SUPERHEROES, storm fronts and spraying water are among the inspirations laid before this year's Newcastle Herald short story competition entrants.
The tale behind each picture is entirely up to you as we today open entries in the 2023 edition of the competition, its tenth year.
The creativity and variety of the region's writers was on show last year, when Stephanie Ayres' The Elephant in the Room and Dakota Tait's The Circle captured the judges' attention.
This year, it could be your byline reaping the rewards.
Open for entries for a few more weeks, the competition is all about urging Hunter writers to take a picture and turn it into 1000 words.
This is your chance to let your inner author off the leash and allow your imagination to run wild into fiction. Stories can be of any genre but must be your own work. The plot must draw inspiration in some way from one of these five images by Newcastle Herald photographers Simone De Peak, Marina Neil, Jonathan Carroll, Peter Lorimer and Max Mason-Hubers.
Entries should specify which image inspired their tale. Stories submitted for the competition must be between 900 and 1000 words to be considered.
Judges for this year's competition include Miles Franklin shortlisted author and Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction winner Dr Ryan O'Neill, Lydia Lindfield from Beaumont Street's Maclean's Booksellers, Australian Community Media head of dailies Chad Watson and Herald deputy editor Matt Carr.
Short-listed stories in the Newcastle Herald competition will run in the paper between December 26 and January 28. The stories will also be published and collated at newcastleherald.com.au.
An overall winner, a highly commended entrant and the people's choice winner will be announced on Saturday, January 28, 2023.
The winner will receive a $200 voucher at Hamilton's MacLean's Booksellers.
The highly commended entrant will receive a $100 MacLean's voucher and the people's choice winner will get $50 to spend at the Beaumont Street book shop.
All three will also receive a Kindle courtesy of Domayne @ Harvey Norman Kotara.
The judges' decision on winners is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Entry is open to Hunter residents aged 18 and over, and limited to one story per person.
By submitting an entry, the author warrants the story is original and has not been published elsewhere and that they own the copyright.
Stories must be sent to mcarr@newcastleherald.com.au. They must be emailed as an attachment, with a cover sheet listing author's name, address, email address and phone contacts. Submissions close at midnight on December 22 2022.
