HEATHER VINEHAM NIGHT

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Competition Rules and Guidance

Write a short story or poem on a spooky theme:

Word limit for short stories - 2000, or 10 mins. reading time;
10 minute reading time maximum for poetry;
Only 1 poem or story to be read;
Only 1 section (poetry/short story) can be entered;
No copies of poems or stories to be distributed;
Latecomers will not be eligible to enter or vote if the readings have started or if they arrive after 8.00 pm;

Register your intention to read when you arrive - poems can not be written during the meeting;
Work must NOT have been published;
Must be your own work.

Who was Heather Vineham? See below...

Heather Vineham

We hold the Heather Vineham Night on the nearest Wednesday to Halloween as a tribute to Heather who was a valued member of the circle. She died suddenly on Christmas Eve nearly 20 years ago. She was an attractive and charming woman of seventy. Her wicked sense of humour was reflected in her writing.

During the Second World War she was employed on secret work at Bletchley Park. As she said, "We never knew what people either side of us were doing, and we never asked."

After the war she wrote ghost stories for Blackwoods and The London Mystery Magazine. She was published many times. Her sense of humour, although often ghoulish, was delightful. She was entertaining, generous and warm hearted. Everyday she fed the feral cats who lived in the park near her flat.

When she died on Christmas Eve, the winter was so severe that no graves could be dug. Her funeral could not be held for three weeks. Knowing her sense of humour I'm sure that, wherever she was then, she had a chuckle about that!

Maureen Jarman