? A new competition has promised to include all "good" stories, thereby giving authors, even first-timers, a chance to exhibit their writing skills.

The competition - the brainchild of Roshan Stagger - has garnered a huge response within days of its launch. Its winners will be part of an anthology.

"It's just been 15 days, and we have received entries from over 100 Indian authors keen on participating," said 16-year-old Stagger, also an Aam Aadmi Party activist.

"Aspiring writers, bloggers and even published authors have been sending their short stories for the nationwide contest, hoping to be part of the collection," Stagger told IANS.

Apart from budding first-time writers, the book will have stories from popular authors like Ishita Brown, author of "Together" and Mehak Bassi who penned "Chained".

Stagger said each entry will be screened by a panel of experts from reputed media houses.

"The final decision will be taken by author Rachita Bhushan," he added.

Going by the huge response, the panel is expecting a lot of entries and the publishers decided to print 5,000 copies of the anthology.

"Such books not only help young authors, they also help generate interest towards literature," Stagger said.

Open to all age groups, the only criteria for getting your story published is that the panel should "like it".

In all, the anthology will be a compilation of 25 stories, out of which 20 will be penned by first-time writers.

The untitled book has been conceptualised by Dream House Publications in collaboration with Spark Times.

The competition gained momentum through word of mouth and a page on social networking website Facebook.

The last date for sending entries is Jan 31 and winners will be announced Feb 14.