Valentine’s Twittermantic with Hallmark

Hallmark Romantic Verse Competition Returns for Valentine's 2011

LONDON, England, January 19, 2011

 – UK Wide Search for the Best Twittermantic

– Winner Receives a Luxury Romantic Break Away

After the huge success of last year's Twittermantic competition, which saw more than 600 entries, author and poet Christine Miller, Founder of ReSource, a global intelligence provider in the business and personal development field,  has again agreed to act as a judge.  Hallmark Cards is again giving the UK's wannabe Shakespeares the chance to show off their poetic side in a national creative writing contest, launching today. But in the true spirit of a modern day Romeo or Juliet – the romantic verse must be composed in just 140 characters on the popular social network site, Twitter!

The competition, back by popular demand, is being launched by Hallmark's online personalised card service, Hallmark.co.uk (http://www.hallmark.co.uk/), as part of its build up to Valentine's Day, with a luxury weekend break away on offer for the winning Twittermantic!

The best entries collected before Valentine's (February 14th) will be judged by an online public vote and by a panel of experts, including poet and published author, Christine Miller. (https://www.christinemiller.co)

Christine said: “Many writers – poets, journalists, bloggers et al, have said that Twitter, far from restricting their expressiveness, has helped them hone their skills and improve their writing. This is because they don’t have the luxury of length, so have to drill down and identify the key points and condense their ideas. It has provided a paradoxical opportunity to get more creative and meaningful by saying less – a pared down scenario with greater freedom, where new types of expression like text speak are not only allowed but positively encouraged.  So be playful and have fun.

‘Have great fun, Let your senses soar, send us your love poems, ♥♥♥♥. We want to see lots more!’”

Christine is offering a FREE guide to writing poems over Twitter, normally valued at £7.99, to all entrants of the Hallmark competition, and will be offering tips on the Hallmark blog during the competition.

Jon Taylor, from Hallmark Cards online, said: "Entering is simple; all people need to do to become a Twittermantic is follow 'Hallmark Cards' on Twitter and then write their romantic verse in 140 characters or less, making sure they include @HallmarkUK in their tweet entry. You can find full entry details at Hallmark.co.uk (http://www.hallmark.co.uk/).

"We had a great response last year with some truly brilliant entries and people really embraced writing verses on Twitter. So we are again asking the great British public to show us how romantic they can really be!”

The judging panel consists of seasoned limerick writer and author William Clark, professional poet and published poet and author Christine Miller, as well as Hallmark's own editorial team.

The overall winning verse will be featured on a 2012 Hallmark Valentine's Day card which will be available for the public to purchase through Hallmark.co.uk (http://www.hallmark.co.uk/). The lucky winner will also scoop a luxury romantic cottage break for two courtesy of cottages4You (http://www.cottages4you.co.uk.)

Christine Miller, author of The Secret Garden of the Soul, who forms part of the expert judging panel, said: "Poetry doesn't just have to be for a select few, it can be a fun and creative form of expression for all!

"The principle behind Twitter and its 140 character 'tweet' poses a great challenge for people to be the most romantic in the fewest words – nevertheless, often the most moving messages are striking in their brevity."

The Twitter verse competition aims to bring creative writing to the masses with the contest open to everyone in the UK – from complete novices to quality amateur writers. The only criteria are that the verses must be the individual's own work.

Last year's winning entry was by Mazz Mullarky who wrote: "My heart is as big as a lake, my love as deep as the ocean, 13 years now, I will always give you my devotion".

The Twittermantic competition is a bit of fun to highlight just how personal you can get with personalised Valentine's Cards (http://www.hallmark.co.uk/personalised-cards/valentines-cards/)from Hallmark.co.uk has never had so much choice!

Editor's notes:

About Christine Miller, MA FRSA

Christine is a business and personal growth strategist who shows people how to create richer, more fulfilling and compassionate lives so that they spend more time doing what they love and loving what they do.

The visionary Founder Editor of ReSource ( http://www.yourultimateresource.com/), a leading intelligence provider in business and personal growth, Christine enjoys a privileged role sharing thoughts and ideas with world leaders in the fields of current affairs, business, social and personal education. An Author, Speaker and published Poet, Christine is multifaceted and dedicated to the development of the whole person, applying her wisdom and original thinking to help foster beneficial change on a global scale.

You can find Christine's acclaimed poetry Secret Garden of the Soul and more information on Christine Miller, visit https://www.christinemiller.co and also www.soulpoet.org  where Christine regularly posts on poetic and creative matters – see http://soulpoet.org/wordpress/2011/01/25/robert-burns-night/

Christine is available for interview.

Contact:

Christine Miller Christine@christinemiller.co
Skype: MChristineMiller
Tel:  +44 (0)20 8998 1511