Here are some general comments from past adjudicators:
Betty McKay
adjudicator for Woman’s Short Story category
All entries were on subjects which would be suitable for a woman’s magazine. While this is a market that is open to new writers, it’s worth remembering that it’s also a very competitive one, so your work should be of the highest standard. Presentation of your manuscript is very important. Lots of the stories started with interesting first lines and paragraphs to grab the reader’s attention and it’s important to remember that endings are important too, and should round everything off satisfactorily.’
adjudicator for Woman’s Short Story category
All entries were on subjects which would be suitable for a woman’s magazine. While this is a market that is open to new writers, it’s worth remembering that it’s also a very competitive one, so your work should be of the highest standard. Presentation of your manuscript is very important. Lots of the stories started with interesting first lines and paragraphs to grab the reader’s attention and it’s important to remember that endings are important too, and should round everything off satisfactorily.’
Rosemary Gemmell
adjudicator for Historical Novel category
Thank you very much for allowing me to read your precious manuscripts for the Historical Novel competition. I enjoyed all of them very much and was delighted with the variety, originality and overall competency in writing historical fiction. Not one entry failed to deliver some kind of historical aspect and all of them were good enough that I could guess the period correctly.