Details

Details

UK Writing Competitions (currently 37)

Scribble Quarterly Short Story Competition .  This quarterly contest from Scribble magazine is for stories in any genre and on any subject, running to no more than 3,000 words.  Winners are chosen by the magazine’s readers.
    Closing: Quarterly.
    Prizes: £75, £25, £15.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Comp Page: Scribble SSC.

Flash 500 Competition.  Here’s a quarterly flash fiction contest which offers higher prize money than many similar competitions. It is for stories of up to 500 words on any theme.
    Closing: Quarterly (end of March, June, September, December).
    Prizes: 1st - £300.  2nd - £200.  3rd - £100.  Winners will be published on the website.
    Entry Fee: £5 each, £8 for two, £11 for three, £14 for four.
    Comp Page: Flash 500 Story.

WriteTime Short Story Competition.  To enter this quarterly international contest from the WriteTime community you need to be aged 60 or older.
    Closing: Quarterly.
    Prizes: £100, £50, £50.  Unsuccessful entrants receive brief feedback on their work.
    Entry Fee: £5 for one, £10 for three.
    Comp Page: WriteTime Story

                         The Rules, the T&Cs, the Fine Print
When you submit a story or poem to a competition, you are entering into a contract with the promoter.  Make sure you know the terms.  It may be, for instance, that you are granting the promoter the right to publish your work without payment even if you don’t win.  This is often the price you pay for entering a contest with no entry fee.  If it bothers you, don’t participate.  But before you get sniffy about that 450-word story set in the sedate world of turnip farming, ask yourself this: Would I really be able to sell it to anyone else?  Publication, even without payment, might not be a bad thing if it gets you a healthy crop of readers.  And if it’s in a newspaper or magazine that carries some prestige ... well, there are plenty of struggling writers who would gift wrap and hand over their very souls for the privilege of being able to put that in their cv.  Only you can decide if it’s worth it.

SAW Summer Competitions.  You don't have to be a member of SAW (Scottish Association of Writers) to enter these two open contests, one for short stories, the other for poems, but you do have to be over 16.  Stories should be no more than 2,500 words.  Poems have a limit of 40 lines.  In both cases there is no theme.  Sean Lusk will be judging the stories while Imogen Stirling will assess the poetry.
    Closing: 24.8.25.
    Prizes: Stories - £100, £50, £25.  Poetry - £100, £50, £25.
    Entry Fee: £10.
    Comp Page: SAW Comps

Green Stories Flash Fiction Competition.  Your task for the latest Green Stories contest is to write up to 500 words on the theme of Epiphanies.  The promoters are looking for that moment in a story that causes ‘one or more characters to change for the greener’.  In addition to the story you need to submit a paragraph explaining how the story inspires greener behaviours.  Stories can be in any of the following categories: Transport,  Home & Garden, Food, Nature, Consumption/Waste, Activism, Other.
    Closing: 27.8.25.
    Prizes: 1st - £300.   Runners-up (7) - £100.
    Entry Fee: You must purchase one title from the Green Stories project (see website for lin).).
    Comp Page: Green Stories

V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize.  This annual contest from the Royal Society of Literature aims to preserve V.S. Pritchett’s warmth of feeling and mastery of narrative.  It is for stories of between 2,000 and 4,000 words.  To enter you must be over 18 and reside in the UK, the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland.
    Closing: 28.8.25 (5pm)
    Prize: £1,000 and publication is RSL Review.
    Entry Fee: £8.
    Comp Page: Pritchett Prize.

Edinburgh Flash Fiction Award.  A story of up to 250 words could win you a handsome reward in this annual contest from the Scottish Arts Trust.
    Closing: 31.8.25.
    Prizes: £2,000, £500, £250.  Write Mango Award (for bizarre, quirky stories) - £300.  Golden Hare Award (for Scottish flash fiction by a Scotland resident) - £500.  Clapped Out Nag Award - alas, this one is no longer running.
    Entry Fee: £10.
    Comp Page: Edinburgh Flash

