The deadline for the Stanley Ratteray Memorial Christmas Short Story Contest is today at 5pm. The competition is open to Bermudians or residents of Bermuda and stories may be fiction or non-fiction.

Cash prizes in the form of gift certificates will be presented in each of three categories — 13 and under, 18 and under, and adult. The winner in each section will get $400 and the runner-up will receive $250. Third place will receive $125. Stories should have a Bermuda focus and the judges want vivid Christmas themes and local references. Entries from school pupils should be violence-free.

Entries must be in Microsoft Word or in the body of an e-mail. They should not exceed 1,500 words and must be e-mailed to shortstory@royalgazette.com.

Entries should be marked “Christmas Short Story Contest” and include the writer’s name, age, address and contact numbers. Teachers who submit entries on behalf of pupils should make sure the name and age of pupils and contact numbers for their parents are included as judges may contact the winners during the evening.

Contact details will be kept confidential. Pen names will not be accepted and poetry is not eligible.

A panel will decide the winning entries, which will be published in The Royal Gazette’s Christmas Greetings supplement on December 21.

Royal Gazette Ltd staff cannot respond to telephone or e-mail inquiries once an entry is submitted. The Royal Gazette reserves the right to publish any or all of the stories submitted.