Do you write? Do you have short stories laying around, unused and unread? Are they blocking your door? Are you currently unable to enter your bedroom? Do you have to sleep on the sofa? Do you want to get your stories read and also win fantastic prizes, like MONEY? Do you want to sleep in your bed again? Well look no further, because with a few simple clicks you can enter short story competitions all over the world.

It can be difficult to find out about ongoing writing competitions; even with fancy sites such as Google, the search for the right contest can be a long one. But fret no more! Christopher Fielden is coming to the rescue.

Fielden is a writer, just like YOU, he writes short stories, just like YOU, he’s been published and done well in competitions, just like – well maybe like you, but if not go to his website and this could be YOU.

Unlike a lot of us, Fielden has not been lazy. He’s done the hard work, ensuring that we don’t have to search any more. The wait is over; he’s brought the competitions to the people. If you’re anywhere near anything with an internet connection (which you probably are because you’re reading this) then I would urge you to head over to his website (by clicking HERE) and take part in the extensive list of short story competitions that he has provided.

But that’s not all. You’ll also find out if you have to give up a few pounds from your precious student loan or if entering a contest (and moving closer to world domination) is going to be what we all love: FREE. A maximum word count and where in the world the competition is, as well as its closing date, is provided. You no longer have to search and search for a suitable place for that thriller/sci-fi/western story about a secret agent space cow from Texas that you’ve written, because Fielden will point you in the right direction and tell you what genre every contest accepts.

So head over to Fielden’s website and win some stuff. It’s obvious that you want to, so go on. You can do all this from bed (when you can enter your bedroom again) without changing out of your Frozen pyjamas. Could it be any better?! Also, please remember us when you’re rich and famous.

Christopher Fielden’s list of short story competitions can be found HERE.

Second and third-year Brunel students have been working with staff to create Brunel’s third annual short story anthology, The Imagination Project.

This anthology is the brainchild of none other than Bernardine Evaristo, MBE FRSL FRSA, author of The Emperor’s Babe, Blonde Roots and Mr Loverman. But it’s the students that wrote, submitted and edited the stories as well as designed the anthology and organised a FREE launch night for it!

The launch is on the 15th of March at Brunel University, in the Antonin Artaud building, room 001, at 6pm. Everyone is welcome to FREE DRINKS and there will be readings from the anthology, which are available to purchase for just £5! So come, show your support, and enjoy the night!

You can follow the lead-up to the night at @BrunelStories on Twitter

I walked into the cinema knowing absolutely nothing about the movie except that it was about a transgender woman. I didn’t even watch the trailer. My friends asked if I wanted to watch it and not being one to shy away from anything new I decided to tag along.

The Danish Girl is a British drama film based on the fictional novel of the same name by David Ebershoff, which was loosely inspired by the lives of the Danish painters Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. The film is set in mid-1920s Copenhagen, where a man, Einar, while standing in as a female model for his wife, begin to realize that he is in fact a woman trapped in a male body. This is when everything starts to unfold; the film explores the struggles of Einar and Gerda’s relationship, the troubles they face and the sacrifices they make.

This movie caught me off guard in the most poignant and magical way. I walked in the cinema with the idea that the film was going to be about a man becoming a woman, but in actual fact the film was really about deep, unconditional love. I was completely captivated by everything the movie offered: the cinematography, acting and story-telling meld together to produce something so enchantingly beautiful.

I don’t want to give anything away but when my friends broke down during certain points of the movie I remained stoic and unrelenting. Not because I didn’t feel moved but because I felt a sadness for the characters so heavy that I didn’t know how to show my emotions.

There is a reason why the film and cast have gotten so many nominations and clinched their fair share of awards; The Danish Girl showed me exactly what love is, and what it could be.

VERDICT: 4/5
The film kind of drags on around the middle, but picks up a little later on.

Jojo Chia

After seeing previous plays directed by Jamie Lloyd, I had high expectations for his latest project; ‘The Homecoming’ by Harold Pinter, which features an ensemble cast comprised of John Simm, Gemma Chan, Keith Allen, Ron Cook, Gary Kemp and John Macmillan.

