Details

Details

UK Writing Competitions (currently 39)

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.
    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. Entries should run to no more than 1,500 words.
    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

Story Glory Competition.  The Story Glory website is running themed monthly competitions for fiction of between 300 and 1,200 words.   Entry is free,
    Closing: End of each month.
    Prize (each month): A book, sent to you by 1st Class post, and publication on the website.
    Entry Fee: None.  You just need to register.
    Comp Page: Story Glory

                         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.

Tower Poetry Contest.  Open to students aged 16 to 19 who are in part- or full-time secondary education, the 25th Christopher Tower Poetry Competition is for poems of up to 48 lines.  This year’s theme is ‘A Riddle’
    Closing: 19.2.26 (noon).
    Prizes: £5,000, £3,000, £1,500, and ten at £100.  The top three winners will be offered a place on the Tower Poetry Summer School.
    Entry Fee: None - free entry.
    Comp Page: Tower Poetry

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

Arundel Literary Festival Competitions.  Here we have two contests, one for poems of up to 40 lines, the other for flash fiction of up to 500 words.  In both cases entrants must be 16 or over.  Prizewinning poet Denise Bennett will be judging the poetry.  Simon Brett, whose impressive track record in fiction writing is too long to list here, will be judging the stories.  Winners will be invited to read their entries at the final evening event of the Festival on March 21 in the Victoria Institute.
    Closing: 23.2.26.
    Prizes (in each category): £200, £100.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Comp Page: Arundel Litfest Comp.

Next Generation Short Story Awards.  Here’s a new international competition from America, with more than 30 cash prizes.  The promoters seem to be aiming for a world record for the most categories in any single contest.  There are 34 - too many to list here.  You can enter your story for more than one category if you wish, but you have to pay extra.   Stories should not exceed 5,000. words.
    Closing: 26.2.26.
    Prizes: $500, $300, $200.   The top three winners also receive  a gold medal and an invitation to the Awards Gala, plus their entry will be published in the Anthology of Winners.  Other winners receive  $75 and a gold medal, plus publication in the Anthology.
    Entry Fee: $25 for the first category entered, $20 dollars each for any additional categories entered for the same story.
    Comp Page: Next Generation Story

Never Such Innocence Writing Competition.  Here we have a repeat of the international freebie from the charity Never Such Innocence.  It is for youngsters between the ages of 9 and 18.  It has three categories - Poetry, Songwriting, Art - but here I deal only with the first two.  Entries must respond to the theme: ‘In Someone Else’s Shoes.’  If you are entering a song, submit a video or audio recording (maximum 4 minutes) plus the written lyrics.
    Closing: 27.2.26.
    Prizes:  Winners have their work published in a digital booklet, and will receive an NSI Prize Pack.  They will also be invited to take part in special opportunities.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.  You can enter each category once.
    Comp Page: Innocence

Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition.  Open to published and unpublished writers, this contest from the Crime Writers’ Association celebrates the author of the Albert Campion detective novels.  It is for stories of up to 3,500 words.  These must comply with Margery Allingham’s own definition of a mystery, which is basically as follows: a crime, a mystery, an enquiry and a conclusion, the conclusion providing reader satisfaction (so your investigator can’t end up thumping his/ her desk in frustration and muttering, ‘Damn - the bastard’s got away with it!’).
    Closing: 27.2.26 (6pm).
    Prize: £500.
    Entry Fee: £25.
    Comp Page: Allingham Story

Flash 500 Short Story Competition.  This annual contest from the Flash 500 website is for short stories of between 1,000 and 3,000 words on any theme.
    Closing: 28.2.26.
    Prizes: £500, £200, £100.
    Entry Fee: £7 for one, £12 for two, £16 for three, £20 for four.
    Comp Page: F500 Short Story

Edinburgh Short Story Award.  Presented by the Scottish Arts Trust, this international contest is for stories of up to 2,000 words on any subject.  There is also the Write Mango Short Story Award for bizarre, quirky stories that can sometimes make the reader laugh out loud.  And then there’s the First Write Award for the best story by an unpublished writer.
    Closing: 28.2.26.
    Prizes: 1st - £3,000.  2nd - £500,  3rd - £250.  First Write Award - £300 plus publication.  Write Mango Short Story Award - £300 plus publication.  The writers of the top 18 stories will be offered publication in the anthology.
    Entry Fee: £11.
    Comp Page: Edinburgh Story Award

