De haut en bas
In Competition 2840 you were invited to provide an extract from the autobiography of a modern-day celebrity, ghostwritten by a…
Art of darkness
In Competition 2839 you were invited to submit a poem about the darker side of spring. There were references in…
Fifty-something
In Competition 2838 you were invited to submit a short story entitled Fifty Shades of whatever you chose. It was…
Reunion blues
In Competition 2837 you were invited to submit a poem on the horrors of a reunion dinner. In days gone…
All together now
In Competition 2836 you were invited to coin collective nouns for the following: tweeters, hackers, hoodies, WAGS, environmentalists, bankers, MPs…
Lonely hearts
In Competition 2835 you were invited to submit a profile for an online dating website for a well-known politician, living…
Hard-boiled Blyton
In Competition 2834 you were invited to submit an extract from a classic of children’s literature rewritten in the style…
Dear diary
In Competition 2833 you were invited to submit an extract from the adolescent diary of a well-known public figure, living…
Burns Night address
In Competition 2832 you were invited to compose an address to an item of food. The assignment was inspired by…
Essence of…
In Competition 2832 you were invited to compose what might be a quintessential opening paragraph from the pen of either…
Talking shop
In Competition 2830 you were invited to choose, from different authors, two characters who have the same job or position…
Culture shock?
In Competition 2829 you were invited to imagine what Philip Larkin might have made of the news that Hull has…
That was the year that was
In Competition 2828 you were invited to submit a retrospective verse commentary on 2013. Reasons to be cheerful are, apparently,…
Walk on the wild side with the Gruffalo
If, like me, you are allergic to pantomime (‘Oh, no you’re not!’; ‘Oh, yes I am!’) then help is at…
Dear Santa
In Competition 2827 you were invited to submit a Christmas list, in verse, in the style of the poet of…
Winter’s tale
In Competition 2826 you were invited to submit nonsense verse on a wintry theme. The line between sense and nonsense…
Picture this
In Competition 2825 you were invited to supply a poem for a well-known painting of your choice. The poet and…
Sporting double
In Competition 2824 you were invited to submit double clerihews about a well-known sporting figure past or present. The…
Pet project
In Competition 2823 you were invited to submit a school essay or poem written at the age of eight by…
Shakespeare does Dallas
In Competition 2822 you were invited to submit an extract from a scene from a contemporary soap opera (television or…
Nick Cave is still raising hell
As Sunday night’s storm clouds gathered, one of rock’s great polymath-storytellers whipped up a tempest of his own on the…
Georgic
In Competition 2821 you were invited to supply a poem that provides instruction or useful information. This challenge was, of…
Postscript
In Competition 2820 you were invited to supply a postscript to any well-known novel. This challenge was suggested by…
Buttoned up or open neck?
In Competition 2819 you were invited to write a poem either in free verse mocking rhymed, metrical verse or in…
Literary merger
In Competition 2818 you were asked to merge two literary classics and provide a synopsis of the new title. You…