SaveAs  International Writing Competition.  Here’s a repeat of the annual international contest from SaveAs Writers of Canterbury in Kent.  It is for poetry of up to 60 lines and stories running to no more than 3,500 words.  The theme this year is ‘facing the storm’,   The email and postal entry addresses can be found in the T&Cs document (link on the Saveas comp page).
    Closing: 31.8.25.
    Prizes (in each category): £200, £100, £50.
    Entry Fee: Stories - £5 each, £12 for three.  Poems - £4 each, £10 for three.
    Comp Page: SaveAs Writing

Oxford Poetry Prize.  Here’s another international contest from Oxford Poetry, the oldest dedicated poetry magazine in the UK (founded 1910).  It is for poems of up to 50 lines.
    Closing: 31.8.25 (midnight UTC).
    Prizes: £1,000, £200, £100.  The winner will be published in a print issue of Oxford Poetry and online.  Second and Third prize winners will be offered publication in the print issue.
    Entry Fee: £10.
    Comp Page: Oxford Poetry

Fool for Poetry Competition.  To enter this international chapbook competition from Munster Literature Centre in southern Ireland you submit 16 to 24 pages of your work.  The poems can have been published before but they must not have appeared together in a book.
    Closing: 31.8.25.  Opens for entries 1.6.25.
    Prizes (in euroes): 1,000, 500.  The two winners will be published in chapbook form by Southword Editions.  Each will receive 25 free copies of their book, plus a featured reading at the Cork International Poetry Festival with 3-night hotel stay (full board).
    Entry Fee: 25 euros.
    Comp Page: Fool Poetry

Intrepid Times Travel Writing Competition.  Here we have a factual travel writing contest from the USA with the theme of ‘A book led me there.’   Do not travel any farther thna 2,000 words.
    Closing: 31.8.25.
    Prizes: $300.  The winner and runners-up will be published on Intrepid Times.  Runners-up will receive a publication fee.
    Entry Fee: None - free entry.
    Comp Page: Intrepid Times

Inclusive Voices Short Story Competition.  Calibre Audio is inviting written, video or audio entries for its  latest short story contest and by ‘short’ they mean no more than 550 words.   Stories must include one of the following themes: Audio, Braille, Community.  There are four age categories: Under 11, 11 to 18, 18 to 25 and Over 26.
    Closing: 5.9.25.
    Prizes (in each category): 1st - Amazon Echo Dot.  2nd - £2 book voucher.  3rd - Calibre Audio merchandise.
    Entry Fee: None - free entry.
    Comp Page: Inclusive Voices

100-Word Flash Fiction Competition.  To enter this one from Southam Book Festival in Warwickshire you submit a story of up to 100 words.  Your story must contain one of the following words: place, placed, places.  Your story must have a title and the title is to be included in the word count.  The title cannot contain any of the compulsory words.
    Closing: 7.9.24 (noon).
    Prizes: £60, £30, £20.
    Entry Fee: £3 each, £10 for up to five.
    Comp Page: Southam Flash 100.

Aesthetica Creative Writing Award.  The writing in question for this contest from Aesthetica Magazine is short fiction running to no more than 2,000 words, and poetry of up to 40 lines.  Submissions can be on any subject and may have been previously published.
    Closing: 8.9.25.
    Prize (in each category): £2,500 plus other writing related prizes.  Finalists will be published in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual.
    Entry Fee: Up to 31.8.25 - £18 for fiction, £12 for poetry.  Between 1.9.25 and 8.9.25 - £24 for fiction, £18 for poetry.
    Comp Page: Aesthetica Award. 

Enfield Poetry Competition.  Poems of up to 30 lines are invited for this annual contest from Enfield Poets.  The judge is David Constantine, winner of the Queen’s Medal for poetry 2020.
    Closing: 10.9.25.
    Prizes: £500, £250, £125.  Winners and commended poets will be invited to read their work at a  special prize reading in Enfield on October 19.
    Entry Fee: £4 each, £10 for three.
    Comp Page: Enfield Poetry

Wetherby Festival Comedy Poem Competition.  Here’s something rare - a humorous poetry contest.  Even rarer, it’s free to enter (so don't gripe about the small prizes).   There are four categories:  Funniest Poem in the World, Funniest Poem Performance, Funniest Poem 12 - 16.  Funniest Poem 11 and Under..  You can submit your entry in text or video format, although of course if you are hoping to win the Performance category, it has to be a video.  Entries are accepted from any location, they say, so this covers not just our world but other worlds too (so you’re okay even if you live in a world of your own).
    Closing: 14.9.25.
    Prizes: £25 in book tokens in each of the four categories.
    Entry Fee: None - free entry.
    Comp Page: Comedy Poem Comp

