The 2017 Mogford Short Story Prize is now officially open. The competition invites budding writers of all ages to pen an original short story focused on Food & Drink. With a lucrative top prize of £10,000 awarded to the winning author, this year’s competition sees star of the BBC’s Great British Bake Off and national treasure Mary Berry lead the judging panel alongside award winning English Novelist Phillip Pullman.
Food & Drink must be at the heart of the tale. Stories can be about crime or intrigue; about a chance meeting over a drink or a life-changing conversation over dinner with previous winning genres have ranging from horror to romance. Alongside the £10,000, the winning story will be published and placed in each of the Mogford Group hotel rooms, many of which are kept by guests as a souvenir of their stay.
Inspired by the literary history of Oxford, the Mogford Prize is the idea of entrepreneur, Jeremy Mogford which this year celebrates it’s fifth anniversary. Founder of restaurant group Brown’s, Jeremy is the owner of luxury hotels, The Old Bank and the Old Parsonage and three restaurants in Oxford: Quod Brasserie, the Parsonage Grill, and Gee’s. Last year there were over 600 entries from all over the world. Previous judges have included the renowned chef and restaurateur Rick Stein and the novelist Lawrence Norfolk, author of, among other acclaimed works, John Saturnall’s Feast.
To read the previous winning stories or to listen to the 2016 winning story read by BBC producer David Jackson Young on The Story Player click here
The deadline for submissions is 15th January with the prize awarded on 29th March, for more details on the competition and to submit entries click here