Reflex Fiction is trialling a chose your own entry fee system for the autumn round of its flash fiction competition. Enter stories between 180 and 360 words. The prizes are £1,000, £500 and £250. The closing date is 31 August. Website: www.reflexfiction.com
In October George RR Martin will receive the 2019 Carl Sandburg Literary Award, an honour given by the Chicago Public Library Foundation which ‘recognises the work of the world’s most heralded authors’. Previous recipients include Isabel Allende, Margaret Atwood, Joyce Carol Oates, Salman Rushdie, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Kurt Vonnegut.
The Queen’s Knickers Award is a new prize from the Society of Authors that celebrates quirky illustrated books for children up to seven years old. Created by author/illustrator Nicholas Allen and named after his own book, the award has a prize of £5,000. Publishers may submit books published between September 2018 and August 2019 up to 15 November.