Edward Thomas Poetry Competition 2026.  The Edward Thomas Fellowship is running another of its annual poetry contests.  As usual, entries are limited to 40 lines, and there is no set theme.  Well-known poet Daljit Nagra will be judging.
    Closing: 20.9.25.
    Prizes: £250, £100, £100.
    Entry Fee: £5 each (maximum three entries).
    Comp Page: ETF Poetry.

Togetherness Poetry Challenge.  The theme for this freebie is, as the name implies, Togetherness.  There is a 40 line limit.  All submitted poems will be published online.  A selection from these will appear in an anthology.  You can if you wish use an image to illustrate your poem.
    Closing: 26.9.25.
    Prizes: £500, £100 x 5.
    Entry Fee: None - free entry.
    Comp Page: Togetherness

Pudding Press Detritus Writing Competition.   Here’s a new contest from Pudding Press Ltd, an independent micro publishing company.  It is for horror, philosophy or young adult fiction.  There is no fixed theme.  To enter, you send the first 20 pages of your unpublished manuscript plus a brief bio and a synopsis of the work, this running to no more than 500 words.  Entrants should have had work rejected in the past and should not previously have been awarded a significant publishing deal.  If shortlisted, you will be required to send in your full manuscript.
    Closing: 30.9.25.
    Prize: Book design, publishing contract and promotion by Pudding Press Ltd.
    Entry Fee: First tier - £10 (includes some social media promotion of you and your work, plus 10% off in the Pudding Press shop).  Second tier - £40 (this includes feedback and the chance to resubmit your work after any required revision).
    Comp Page: Pudding Detritus Comp

Creative Writing Ink Short Story Competition.  Stories of up to 3,000 words are required for this regular runner.  The contest is open worldwide.  There is no theme, and stories can be in any genre.
    Closing: 30.9.25 (4pm).
    Prize: 1st - £1,000 and an online creative writing course of the winner’s choice, plus publication on the website.  Runners-up - £200 and publication on the website.
    Entry Fee: £12.
    Comp Page: Creative Writing Ink

Moth Nature Writing Prize. This annual contest from Irish magazine The Moth is for nature writing of up to 4,000 words.  Entries can be prose or poetry.  I should perhaps mention for the uninitiated that the magazine is not devoted to the subject of moths, fascinating though these creatures may be.  It is an arts and literature magazine.  But you can write about moths if you wish as there is no set theme.  The contest is open worldwide.
    Closing: 30.9.25.
    Prizes: 1st - 1,000 euros.  The winner also gets a week at The Moth Retreat in Ireland.  Runners-up - 500 euros, 250 euros.  Winning entries will be published online.
    Entry Fee: 15 euros.
    Comp Page: Moth Nature Writing.

Hi
    Before I discovered your website I’d never even thought of trying my luck in a writing competition. My stories were a very private part of my life, I was (and for the most of the time still am) very convinced that they are not good enough for the ‘outside world’.
     I don’t know what made me try - call it a crazy moment of self-confidence - but here I am the October winner of the Cazart short story competition. I haven’t felt so good about myself in months. It might not seem like a big deal to the world but for me it means everything. And it would not have happened if it wasn’t for your wonderful website.
     Thank You very much.                                         -  Dorota Nocun

Croydon Writers Michael Round Prize.  You don't have to live in Croydon to enter this fiction writing freebie.  It is open to all.  The theme is Far and Wide, and you have up to 1,200 words to turn it into a story.
    Closing: 30.9.25.
    Prizes: £100, £50.  Shortlisted entrants will be offered a free year’s sub to Croydon Writers.
    Entry Fee: None - free entry.
    Comp Page: Michael Round Prize

NAWG Open Competition.  Waking from hibernation is this annual contest from the National Association of Writers and Groups.  It is for poems of up to 40 lines and stories of between 500 and 2,000 words.  In both cases your efforts should be aimed at adults.
    Closing: 30.9.25.
    Prizes (in neach category): £200, £100, £50.  Winning entries may be published on the website.
    Entry Fee: £5 each (story or poem).  In the poetry category, three poems can be entered for £10.
    Comp Page: NAWG Open

