ENTRIES for the national short story competition run by The Northern Echo have closed.

Wednesday was the closing date for the competition, which is backed by telecommunications company Orange, Darlington Arts Centre and bookshop Ottakar's.

More than 800 stories, an unprecedented number for the competition, were entered for the three categories covering adults, writing for children and junior, for authors aged 11 to 16.

Although a significant number of entries came from the region, there were many more from around the UK and dozens from abroad, including India, Singapore, the US, Australia and mainland Europe.

The winners will now be selected by a panel of judges that includes a number of writers.

Winners will be informed by post and results will be published in The Northern Echo and on the competition website www.theshortstory.co.uk

Competition administrator John Dean, a Darlington author and a judge in the junior category, said: "The entries have shown what we always knew, that there is a lot of talent out there.

"Orange New Voices was established to give that talent a voice and the judges will have a challenging time selecting the winners."