Christmas is right around the corner and so is the deadline for Christmas Short Story Competition, a holiday tradition spanning the past 40 odd years.

The deadline for entries is December 5 at 5 p.m.

Cash prizes will be presented in each of two categories: Under 18s and adults. The winner in each section will received $300 and the runner-up $200 and two special awards of $100 will go to the authors of stories showing exceptional promise, regardless of category. Generally several honourable mentions are also given.

It?s important to concentrate on the theme of ?Christmas in Bermuda? and the stories may be fiction or non-fiction and should not exceed 1,500 words. Poems and essays are not acceptable. The full name, address and telephone number of the author must be given with each story and all stories must be typed on one side of the paper with double-line spacing.

The winning stories are printed in on Christmas Eve and make for excellent reading for children and their families over the holiday season.

Last year received 119 stories from 24 adults and 95 children (Under 18s). The previous year the newspaper received 212 stories from 32 adults and 180 children.

Cathy Stovell, one of the four judges from last year, said: ?As usual the number of adult entries was significantly lower than the number of children?s and again not surprisingly for me, the submissions from children were far more creative and interesting.?

Last year?s stories ranged in subject matter from the dramatic and action-packed through melancholic, reflective, preachy and comedic to intense tragedy. Some stories had no Christmas theme at all and were discarded. The majority of the writers were female and we encourage males to write too. was last year?s adult winner with a story entitled, ?The Treasure Within? where a young woman buys a box from the Barn with a tiny bookworm. It is set free from an old book and the reader learns about the magical wonders of the Yuletide season., 13, was the winner of the Under 18s, with ?The Christmas Kite? that unfolds through the eyes of a kite named Kirby. He has an interesting conversation with the banana-leaf angel, a Bermuda cedar bell and a Gombey ornament about Christmas traditions. In the end Kirby is given life on Christmas Day as Bermuda?s first Christmas kite!

Winners, runners-up, exceptional promises and honourable mentions will be contacted directly by phone following the contest deadline. Please include your contact numbers and specify if your story is for the adult or Under-18 category on your entry.

Get those creative thoughts on paper and earn a cash prize just in time for Christmas. If you have any questions, contact Beverley Causey-Smith at on 278-0146.