SHARPEN your pencils, pick up your pens ­and dust off your keyboard ­— Sight for Wight's short story competition is returning for a fourth year.

Following the success of last year’s writing competition, which produced some very high quality entries, Sight for Wight (SFW) is running the short story writing competition again this year.

Chris Cane, marketing, communications and fundraising manager for SFW, said: "This is an exciting opportunity for budding Island writers to become published authors and win some amazing prizes.

"We are delighted this year to announce four celebrity readers who have kindly agreed to donate their time and read the winning stories."

Among the celebrity readers for this year's competition are jazz singer Edana Minghella, It Ain't Half Hot Mum actor Melvyn Hayes, television presenter Kate Weston and actor Michael Maloney, whose credits include The White Queen, Hamlet and Truly Madly Deeply.

The winners in three age categories — under 12s, 12 to 17, and over 18s — will be announced at an awards ceremony at the Riverside Centre, Newport, on Monday, December 9.

The winners will also be invited to join the team at Vectis Radio to be interviewed on air and record a podcast of their story, with the winner of the under 12 category also having their story printed in the County Press.

Entries should be submitted to Waterstones, Newport, by November 8.

The word count is between 1,500 and 2,000 words for adults, and up to 750 words for under 18s.

Formerly the Isle of Wight Society for the Blind, SFW is a local independent charity, established in 1895, to help people living with sight loss on the Isle of Wight.

For more information about the competition, visit www.iwsb.org.uk, call 522205, or email fundraising@iwsb.org.uk

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