GAZETTE & HERALD: Chippenham Arts Festival is looking for budding poets and writers to take part in the festival's first writing competition.

Local people who enjoy picking up a pen and scribing a line or two of verse, or fans of the short story, should get scribbling over the summer to be in with a chance of seeing their work in print. The closing date is September 10.

Write! is a contest for adults and children, and winners will be published in an anthology.

The competition is the dream child of writing enthusiast Gill Minter, an arts festival committee member, who wanted to give local people the chance to show off their talent.

The competition is looking for unpublished poems and short stories.

Poems, up to 28 lines long, can use the title The River, or the writer's own choice.

Stories can be written for the title The White Horse, or again, the writer's own choice.

Shortlisted entries will be read at a presentation evening at the Cause in Chippenham on Tuesday, November 16, when certificates and prizes will be awarded.

Children's classes have been set up for under 11's, 11 to 14 years, and 15 to 18 years.

Entry of free for children and £1 for adults per item of work.

Entries should be sent to: Write! Co-ordinator, 6, Monkton House, Monkton Park, Chippenham SN15 3TE.