Highlands and Islands Tourism Awards Story Competition
To celebrate Scotland’s Year of Stories, Highlands and Islands Tourism (HITA) have teamed up with UHI to involve students past and present in Scotland’s Year of Stories.
One lucky winner will have the opportunity for their work to be presented at the HITA ceremony on 4th November 2022.
Storytelling is a fundamental part of being human. We are bound and shaped by them, and they keep us connected. This year we hope to hear from emerging voices that encapsulate Scotland – our history, hospitality, tourism, sustainability, future and more. Embracing modern Highlands, we are asking students to create stories in any medium, which can be around People or Places, the richness of Highland History, Heritage or intriguing Folktales and Legends.
The winner will receive a £200 Amazon voucher and have their work published in Highland Media publications.
Entries can be submitted in a number of ways:
- Email michele.smith.moray@uhi.ac.uk
- Post to UHI Moray, Moray Street, Elgin, IV30 1JJ (marked for the attention of Michele Smith)
- Hand in to UHI Moray reception between 8.45am – 4.30pm (marked for the attention of Michele Smith)
- Videos can be submitted via dropbox.uhi.ac.uk
Closing date for entries is the 30th September 2022.
Terms & Conditions
Eligibility for all categories
The competition is open to any current faculty, staff and students (part-time or full-time), and any other UHI partnership except individuals involved in judging.
Original unpublished work
Only unpublished work is eligible for this competition. For spoken/performance poetry, poems must be original works. The production value of the video will not be judged–only the poetry and performance. Previous publication is considered to include on or in a newspaper, newsletter, magazine, anthology, chapbook, book, website, electronic magazine, personal blog, Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. Previous performance is considered to include published videos and performances at previous competitions.
Note: Even if the print run or circulation of the print publication where the work has previously appeared is small, this is still considered previous publication. No work that has been excerpted elsewhere is eligible for submission; nor is a work that has been revised since its original publication.
Notification (all categories)
The winner will be officially notified by email and phone.
Liability
The sponsors of this competition shall not be liable for any loss or damage or for any personal injury sustained as a result of taking the prize/s or entering into the competitions.
Copyright
The author retains the copyright to his or her prose (short story or piece of creative non-fiction), and/or poem(s) and spoken word/performance poetry.
Express agreement
Entry is taken to be express agreement to all competition rules by participants.
Prose (short story or creative nonfiction)
Number of entries
A limit of 3 entries are allowed by the same author.
Length
500 words
Format
Print entries must be typed in English or Scots English. The title of the prose (short story or work of creative nonfiction) must appear on the first page of each entry but, to ensure that judging of the entries is blind, the author’s name must not appear anywhere on the text.
Poetry
Number of entries
A maximum of three (3) poems (any style or form) per author. To ensure the security of the competition, entries will be monitored to determine whether or not entrants have entered more than once. Subsequent entries by the same entrant will be disqualified.
Length
60 lines
Format
Print entries must be typed in English or Scots English. Each entry must be accompanied by a cover page. See the submissions information for more details.
The title of each poem must appear on the first page of each entry (i.e., poem) but, to ensure that judging of the entries is blind, the author’s name must not appear anywhere on the text.
Spoken/Performance Poetry
Number of entries
A limit of 3 entries per author.
Length
Video submissions cannot exceed three (3) minutes in length.
Format
Props, costumes, and music can be used in the performance poem. The performance should be video recorded. See Submissions page for details as to how to submit the video.
All entries will initially be judged by preliminary round judges, who will select the finalists.
The judge’s decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into regarding their decision.
Judge’s criteria
The judges will be looking for:
- Fresh point of view
- Originality
- Ideas and concepts
- Word limit (if any)
- Unique writing style
- Creativity
Winners will be invited to attend the dinner where their entry will be presented by themselves or a reader.