Fish Flash Fiction Competition.  Back again for another round is this short fiction contest from Fish Publishing in Southern Ireland.  The word limit is, as usual, 300.
    Closing: 28.2.26.
    Prizes: 1st - 1,000 euros.  2nd - an online writing course plus 300 euros.  3rd  - 300 euros.  Ten entries will be published in the Fish Anthology. The writers will each receive 5 copies .
    Entry Fee: 16 euros for the first, 11 each thereafter.
    Comp Page: Fish Flash

Claret Press Short Story Competition.  For reasona I can't even begin to guess, this is for stories of up to 4,999 words.   I mean, would it have caused them some serious inconvenience to have rounded it up to a nice neat 5K?  One can only wonder.  The words, whether an odd or an even number, should  reflect today’s politics.  There are suggested themes on the website.  All genres and styles of creative prose are welcome.
     Closing: 1.3.26.
     Prizes:  £50, £30, £20.  Winners will be published on the website and in the Sip of Claret News newsletter.
     Entry Fee: £5.
     Comp Page: Claret Story

BLB Short Story Prize.  The competition promoters at Brick Lane Bookshop in London are looking for writers who have not had a book-length work commercially published and who are not scheduled for such publication.  Publication in your blog does not count, and if you have self-published a book but sold fewer than 50 copies and are prepared to admit it, then that also doesn’t count.  If this description fits you, and you are over 18 and resident in the UK or Ireland, send in an original unpublished story of between 1,000 and 3,500 words.
    Closing: 2.3.26 (5pm).
    Prizes: £1,000, £500, £250.  The 12 shortlisted entries will be published in the contest anthology.  Some of the shortlisted writers will also receive prizes.
    Entry Fee: £10.
    Comp Page: BLB Story.

Deepings Literary Festival Short Story Competition.  The theme for this freebie from Market Deepings in the county of Lincolnshire is Hidden Treasures.  The word limits are as follows: up to 500 for 8 to 15-year-olds, and up to 1,000 words for anyone older.
    Closing: 9.3.26.
    Prizes:  Winners receive £30 in book tokens, plus possible publication in the I’d rather be Deepings magazine.
    Entry Fee: None - free entry
    Comp Page: Deepings Short Story

The Mairtin Crawford Awards.  Here’s one from the Belfast Book Festival.  It is open to writers aged 18 and over who were born in or are resident in or are citizens of Ireland or the United Kingdom.   Poems of up to 60 lines and stories of up to 2,500 words are required.  To be eligible to enter you must not have had a full collection of stories or poems, or a novel, published.  In the poetry category, submissions should comprise between 3 and 5 poems.  For stories it’s one per submission, and entries must be unpublished.
    Closing: 11.3.26 (midday).
    Prizes: The first prize winners in each category will receive £500 and an optional ‘Time to Write’ package which includes a 3-night stay at a hotel in Belfast, and 4 days of dedicated writing space in The Crescent.  Runners-up (2) - £250.
    Entry Fee: £10 for each submission of one story or 3 to 5 poems.
    Comp Page: MC Awards.

BBC National Short Story Awards.  To enter this lucrative contest from the BBC (with Cambridge University), you need to have a prior record of publication (see details on the competition pages). Other than that you need to write a damn good story, so good that it will beat all comers - of which there will be thousands.  Daunting, I know, but differing opinions being what they are, and bearing in mind the fortunate absence of an entry fee, you’ve got nothing to lose by having a go.  Just remember to stop going at 8,000 words, this being the limit.
    Closing: 16.3.26 (9am - so submit the day before at the latest or you’ll be up all night doing last-minute tweaks).
    Prizes :  1st - £15,000.  Runners-up (4) - £600.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.  Only one entry permitted.
    Comp Page: BBC Short Story

The Julia & Martin Wilson Short Story Prize.   The Broadway Arts Festival in the Cotswolds is running its short fiction competition again.  It is for tales of up to 2.000 words on any theme.
    Closing: 27.3.26 (6pm)
    Prize : Adults - £800.  11 to 16 - £100.  10 and under - £100.
    Entry Fee: Adults - £12 each.  16 and under - Free.
    Comp Page: Broadway Festival Story

Letter Review Prizes.  Here’s a repeat of the contest from the USA with three categories: Poetry (all kinds, up to 70 lines), Short Fiction (up to 5,000 words) and Unpublished Books (first 5,000 words of a novel, novella, nonfiction or collection of short stories, or 15 pages of poetry).  In the Unpublished Books category, self-published books are eligible.
    Closing: 29.3.26 (5am).
    Prizes: A share of the $1,000 prize pool in each category.  Poetry and Short Fiction winners will be published, while Unpublished Book winners can choose to have an extract published and receive a letter of recommendation from the judges.  Winners in the first three categories will also be considered for submission to the Pushcart Prize and other anthologies.
    Entry Fee: Short Fiction - $25.  Poetry - $20.  Book - $30.
    Comp Page: Letter Review Prizes

