Announcing Our 2019 Writing Contest

Closing date: Saturday 31st August 2019
Prompt: Diverse and Unusual Teen Voices
Prize: £200, £150, £50 (First, second and third prize respectively)
Publication: A dedicated anthology will include the top ten tales, available winter 2019.
Word count: 2000 - 5000
Internationally open to entrants aged fourteen and above.

In the last few years, we’ve seen an explosion of diverse and wonderfully weird teen protagonists in young adult fiction. At Odd Voice Out we want to keep the boundaries expanding of what a YA hero can be, throwing out stock characters and finding truly unique viewpoints. For our inaugural short story competition,Not So Normal Narrators, we are seeking short stories told through underrepresented and unusual teen voices. We’re hoping to see central characters of different ethnic, cultural and class backgrounds, characters who identify as LGBTQ+, characters with disabilities or mental health issues, or just any young character with circumstances or a perspective outside of the mainstream.

Think about the YA heroes you’ve not seen yet, and be the strange you wish to see in the world!

And in Other News...

Everything Change: 2018 Honorable MentionsOvO authors Kell and K.C. were both delighted to find their names on the Honorable Mentions list of the 2018 Everything Change Anthology of Climate Fiction. Whilst only 12 stories were chosen for publication in this highly competitive international anthology, both our authors were mentioned for their artistic flair and commitment to bringing realistic and eye-opening climate change fiction to life.

As an author first published in the 2016 edition of Everything Change, Kell Cowley personally recommends that you all grab your FREE copy of both books here. 

 Tales of the Anthropocene OvO Authors K.C. Finn and Kell Cowley adapted a pair of their most climate-focused stories into dramatisations at Theatr Clwyd, North Wales, this January. In conjunction with Chester Little Theatre and Chester Friends of the Earth, OvO showcased a dramatisation of the opening chapter of Kell Cowley's Shrinking Sinking Land, as well as K.C. Finn's premiere cli-fi tale Sixty-Five Days of Night.

Interested in getting this performance at your venue, school, event or club? Get in touch via the website to see how OvO can bring its theatrical productions to you!