I spotted the headline “Sunday Times launches richest short-story prize” recently.

Always keen to know about big-money prizes that we can bring to students’ attention I read on. The new competition has a first prize of £25,000 and five runners up will each receive £500. Apparently, it’s the latest sign that the short story genre is once again thriving after many years in the doldrums.

But what suddenly hit me as I read on was the fact that the contest is only open to authors who have already had work published. Now does that seem fair to you? Admittedly, the prize money is big so they expect accomplished work – but who’s to say that a complete newcomer can’t write a first-class story? To me it’s just another example of the hurdles that new writers have to jump if they want to get their work known.

I hope that some of you out there will see fit to pen a line to the Sunday Times’ letters page. Long live Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells!

But even the people of Tunbridge Wells are fighting back and they’ve now started a campaign to rid themselves of the stuffy, old-fashioned image. Mugs, T-shirts and postcards are being produced bearing the slogan ‘Delighted of Tunbridge Wells’. Somehow, it just doesn’t have the same resonance!

So until next time…