Henshaw Press Short Story Competition .   Stories of up to 2,000 words are requied for the latest contest from Henshaw Press.  These can be on any subject.
    Closing: 31.3.26.
    Prizes: £200, £100, £50.
    Entry Fee: £6 each.  Optional: Entry and Critique - £20.
    Comp Page: Henshaw Short Story

Binsted Poetry Prize.  The South Downs Poetry Festival is coming round again and as usual it features a competition for poems on any subject.  With a line limit of 40, this is open to all poets aged over 16.
    Closing: 31.3.26.
    Prizes: 1st - £250.  2nd - £150.  3rd - £50.  Winners and highly commended entries will be published in the Binsted Prize Anthology.
    Entry Fee: £5 for the first, £4 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Binsted 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

Parsec SF/Fantasy/Horror Short Story Competition.  Here’s another freebie from Parsec in the USA.  It is, as it says on the tin, for science fiction, fantasy or horror stories.  Entries should be no longer than 3,500 words.  The theme this year is ‘Metamorphosis‘.  This,’ say the promoters, ‘can be conveyed in the setting, plot, characters, dialogue ... but it must be integral to the story.’  Parsec, incidentally, is Pittsburgh’s premier science fiction & fantasy organisation.  The contest is open to writers worldwide.
    Closing: 31.3.26 (11:59pm EST).  Opens for entries 1.1.26.
    Prizes: 1st - $200 and publication in the Confluence program book (and before you ask, Confluence is some sort of annual science fiction get-together).  2nd - $100.  3rd - $50.  Best Youth Story - $50.
    Entry Fee : None - free to enter.  Only one per person.
    Comp Page: Parsec S/F Story

Fish Poetry Prize .  Poems of up to 60 line in any style are invited for this annual international contest from Fish Publishing based in southern Ireland.   Billy Collins will again be judging.
    Closing: 31.3.26.
    Prizes: 1st - 1,000 euros.   2nd - 300 euros plus a Fish writing course.  3rd - 300 euros.  Ten poems will be published in the Fish Anthology 2026.  The writers will each receive five free copies and will be invited to read at the launch ceremony at the West Cork Literary Festival in July 2026.
    Entry Fee: 16 euros, for the first, 11 euros thereafter.
    Comp Page: Fish Poetry.

Cats Protection Short Story Competition.  The cat welfare charity Cats Protection is inviting stories about .... wait for it - cats.  There are two CATegories: stories for adults and stories for children.  Entries should focus on the bond between cats and humans.  To avoid the CATastrophy of being disqualified, curtail your story at 1,000 words or fewer.  The competition will be judged by TV producer and bestselling author Jane Fallon, along with poet Anne Twist.
    Closing: 31.3.26 (opens for entries 20.1.26).
    Prizes:  Winning stories will be published in The Cat magazine and showcased on the Cats Protection website and social media channels.
    Entry Fee: £10.
    Comp Page: Cats Protection.

Rialto Nature & Place Poetry Competition.  Any aspect of nature and place is the theme of this annual contest from The Rialto magazine in association with the RSPB, Birdlife International, the Cambridge Conservation Initiative and the University of Leeds Poetry Centre.  Poems of up to 40 lines are required.  The judge is Mona Arshi.
    Closing: 1.4.26.
    Prizes: £1,000, £500, £250.
    Entry Fee: £7 for the first, £4 thereafter.
    Comp Page: Rialto N&P.

Wergle Flomp Humour Poetry Competition.  This annual freebie from Winning Writers in the USA is for published or unpublished humorous poems of up to 250 lines.  Before entering, it is advisable to read some of the past winning entries.
    Closing: 1.4.26.
    Prizes: 1st - $2,000 plus a gift certificate.  2nd - $500, $250.  Runners-up (10) - $100.  The top 13 entries will be published online.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.  One entry per person.
    Comp Page: Wergle Flomp.

Ware Poets Open Poetry Competition.  Ware Poets of Hertfordshire are running their annual international contest again, and as before it is for poems of up to 50 lines on any subject.  There is a separate category for sonnets.  The prize money in the main category has been increased significantly this year.  Winning poems will be published in the 2026 anthology, with a free copy going to each writer.  The best poem will be entered for the Forward Prize.  Prize-winning and Commended poets will be invited to read their poem at an informal prize-giving event at Southern Maltings Arts Centre in Ware.
    Closing: 30.4.26.
    Prizes: £1,000, £500, £200.  Ware Sonnet Prize - £200.  Local Prize - £200.
    Entry Fee: £5.
    Comp Page: Ware Poets

Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize.  The Alpine Fellowship is a charity project of the German-based ‘Argosophia Stiftung’ ... which I’m sure needs no introduction from me.  The prize is international in scope, as is the charity.  It is awarded annually for the best piece of writing of up to 1,250 words (fiction, non-fiction and non-academic essays).  The theme this year is Joy.
    Closing: 1.5.26.
    Prizes: 1st - £3,000.  2nd and 3rd - £1,000.
    Entry Fee: £10.
    Comp Page: Alpine Writing Prize.

