SHERLOCKOLOGY AND MX PUBLISHING HAVE TEAMED UP IN SUPPORT OF THE
UNDERSHAW PRESERVATION TRUST, TO OFFER FANS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE
THEIR VERY OWN SHERLOCK HOLMES SHORT STORY PUBLISHED IN A
BOOK!
WHAT IS THE BOOK?
The upcoming book, 'Sherlock's Home: The Empty
House' is to be a collection of short stories and
poems centered around the Sherlock Holmes canon characters and for
the benefit of the Undershaw Preservation Trust.
The aim is to give aspiring writers with an interest in Sherlock
Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle, the opportunity to see their writing
in print, while primarily raising awareness for Undershaw.
WHAT IS IT FOR?
Undershaw is the former home of Sir Arthur Conan Dolye, creator
of Sherlock Holmes, located in Hindhead, Surrey, UK.
'The Undershaw Preservation Trust' is an organization that is
working toward saving Undershaw from development and conversion
into three separate properties. Instead they are fighting to
preserve this historic house as a whole, as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
originally intended, for the benefit of future generations.
HOW DO I SUBMIT AN ENTRY?
If you would like to contribute to the book, all you need to do
is write a short story or poem based on Sherlock Holmes and/or
Undershaw - whether it be in the Victorian era, a decade in the
20th century, modern day or even in the future?
You can change the characters genders, ages or nationality. You
are limited only by your imaginations; tell a story of them as
children, or maybe solving crimes in the swinging sixties, what if
the premise was set in space? Would a futuristic Sherlock Holmes
and John Watson battle criminal aliens, maybe outlawed cowboys in
the Wild West from the late 19th century, or even pirates? As Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle said, "You may marry him or murder him
or do what you like with him", so the choice really is
yours!
Be creative, be original, but most of all have fun and help
support the preservation of this historical building.
The final selection will be made up of up to 20 stories and
poems with the authors credited in print. [Please
note: All royalties from the sale of this book will
be donated to the Undershaw Preservation Trust and so unfortunately
contributors will not be paid a royalty fee.]
Please email your entries to info@sherlockology.com with
the subject line Sherlock's Home. Other
information to include: your name as you would wish it to appear in
print, location (city and country i.e. London, UK), and your
contact details.
Word Count: The story or poem must
be no more than 3,000 words.
Entries: Anyone can apply, but entries
must be submitted by Midnight Tuesday
1st May, 2012. Unfortunately submissions
after this date won't be eligible for inclusion due to the
publication date. The final collection of stories and poems will be
chosen by a representative of Sherlockology, MX Publishing and The
Undershaw Preservation Trust.
Stories which are submitted that do not make it in to the
final published book will be compiled into a PDF which will be made
available as a FREE download from the Sherlockology
website.
Content: We do ask that you keep in mind
we would like this book to have the largest possible readership in
support of Save Undershaw, therefore stories can not
be consider that contain material inappropriate for
minors.
Important Legal Bit: There is only one
Undershaw, so we ask you to create a piece of writing that is just
as unique!
While the Sherlock Holmes canon characters are out of copyright,
which means they no longer legally belong to anyone, characters not
found in the canon but in recent adaptations such as Molly Hooper
from BBC 'Sherlock' television series or Lord Blackwood from Guy
Richie's 'Sherlock Holmes' movie for example, do belong to the
creators of the productions. Unfortunately therefore we can only
include original canon characters i.e. Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John
Watson, Mrs. Hudson, Lestrade, James Moriarty, Mycroft Holmes,
Irene Adler, etc., although they are not bound by their original
premise, gender or era.
All material supplied will be subject to editing to ensure no
copyright infringement occurs, but please also keep in mind that
all content must be your own, therefore direct quotation may not be
made to the script of any television or film adaptations.
WHEN WILL THE BOOK BE PUBLISHED?
The book will be published on the day of the High Court Judicial
Review for Undershaw when it's fate will be decided on Wednesday
23rd May, 2012
CAN I PRE-ORDER THIS BOOK YET?
If you are unable to contribute creatively, you can still
support the Undershaw Preservation Trust* by pre-ordering the book on Amazon.
*If the Review outcome is in the Trust's favour, royalties from
the sale of this book will go directly towards the renovation costs
of the building. Should the unthinkable happen and it does not, the
money will contribute to preserving the memory of Undershaw by
documenting the building.
So there's only one thing left to say now, and that
is;
What are you waiting for? Go get
writing!