Hammond House International Writing Competitions.  This annual offering from Hammond House Publishing at University Centre Grimsby is for short stories of between 1,000 and 5,000 words, poems of up to 40 lines, scripts (theatre, radio, short film or TV) of up to 10 pages (approx. 10 minutes duration), and Songwriting in the form of just lyrics or complete songs.  In all categories the theme is Secrets.
    Closing: 30.9.25.
    Prizes: Short Story - £1,000.  Poetry - £500.  Script - £250.  Songwriting - £100 in each sub-category, plus the song will be played at the 2026 Literary Festival and released worldwide on the Hammond House record label.  All shortlisted entries in the Story and Poetry categories will be published in the anthology, as will the scriptwriting winners.  There will be a televised awards ceremony (so get your politically correct, virtue signalling acceptance speech ready - and don't forget to thank the train/taxi driver, etc, without whom you wouldn’t be there).
    Entry Fee: £10.
    Comp Page: HH Lit Prize

Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Prize.  This regular visitor from the USA has now become two competitions in one: the Tom Howard Prize and the Margaret Reid Prize.  The former is for poems in any style, while the latter is for traditional verse as defined on the competition page.  In both cases the line limit is a very generous (some might say extravagant) 250.
    Closing: 30.9.25.
    Prizes: Tom Howard Prize (any style) - $3,500 + gift certificate.  Margaret Reid Prize (traditional verse) - $3,500 + gift certificate.  In addition there will be ten Honourable Mention awards of $500.  The Dishonourable Mention awards have been dropped this year following several suicides.  I wrote that last bit on April 1st.
    Entry Fee: $22 per submission (one submission can contain up to 3 poems).
    Comp Page: TH & MR Poetry.

Crowvus Christmas Ghost Story.  This is the ninth of these annual ghost story contests from Scottish independent publisher Crowvus.  Spooky tales of up to 4,000 words are required.
    Closing: 30.9.25.
    Prizes: £100, £75, £50.  Shortlisted writers will receive a free copy of the anthology.
    Entry Fee: £3 for one, £5 for two (two being the maximum permitted).
    Comp Page: Crowvus Story

The Caledonia Novel Award 2026.  This annual international competition from Edinburgh is open to unpublished and self-published novelists.  It is for stories of at least 50,000 words in any adult or young adult genre.  To enter, you email the first 20 pages of your novel (lines to be double-spaced) followed by a 200 word synopsis.  If longlisted you will be expected to submit the full manuscript by 8.12.25.  Alice Lutyens from the Curtis Brown literary agency will be judging,
    Closing: 15.10.25.
    Prizes: 1st - £1,500 and an exclusive award designed by Edinburgh artist Lucy Roscoe.  Highly Commended - £500.  There is in addition a special prize for the best entry from the British Isles and Ireland, comprising a place on a writing course at Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre.  This is in the Scottish Highlands, possibly 14 miles from the nearest pub.  There will be no trains and quite likely no road.  You will therefore complete your journey on a donkey, accompanied by native guides and sherpas.  Or maybe not.  Maybe you will glide up to the door in a taxi and have no hardships or challenges to write about in your diary.  That would be a pity in my view.
    Entry Fee: £28.
    Comp Page: Cal Novel Award.

Waltham Forest Poetry Competition.  Here’s a contest from Waltham Forest in London.  It is open to poets worldwide.  The theme is weather or Whether, and you can interpret this in any way you choose - as long as you confine your musings to no more than 40 lines.
    Closing: 20.10.25.
    Prizes: Main - £400, £200, £100.  Funniest Poem - £100.  Waltham Forest Prize - £50, £30, £20.  Young Poets Main - £50, £30, £20.  Young Poets Waltham Forest Prize - £50, £30, £20.   Funniest Poem (on the main theme) - £100.  Winners will be published on the website.
    Entry Fee: £3 for the first, £1 thereafter (up to 6 poems).  Young poets (under 18) - Free.
    Comp Page: Waltham Poetry

