UK housebuilder Pye Homes has announced it will be hosting a virtual writing competition to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the birth of celebrated author Jane Austen.
The writing competition will officially open on Monday 20th October on Pye Homes’ social media channels, and will welcome aspiring authors and inspired writers to enter their own short story, which must take inspiration from Pye Homes’ newest development at Welborne Garden Village in Hampshire – the county which is home to Jane Austen’s birthplace.
The housebuilder will provide entrants with a brief for their short story, which will instruct them to create a fictional story about their first day in a new Welborne home, while cleverly implementing some of the Welborne development’s icons which include a fern leaf, bumblebee, butterfly, and bluebell.
Participants will have until Monday 17th November to submit their short stories, with two category winners – ‘Jane’s Juniors’ for younger entrants, under 16’s (500-750 words), and ‘Austen’s Apprentices’ for more mature writers, 16 and over (750-1000 words) – to be announced on Monday 24th November via social media.
The winner of the junior category will win the newly-released Jane Austen book from independent publisher, Summersdale, a signed copy of a Cerrie Burnell children’s book, a Wordsmith Mug from independently-run The Literary Gift Shop, and a £50 Waterstone’s voucher. The winner of the adult category will also win a Jane Austen book from Summersdale, a £50 Waterstone’s voucher, as well as tickets to visit and explore the famous author’s brother’s Chawton House in Hampshire.
With experience in writing, editing and publishing, the two winning stories will be decided by Chris Mounsey, author and English Literature Professor at University of Winchester, and Spencer Green, librarian, author, and illustrator with over 25 years experience across teaching and school libraries at Fareham, Hampshire’s Boundary Oak School.
Due to its shared geographic heritage in Hampshire, the new Welborne development, just north of Fareham, has dedicated many of its home types to Jane Austen’s most popular characters, including George Wickham and Colonel Fitzwilliam from Pride and Prejudice, with more to come in the development’s next phase.
Writers interested in entering the competition can submit their short story to the following email address: competition@pyehomes.co.uk
