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Short Stories for Lipreading: submissions, please!Can you write a gripping short story? Would you like your work to help deaf people combat isolation and depression? Can your work help deaf people learn to lipread? If you’d like to help us, read on……The Task.We are looking for short stories with the following qualities:Clear and gripping plot or narrative (e.g. thrillers or detective fiction, adventure stories, romances – but other genres are very welcome.) Realistic characters and setting.No fantasy or sci-fi (‘otherworldly’ ideas and made-up vocabulary are hard for lipreaders to reconcile with known English vocabulary, which they are trying to recognise.)No gratuitous violence.Straightforward narrative technique (flashbacks and multiple narrators are hard for lipreaders to follow.)Accessible, everyday vocabulary.Wide-ranging appeal (i.e. enjoyable for men and women with a wide range of ages and interests.)Up to 3,000 words, but shorter submissions will be welcome. (We are looking for stories that take approximately 5 to 25 minutes to read aloud, at a steady, clear pace.)The idea.More than 11 million people in the UK have some form of hearing loss – that’s one in six of the population. Lipreading is a vital skill that enables deaf people to continue to interact with the world around them. Because lipreading is difficult and arduous to learn, and classes can be hard to access, we are planning to launch a collection of short stories to be narrated on video and then posted online (eg. on YouTube) to give deaf people an opportunity to practise their lipreading skills. We hope that a gripping plotline with realistic characters and (ideally) a ‘twist in the tale’ will encourage hearing loss sufferers to watch story after story, and allow them to enjoy the life-changing process of learning to lipread.The selected stories will be read aloud by readers specially chosen for their expressiveness and clarity, and the filming will be designed to give deaf people the best chance of correctly reading the muted story. Of course, those who simply want to enjoy your writing can just watch the story with the volume at a normal level, so your story can be followed by English-speakers all over the world, with or without hearing loss. It will be accompanied by a transcript of your text, so might also prove to be a popular resource for those wanting to learn or practise English.Lipreading.Lipreading is an important skill for people with hearing loss. Some people develop their own lipreading ability as their hearing deteriorates but many others struggle without formal tuition and practice opportunities. Sadly there are few lipreading classes available, and many reasons why hearing loss sufferers cannot access them. Even for those attending classes, there are few opportunities to practise other than in the hurly-burly of everyday life, which can be intimidating.We hope that creating these videos will give hearing loss sufferers the opportunity to practise lipreading at their own pace. Hearing loss is often accompanied by other health problems resulting in loss of mobility/ transport, isolation and depression, so your writing could provide a stimulus for the housebound as well as a lifeline for those wanting to learn lipreading and improve communication with their friends and families, or in the workplace.Your reward.This initiative is being organised by volunteers to provide a free lipreading resource for those who need it most. Therefore, unfortunately, we aren’t able to offer you a financial reward – but we very much hope that the rewards below will be enough to entice you to share your gifts and help people with hearing loss all over the world.Your story published online (either on YouTube or a dedicated website) and with the potential of thousands of viewers. We aim to generate plenty of publicity for this exciting initiative, including media coverage and ‘grass-roots’ contact through national and local hearing loss organisations.You will be credited on the film, and, if you have a webpage, we are happy to create links to it or to include your biographical details.Your story will be brought to life by talented, expressive readers, especially chosen for their communication skills. (You may even like to consider reading your own work for us, if your lipshapes are sufficiently clear for lipreaders to follow.)You have the chance to attract new readers, from both the hearing and the deaf worldwide community.Entries to: info@.uk (in Word or PDF format) or hard copies to:AHB (‘Read My Lips’ Competition), Somborne Park, Stockbridge, Hampshire SO20 6QTEnquiries to: info@.uk or telephone Annabel on 07899 845 609.Terms and ConditionsEach submission must be the writer’s own original work and must not be previously published (including electronic or internet) or currently under consideration for publication by other bodies.If a story which we have published online is later required by the writer for professional/ exclusive publication elsewhere, it is the writer’s responsibility to notify us as soon as possible. We will then remove your work from our website/ YouTube at the earliest opportunity, though we cannot guarantee that the work will not have been further disseminated before then. We cannot take responsibility for protecting the copyright or exclusivity of any writer’s work that is published online by us.Stories must be in English and submitted either as a hard copy (typed or word processed) or in electronic form, as a PDF or Word document.Submissions should be accompanied by the submission form (attached).Submissions in hard copy cannot be returned, so please do not send original manuscripts.We reserve the right to edit or adapt winning submissions in order to fulfil lipreading needs. (This will usually only be substituting a difficult-to-lipread word or phrase for an easier one. More significant changes, if there are any, would be in consultation with the author, although the final decision rests with the directors and producers of the video.)No financial remuneration or compensation is available, now or in the future. ‘The Reward’ is in kind only, as described above. Writers give consent for any accepted submissions to be used for lipreading video and publicity purposes, including textual transcripts, subtitles and the like, to be available online, now and in the future, free of charge. However, this does not preclude separate publication of the work in text or e-text form by the authors at a later date, with all costs and proceeds devolving upon the author.The producers, readers and organisers of this initiative take no responsibility for the views and ideas contained in the text. The decision of the selection panel shall be final and no correspondence shall be entered into.We cannot accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, injury or disappointment suffered by any writer submitting their work.We reserve the right to amend these rules where it is deemed necessary to do so or where circumstances are beyond our control. We reserve the right to not accept any submissions, where circumstances are beyond our control, or if the selection panel’s overall verdict is that the submissions are not up to the required standard. Submission of entry is taken to be an unqualified acceptance of these terms and conditions.Enquiries to: info@.uk or telephone Annabel on 07899 845 609.-45720017018000Short Stories for Lipreading: Submission Form.Author’s name: Address:Email address:Telephone number:Title of work:Number of words:EITHER: I enclose a typed hard copy of my work OR: I attach an electronic version in Word or PDF format.I understand that these copies will NOT be returned to me.I agree to abide by the terms and conditions of submission.Signed:Date:Hard copies of submissions may be sent, with a completed copy of this form, to: AHB (Stories for Lipreading), Somborne Park, Stockbridge, Hampshire SO20 6QTE-copies may be sent as PDF or Word attachments to info@.uk , with ‘Stories for Lipreading’ in the subject line. Please ensure that you attach an e-copy of this completed form, or include the all required information in an accompanying email. ................
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