‘The Homecoming’ centres around a male-dominated family made up of the father, Max (Ron Cook), his three sons, Teddy (Gary Kemp), Lenny (John Simm), and Joey (John Macmillan) and his brother Sam (Keith Allen). When Teddy and his wife, Ruth (Gemma Chan), decide to visit his family with no prior warning, Ruth slowly and subtly wraps everyone around her little finger.

In all honesty, I haven’t had much experience with Pinter’s works, but the disjointedness of the plot made me uncomfortable. Also, the fact that a lot of character actions weren’t fully explained, and the way that they themselves seemed to change with little, or no, provocation, did little to alleviate my discomfort. Even their back-stories felt sketchy and incomplete as little was said to suggest any past events (all we’re given is information that their mother died and an odd speech which involved Lenny reminiscing about when his father used to tuck him and his brothers into bed). Ruth, however, was the main puzzle of the play since her character seemed to shift around quite a bit. When alone with Teddy near the start she appears to be a reserved yet resentful individual, then a scene later, when she’s alone with Teddy’s brother, Lenny, she gradually develops a manipulative and provocative attitude. Although it’s obvious that her transition must have something to do with her interaction with Lenny, it still feels a little out of the blue, I feel like we needed a little more information about her to understand the change. The ending is also somewhat unexpected (I won’t spoil it), and although there is an obvious comment on power play here, as Ruth uses her wiles to instigate authority, the overall effect leaves a bad taste in the mouth. It almost feels as though it’s trying to say that the only way women can have power is by exploiting men with their sexuality.

However, the actual production of the play, in my opinion, was fairly unfaultable (to this end, Jamie Lloyd has delivered once again). It was the play itself that let it down. Although, I can’t be completely without heart as I did find myself laughing on the odd occasion at the dark humour, and John Simm’s sadistic smile is something to be admired. The actors did a pretty remarkable job too; I was drawn in by their portrayals (even if I wasn’t drawn in by the characters themselves).

Personally, I wouldn’t say that it’s worth a full price ticket, but I managed to take advantage of the £15 Monday deal that Trafalgar Studios like to use, so I’m pretty content. Although no more of the £15 deals are on offer for this performance, it’s extremely likely that the scheme will be around for future shows and it’s definitely worth thinking about.

A big plus for the production though; you get to see John Simm in action, and once you get past the weedy tone of voice he uses, you realise just how talented he is.

The Verdict: 3/5

‘The Homecoming’ is at Trafalgar Studios until the 13th February 2016. Prices range from £29.50 to £69.50.

Brunel University is about to host their first ever V-day celebration and the excitement couldn’t be more real.

After years of lagging behind on the activism for women front, Brunel seems to be taking strides to catch up with other universities. Last year, Brunel’s first Women’s officer was elected into the student union and the Feminism had a complete rehaul making it much more inclusive.

V-Day is a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations.

As described by the organisation itself, V-day is a global event that raises awareness about issues such as incest, sex slavery and female genital mutilation.

In a similar spirit, Brunel, by the initiative of Wendy Knepper of the English department, is joining in with this fight against oppression against women all over the world. In true Brunel fashion, students will be at the heart of the event. Thomas Willet and myself have been at the heart of the organisation of this event look forward to getting more of our peers invloved in the cause.

The event takes place on the 3rd of February 2016 in the Antonin Artaud building, room AA001 from 1pm-4.30pm. A special talk by Xiaolu Guo and a screening of her award winning film ‘She, A Chinese’, is likely to be the highlight of this event but by no means will it be single faceted. Sections of the day will include writing activities alongside the theme of women’s issues as well as talks by students including myself. There will also be discussion about an ongoing project of a literary publication about modern day feminism written by Brunel students.

V-day at Brunel University is sure to be a hot pot of revolutionary thinking considering the campus’ diversity and it would be a shame to miss it. Visit the facebook event page for more information https://www.facebook.com/events/1749805578584186/.