Alpine Fellowship Poetry Prize.  The Alpine Fellowship is a charity project of the German-based ‘Argosophia Stiftung’, which holds a symposium every year.  The contest, like the charity, is international.  The prize is awarded annually for the best piece of poetry on the set theme.  This year’s theme is Joy.  Maximum word count: 500.
    Closing: 1.5.26.
    Prizes: £3,000, £1,000, £1000.
    Entry Fee: £10.
    Comp Page: Alpine Poetry Prize.

Creative Future Competition.  The Creative Future Awards for underrepresented writers over 18 is back again.  There are three categories: Poetry of up to 50 lines, Fiction up to 2,000 words, and Creative Non-fiction up to 2,000 words.  The theme this year is ‘Material’ (‘a creative prompt,’ they say, ‘not a requirement’).
    Closing: Online - 5.5.26.  Postal- 6.5.26.
    Prizes: (Poetry) 1st - £75, a Chapter and Verse Mentorship, manuscript assessment and a year’s Being A Writer membership, plus a Faber Academy online masterclass.  2nd - £50 plus other writing-relatesd items.  3rd - £25 plus other Writing-related items.  There are also prizes for fourth place and runners-up.  (Fiction): 1st - £75, a Curtis Brown mentorship and agent meeting, one year’s Being A Writer membership, Faber Academy Writing a Novel course,  a year’s membership of the Society of Authors.  2nd - £50 plus writing-related items.  3rd - £25 plus other items.  There are also prizes for fourth place and runners-up. (Creative Non-fiction): 1st - £75 plus mentoring and manuscript assessment, plus Faber Academy’s Memoir and Life Writing course.  2nd - £50, manuscript assessment and an online writing course from Writing Magazine, plus Society of Authors membership.  3rd - £25 plus manuscript assessment and coaching, and a copy of the W&A Yearbook.  There are also prizes for Highly Commended and Commended.  In addition to the main category prizes there are ‘Joint prizes’, presumably so you can smoke away the blues after not winning the top prize ... oh, hang on, it seems these prizes are something extra that all winners get jointly.  Winners will be published in an anthology.
    Entry Fee: Free to enter, or pay what you can.
    Comp Page: Creative Future Award

Inkspot Flash Fiction Competition.  Inkspot Publishing’s latest contest is open to all writers, published or unpublished, regardless of location.  The word limit is 500 excluding the title.  There is no theme.  Stories must be aimed at adults.  The judge is literary agent Peter Buckman.
    Closing: 17.5.26.
    Prize: £500.  The winning entry will be published on the Inkspot website.
    Entry Fee: £10.  Entry fee plus Feedback from the judge: £20.
    Comp Page: Inkspot Flash

Frogmore Poetry Prize.  This annual contest is run by Frogmore Press which was founded in 1983 in the Frogmore tearooms in Folkestone.  Well, what else can you do in Folkestone?  I’ll tell you what: you can fall in the sea - a feat I managed at the age of 8.  Will I ever forget that day?  Unlikely, for I had the misfortune to be rescued by my two sisters.  ‘No, no - let me drown!’ I cried.  ‘I’ll never be able to face my mates again.’  But I had the ice cream money in my pocket and so my pleas were ignored.  I later wrote a poem about the shame of it all but it would have been too long for this contest as it ran to 360 lines.  The line limit here is 40.
    Closing: 31.5.26.
    Prize: 1st - 250 guineas.  Classy.  You also get a two-year subscription to The Frogmore Papers.  2nd - 75 guineas and a year’s subscription.  3rd - 50 guineas and a year’s subscription.  Shortlisted poets also get copies of selected Frogmore Press publications, plus publicaion in the mag.
    Entry Fee: £4.
    Comp Page : Frogmore PP

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

Black Orchid Novella Award.  This is the 20th of these annual mystery story contests from The Wolfepack (the official Nero Wolfe Literary Society) in the USA.  It is open worldwide.  To enter, you submit an original detective story of between 15,000 and 20,000 words in the traditional deductive style exemplified by Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe series.  Your story should contain no sex or violence and, presumably, no fat-shaming.
    Closing: 31.5.26.
    Prize: $1,000 and publication in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.
    Entry Fee: None - free to enter.
    Comp Page: Nero Wolfe Novella

