… by which I mean I don’t usually point out writing competitions which charge you to enter, but I thought this one might be of interest.

Manchester Metropolitan University are running the Manchester Writing Competition, which has an impressive first prize of £10,000.

The deadline is 7 August, the entry fee is £15, and entries are limited to 5000 words, but other than that restriction it’s pretty much a case of write what you like… something which longtime readers will know is one of the tenets of this blog.

I’m not entirely keen on the fact that you have to pay, but then again it’s a college, so they probably don’t have loads of cash to spare – though on the other hand being a college should also ensure they don’t do a midnight flit with all the dosh, what with having buildings and students and being fairly well-established and everything.

Anyway, hope this is of use – not sure if I’ll enter myself, but if you do, good luck!