Emma Challis

The past few months have been full of news when it comes to the world of book adaptations. For Harry Potter fans there’s been plenty to get excited about, with the release of the first wave of ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ tickets, which sold out in minutes, and the first glimpses of ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them’. Both look to be a promising extension of the much-loved series, with Oscar winning Eddie Redmayne taking the lead as Newt Scamander in the spin-off movie ‘Fantastic Beasts’.

Other exciting news has been the announcement of a BBC adaptation of the ‘His Dark Materials’ series by Phillip Pullman for television. After the 2007 film ‘The Golden Compass’ was generally regarded as a disappointment by fans and critics alike this could be another chance for beloved characters Lyra Belacqua and her daemon Pantalaimon to  delight on screen as they did in the books. There’s also potential for the other worlds included in the trilogy to be seen on screen for the first time.

This announcement follows a recent increase in books awaiting to be turned into TV series; another contemporary children’s classic ‘A series of Unfortunate Events’ by Lemony Snicket is in the running to be a Netflix original series by 2017.

It’s possible that this increasing movement to TV adaptations of books is because ongoing series offer more opportunity to stray true to the original stories than films as each episode allows for a chapter to unravel. There is also potential for character development to be shown over a longer period of time, which has proved popular in other TV series adapted from books such as ‘Game of Thrones’ as well as originals like ‘Orange Is The New Black’ and ‘Breaking Bad’. This also opens up the shows beyond fans of the books they’re based on, which could lead them to prove more popular than spin-off films like ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them’.

However, TV series can lack the large budget that the film industry offers which has caused other projects, such as the adaptation of Neil Gaimen’s ‘American Gods’, to be put on hold. There is also the threat of a series being cut half-way through if ratings fall which is a particular problem in the American TV industry.

Whichever form proves more popular it’s safe to say that these upcoming projects are ones to watch!

Are you an awesome short story writer? STORGY 2015 Short Story Competition may be the thing for you.

STORGY is a Literary Short Story Magazine that is constantly looking to publish both published and unpublished authors. STORGY is open for general submissions all year round but are currently holding their 2015 Short Story Competition. Managing Director Tomek Dzido recently informed us that submissions are now welcome and that the competition will be judged by award winning author Paul McVeigh.

According to Dzido, Paul McVeigh has been published in several anthologies, including New Century New Writing and Rattle Tales 2&3. He’s read his work on BBC Radio 5 and at the International Conference on the Short Story in Vienna. He also represented the UK short story for The Brittish Council in Mexico this year. Currently. he is working on a short story collection and his first novel was published in April this year and was shortlisted for The Guardian’s ‘Not The Booker’ Prize.

Paul is the Co-Founder of the London Short Story Festival and Associate Director of Word Factory, The UK’s leading short story salon. He has judged numerous short story competitions.

Submission for the competition opened on the 23rd of November 2015 and the deadline is at 11pm on the 30th December 2015. There’s a £5 entry charge.

14 finalists will be featured in the 2015 STORGY Short Story Competition Anthology with an extra prize of £500 for the winner. Two runner ups will receive £25 book vouchers and all winners are in for a signed copy of Paul McVeigh’s debut novel ‘The Good Son’

Further entry instructions and Terms and Conditions for the 2015 STORGY Short Story Competition can be found at:

http://storgy.com/2015-short-story-competition/

You can read winning story; ‘Live Meat and Freedom’, by Rowena Macdonald, from the 2014 STORGY Short Story Competition via the following link:

http://storgy.com/2014-short-story-competition/

The 2014 STORGY Short Story Competition Anthology is available on Amazon for £1.99, and contains all fourteen longlisted short stories, author interviews, afterwords, and exclusive artwork by STORGY illustrator Harlot Von Charlotte, in addition to STORGY’s interview with 2014 competition judge; David James Poissant.

​http://www.amazon.co.uk/STORGY-Short-Story-Competition-Anthology-ebook/dp/B013J6XHPQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448438669&sr=8-1&keywords=storgy

For STORY general submission guidelines, please follow the link below:

http://storgy.com/touch-us/