BEST selling author Sarah Harrison is set to judge the talents of writers from Crow Country in a new competition. Royston Writers Circle is holding short story competition to mark its 30th birthday. The only rule is that the story must fit on one side of

BEST selling author Sarah Harrison is set to judge the talents of writers from Crow Country in a new competition.

Royston Writers Circle is holding short story competition to mark its 30th birthday. The only rule is that the story must fit on one side of a postcard, and have a beginning, middle, and end.

Entries can be submitted during Royston Arts Festival, and Mrs Harrison, whose books include Rose Petal Soup and The Red Dress, will be one of the judges.

Julie Dore, chairman of the Royston Writers Circle, said: "We wanted to do something to mark the 30th anniversary of the group that would see the wider community get involved, particularly younger writers.

"Very short stories are becoming more and more popular at the moment, and magazines and newspapers often include 'flash fiction' pieces of less than 500 words.

"There's a lot of discipline involved in writing a short story, but we chose this format because hopefully it is something which people can come up with in a short while."

Anyone can enter the contest, with stories split into three age-group categories: under-11 year olds, 12-18 year olds, and 18 years and above.

Entries can be submitted at the St John's Ambulance Hall, Newmarket Road, Royston, on September 26 and 27, from 11am-4pm. Members of the circle are hoping for a good variety of entries.

Ms Dore added: "We're not restricting the amount of entries per person, so if people have more than one idea then they are welcome to submit them all.

"There are prizes of �25 for the winners of each category, and we will be putting all the entries up on display in the hall during the festival so that visitors can have a browse."

For more details of the competition, visit http://roystonwriterscircle.co.uk.

*Royston Arts Festival launch, see page five.