The League of Distressed Competitor-folk offers succour to those plucky, unsung heroes of the printed media who regularly compete in periodicals such as The New Statesman largely as cannon fodder for the established giants of the field. These loyal, resolute and often talented writers can become dejected when they fail to make the cut, but they soldier on unwaveringly. Membership is open to all compers who can prove an average success rate per annum of one per title, with Hon Menshes counting as 33.3%; on qualifying, members are entitled to submit rejected works for guaranteed publication in the society’s journal Me and My Wooden Spoons. In the event of national success rate exceeding three hits per annum, membership will lapse. Regular regional social gatherings are held. Recent and memorable occasions have included the East Anglian branch’s “Basil Ransome-Davies Lookalike Evening” and the Paris branch’s lecture entitled “Qui est Nicholas Holbrook?”.
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