Bath Novel Award.  This well-known international competition is for unagented emerging novelists writing for adults or young adults.  To be eligible to enter you need to be unpublished, self-published or independently published with no advance.  You entry should comprise the first 5,000 words of your completed novel, plus a one-page synopsis.
    Closing: 31.5.26.
    Prizes:  1st - £5,000 and an exclusive trophy.  Shortlistees receive a compilation of award readers’ comments on their entry, while all listees receive feedback on their opening pages.  One longlistee will also win a place on the online course, Edit Your Novel the Professional Way, from Professional Writing Academy and Cornerstones Literary Consultancy.
    Entry Fee: £33.
    Comp Page: Bath Novel

Bridport Prize.  This famous international competition from the Bridport Arts Centre is one of the most prestigious writing contests in the British literary calendar.  Everyone in the trade whose mind is not addled by drugs has heard of it, and they will be impressed if you can claim to have won it.  The good news is that winning it is easy.  All you have to do is submit the best poem, short story or flash fiction, the poem having no more than 42 lines, the short story running to no more than 5,000 words.  For those who find 5,000 words too tiring to write, the flash fiction category is ideal as it has a word limit of only 250 (if that’s too much, consider becoming a poet).
    Closing: 31.5.26.
    Prizes: Short Stories, Poems (in each category) - £5,000, £1,000, £500, and ten @ £100.  Flash Fiction - £1,000, £500, £250, and five @ £100.  Winning entries will be published in an anthology.
    Entry Fees:  Poem - £13.  Short Story - £15.  Flash Fiction - £12.
    Comp Page: Bridport Prize.

The Peggy Chapman-Andrews Novel Award.  This annual contest, which honours one of the founders of the Bridport Prize, is for novels by writers over 16 who are resident in the UK or R.o.I, or are British citizens living overseas, or writers living in any of the 14 British Overseas Territories.  To be eligible you must not have had a novel published (self-published excepted).  To enter, you submit the first chapters of your story (5,000 to 8,000 words), plus a synopsis of up to 300 words.  Three hundred words?  That’s more a blurb than a synopsis.  Warning: You need to have 30,000 words of the novel available at the shortlist stage.
    Closing: 31.5.26.
    Prizes: 1st - £1,500 plus mentoring from The Literary Consultancy, and a consultation with London literary agents AM Heath and Publisher Headline.  2nd - £750 plus full manuscript appraisal.  Runners-up (3) - £150 plus a 15,000-word manuscript appraisal.  The winning novel extracts will be published in the anthology.
    Entry Fee: £26.
    Comp Page: Chapman-Andrews Award.

Wells Festival of Literature Competitions.  Here we have a return of the famous Wells Litfest and its various competitions: Poetry, Short Story, Book for Children, Young Poets.  I should mention before we go any further that we are talking about Wells in Somerset, not Wells in Norfolk which also has an annual litfest (I wouldn’t want you turning up at the wrong event to receive your prize or to berate the judges for not awarding you anything).  Anyway, back to business.  For the Poetry you are allowed up to 40 lines, while the Short Stories should be between 1,000 and 2,000 words.  For the Book for Children, which must be suitable for youngsters aged 7+ (includes YA), you need to submit the first three chapters (or the first 30 pages, this being the maximum), plus a synopsis of up to 2 pages.   If shortlisted, you may be asked to submit the complete manuscript.  The Young Poets category, for budding bards aged between 16 and 22, requires poems of no more than 40 lines.
    Closing: Adults - 30.6.26.  Young Poets - 31.7.26.  Opens for entries 1.4.26 (no, really, I’m not fooling!).
    Prizes: Poetry - £1,000, £500, £250.  Short Story, Book for Children (in each category) - £750, £300, £200.  Young Poets - £200, £150, £100.  Additional prizes: Local Prize for poetry, short story - £100 in each category.  Book for Children Local Prize - £100.
    Entry Fee: Adult categories - £8.  Young Poets - £3.
    Comp Page: Wells Litfest.

Scribble Annual Short Story Competition.  Stories of up to 3,000 words are required for this annual contest from Scribble magazine.  This year’s theme is ‘A slice of luck’
    Closing:  1.11.26.
    Prizes:  £100, £50, £25.
    Entry Fee: £6.
    Comp Page: Scribble

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
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                                                           Poem: Being a Writer

                             Romantic Poetry by Michael Shenton (sample)