Have you ever fancied being a writer? Now’s your chance! Liberate is very excited to be announcing its second annual Channel Islands LGBTQ+ Writing Competition during global Pride month.
The competition aims to educate and inform the public about the challenges of being LBGTQ+ today.
The competition was the brainchild of a Liberate team member who wishes to remain anonymous. They said: “I became interested in LBGTQ+ writing after reading the book ‘The lie’ by William Dameron, a US-based publicist. He described living a heteronormative life while hiding his homosexuality until he couldn’t hold it in any longer. It inspired me to read more LBGTQ+ accounts, both fact and fiction.
“I came up with the idea of launching, through Liberate, a writing competition that would be open to everyone. The idea is for us to be thrilled with stories or experiences with an LBGTQ+ theme. You don’t have to identify as LBGTQ+ but your entry has to reflect the theme. The aim of the competition is to inform and educate people of the challenges of being LBGTQ+ today using the medium of creative writing to express themselves”.
CEO of Liberate, Ellie Jones (pictured), added, “This year sees the LGBTQ+ community celebrate 50 years since the first ‘Pride’ protests in the UK asking for equal rights for LGBTQ+ people. To reflect this, we are asking people to write with a theme of ’50 years of Pride’. This could be fact or fiction, based on Pride or how much has changed in society in those 50 years, or any other related topic you can think of. The winners will be announced as part of the Channel Islands Pride celebrations in September.”
The competition is once again kindly sponsored by Imperium Trust, Director Rhona Humphreys told us why they think the competition is important:
“The promotion of inclusivity and equality on the island is really important, and an area where real progress has been seen – but there is still a journey to travel. The opportunity for individuals to express their thoughts in the writing is one we are pleased to support again for another year. I look forward to reading all of the entries, which last year were both entertaining and inspiring.”
If you would like to enter the competition the rules are pretty simple. Liberate is asking you to express yourself with a piece of writing with a storyline based around ‘50 years of Pride’ in 1000 words or less. Entries are open to everyone across the Channel Islands. There are two categories; an over 18s and under 18s so everybody can have a go, with a £100 amazon voucher prize for the each category winner.
The closing date of the competition is Sunday 14 August and an awards evening with drinks and canapés will be held in Guernsey on the evening of Wednesday 7th September at the Guille-Allès Library during Channel Islands Pride week (there will be an option for people join the awards night virtually for anyone not based in Guernsey).
