The Curae Prize: what you can win and how to enter!

A writing prize – just for writers who are also carers

Photo by Disha Sheta on Pexels.com

FAQs just in case. Please read these before sending a question

Commonly received questions. Hope this answers yours!

  1. Can I enter poetry? No. Short fiction or nonfiction only
  2. Can I enter in both categories? Nope.
  3. How do I find details about what I can enter? Read all three pages of the site for information, double check the rules on ‘About’ – here https://thecuraeprize.uk/about/
  4. How do I enter the prize? Read all three pages of the site, check the rules and then go to the contact page here for a final check. Send your work as an attachment to the email address given, remembering that your name must NOT appear on your writing https://thecuraeprize.uk/contact/
  5. Can I retain the rights to my work? Of course, but we ask that it be published for the first time for Curae, should you be shortlisted or win.
  6. Can I send previously published work? No. It should not have been published in any form, including on a blog.
  7. Word limit? 4,000. And 12 font, double spaced, any readable font but TNR preferred.
  8. I don’t have Word. Can I send a PDF? No thank you. If you really cannot send Word, please send a Googledoc and we will download it as Word this end.
  9. How will I know if I have been shortlisted? We will announce the shortlist on social media and on the #Curae site on 1/05
  10. How do I know if I have won? We will announce the two winners in the same way on 1/06
  11. Do I have to take part in publicity? ONLY IF YOU WANT TO. Work will be showcased on the site and care groups and organisations plus book trade and national press may wish to have contact with you as one of the two winners, but this is entirely up to you.
  12. Can I enter the site anonymously? Yes, as long as we can contact you and those offering all the elements of the prize are able to contact you to set up times for events together, that is great. 
  13. What if I only want to take the bursary and do not want any of the other prizes? That is fine. We are aware that some entrants are taking first or much later steps in publishing, but some entrants will simply want to enter the competition with minimal involvement. It is up to you. NO ELEMENT OF THE PRIZE IS TRANSFERABLE.
  14. I used to be a carer but I am no longer a carer: can I still enter? No. Only current carers can enter.
  15. Can I enter a play or part of a play? No.
  16. Can I enter part of a longer work? Yes and no. You may take part of a longer work and make it into a standalone piece, but it cannot be simply an extract.
  17. Do I have to write about caring? Absolutely not, but you can if you want to.
  18. Can I enter something that I am querying with publishers or an agent? Yes, as long as it is NOT contracted.
  19. Can I enter a piece of work which has been commissioned for something else but which is not yet published? No.
  20. Can I enter something which I have translated? Of course. You have to enter the Curae with something written in English, but we would be delighted also to publish it in the original or other language.
  21. How do you define carer? Please look at the first page of the site where you will find a definition. We will not ask for evidence and know we can trust you to self-identify, but it is important that you decide whether this is an appropriate prize for you to enter.https://thecuraeprize.uk/
  22. Is carer the same as parent? No. Look at the definition given in the link in the last question
  23. Why can you only be from the UK or ROI? Because we are volunteers and in the first year of the prize, to expand its horizons would make it unmanageable for us.
  24. How will people see my work if it is shortlisted or if I win? I will publish it on the Curae site and link to socials. We will discuss if you would like to read your own work on socials and it may be reprinted elsewhere with your permission. 
  25. If I am shortlisted, can I publish my work on my own blog? Please wait until after the 1st of June, when the two winners are announced, because otherwise we will be able to identify your work and it is judged ‘blind; – that is, anonymously.
  26. Does it matter if I have never been published before? Nope.
  27. What about if this is the first time I have written something? That doesn’t matter either. 
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