Dear Michael,
     Thank you for maintaining your informative and witty list of writing competitions.
     I entered loads of them last year and got precisely nowhere, but I ploughed on regardless and have just won second prize (£100) in the Flash 500 Humour Verse contest, which would suggest that your friend Percy Vere might be onto something.
                                                                             -  Melanie Branton

Eyelands Book Awards.  This is the eighth of these international book award contests from literary magazine Eyelands and Strange Days Books in Greece.  There are three main categories: Published Book, Unpublished Book, Writers’ Choice.  Acceptable genres include Poetry Collection, Novella, Short Story Collection, Novel, Children’s and YA books, Historical Fiction, Memoir, Graphic Novel.
    Closing: 20.10.25 (midnight PST).
    Prizes: Unpublished Book Grand Prize - Translation into Greek and publication by Strange Days Books.  Published Book Grand Prize - a 5-day holiday in Athens.  Writers’ Choice (as voted for by other prizewinners) - a 5-day stay in Athens.  There are 14 other prizes of a special handmade ceramic.  Selected texts from prizwinners will be published online, and there will be translation into Greek for poetry and short story winners.   All winners and finalists receive an online certificate, ideal for printing and hanging on the wall where your visitors are sure to see it (i.e. next to the drinks cabinet or the television).
    Entry Fee: 30 euros up to September 1st, then 40 euros.
    Comp Page: Eyelands Comp

National Poetry Competition. The National Poetry Society is once again running its prestigious international contest for poems of up to 40 lines.  As usual there is no theme.  This year’s judges are Denise Saul, Ian Duhig and Susannah Dickey.
    Closing: 31.10.25.
    Prizes: 1st - £5,000,  2nd - £3,000.  3rd - £2,000.   Commended - £500.
    Entry Fee : £8 for the first, £6 thereafter.
    Comp Page: NPC

Bedford Writing Competition.  This annual not-for-profit contest from Bedfordshire, home of the famous Shuttleworth Collection (old aeroplanes and cars) is for stories of up to 3,000 words and poems running to no more than 40 lines.  There is also the Cygnature story and poetry contest, open to young writers aged 17 to 25.  Plus there is the Bedford Prize for Bedford residents.
    Closing: 31.10.25).
    Prizes in each category (Poetry, Short Story): £1,500, £300, £200.   Cygnature Short Story and Poetry - £200 in each category.  In addition there is £100 in each category for the Bedford Prize..  Shortlisted and winning entries will be published in an anthology (e-book and hardcopy).
    Entry Fee: £8.50 each, £17 for three.  Full-time students: £6 each, £12 for three.
    Comp Page: BWC.

Scribble Short Story Competition.  Scribble magazine’s annual story competition is for tales of up to 3,000 words.  This year the theme is ‘ACCUSED.’
   Closing: 1.11.25.
    Prizes: £100, £50, £25.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Comp Page: Scribble Story

Cheltenham Poetry Festival Competition.  This is the Cheltenham Poetry Festival’s third annual  international poetry competition.  Entries can be up to 50 lines.
    Closing: 1.11.25.
    Prizes: £300, £100, £50.  The first prize winner will be offered a guest slot at the 2026 Festival, online or in person.
    Entry Fee: £4 each, £10 for three, £15 for five.
    Comp Page: Cheltenham Poetry

Dear Michael,
     I love your website and its pertinent personal comments re the comps.
     I entered the Alexander Cordell one some months ago, the mini saga, and was short-listed to win. It was a 600 mile round trip with two toddlers but we had a really wonderful weekend. My husband is self employed and works really long hours so it was great to drag him away and out into the countryside. The people were lovely, the whole event was fascinating, and I was thrilled to get two books and a book token. My little girl age 3 gets excited every time Wales is mentioned on the news now! The greatest thrill was hearing the Director of Visit Wales read out my story so reverently, and with evident enjoyment. The organisers were delighted with the world-wide entries.  I don’t write for money - just as well - but for the love of the medium and the message.
     Keep up the good work!                                         -  Julie Noble

Bath Children's Novel Award.  This annual international contest, which is open to unpublished and self-published emerging authors, is for novels and chapter books of any length (but see recommendations) aimed at children or young adults.  It is also for picture books. To enter a novel or chapter book, you send the first 5,000 words plus a one-page synopsis.  For picture books, you submit up to three complete stories in the same document with short summaries of each story (without pictures).
     Closing : 30.11.25.
     Prizes: 1st - £5,000.  The writer of the most promising longlisted novel will receive an online place on Edit Your Novel the Professional Way from co-sponsors Professional Writing Academy and Cornerstones Literary Consultancy.  Shortlisted entrants will receive feedback on their work.
     Entry Fee: £29.99 for a novel or chzpter book (for picture books, the fee covers up to three stories in the same document).
     Comp Page: BCN Award.

Paul Cave Prize for Literature.  Here’s a repeat of the new contest from Tim Saunders Publications of Southampton.  It has six categories: novellas of up to 10,000 words, novelettes of up to 7,500 words,, short stories of up to 1,000 words, flash fiction up to 300 words, micro fiction of up to 100 words, and poems of no more than 30 lines.
    Closing: 30.11.25.
    Prizes: Novella - £200.  Novelette - £100.  Short story - £75.  Flash Fiction - £35.  Micro Fiction - £25.  Poem - £35.  Winners in each category will receive feedback, and publication in the anthology and on the website.  A free copy of the anthology will go to all contributors.
    Entry Fees: Novella - £26 for one, £42 for two.  Short story - £15 for one, £25 for two.  Poem/Flash Fiction - up to 3 for £15.  Micro Fiction - up to 8 for £25.
    Comp Page: Paul Cave Prize

Inkspot Short Story Competition.  Inkspot Publishing’s inaugural contest is open to all writers, published or unpublished.  There is no theme, but stories must be aimed at adults.  The judge is London literary agent Kate Nash.
    Closing: 30.11.25.
    Prizes: £1,000, £250, £100.  The winning entries will be published on the Inkspot website.
    Entry Fee: Up to 2,500 words - £10.  Up to 5,000 words - £15
    Comp Page: Inkspot Story

L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Competition.  This US contest is open worldwide and is for short stories of up to 17,000 words.  They should be science fiction, fantasy or horror with fantastic elements.
    Closing: Quarterly.
    Prizes: $1,000, $750, $500.
    Entry Fee: None.
    Website: Click Here.

Dear Michael
     Just to say a big ‘Thank You’ for your work on the website. I have been selected for publication in the Mirador competition which ran last year and have been awarded 3rd place in the Stringybark Speculative Fiction competition. To be published twice is like a dream for me, which the information found on your site made possible. Thanks again.
                                                                                    -   Pat Davies

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Notes: Unless otherwise stated in the rules, all poetry should be single-spaced.  The rest should be double-spaced (which is to say, double spacing between the lines, not the words!).  It is sometimes the case that your name shouldn’t appear on the manuscript.  Again, check the rules.  If you put your name on there after being told not to, you’re out.  Don’t use coloured paper or fancy fonts, and don’t send your manuscript done up like the Queen’s dinner menu with a fancy gold-tooled leather cover.  These things merely announce that you have no confidence in your submission or, worse, that you think the judges are shallow enough to judge on appearance rather than content.  Plain white A4 80gsm paper is the stuff to use, with plain black typing or print.  Write on one side of the sheet only (unless asked to put your address on the back).

        Before you start writing, allow me to introduce you to an old friend

                                       The Typo Goblin

  I am the Typo Goblin, my heart is made of flint,
  My role in life is simply this: to keep you out of print.
  I sneak into your manuscript and do my fiendish work,
  Adding errors guaranteed to make you look a berk.
  And then I cast the ‘Careless’ spell: you say, ‘Ah, what the heck!’
  And pop your script into the post without that final check.
  At length some hapless editor receives your golden wit,
  And after reading fifty words he writes it off as ... unpublishable.

                                                                            - Michael Shenton

Finally, as you sift through the remnants of your shattered dreams and wonder if it’s worth going on ... www.samaritans.co.uk/

   My Humorous Verse, Songs , Etc (sample)
     
                           This is the Prizemagic website
                            Email comps@prizemagic.co.uk
                           Copyright:  Michael Shenton  2025

                                                           Poem: Being a Writer

                             Romantic Poetry by Michael Shenton (sample)