bbc essay writing competition

Study at Cambridge

About the university, research at cambridge.

• Events and open days
• Fees and finance
• Student blogs and videos
• Why Cambridge
• Qualifications directory
• How to apply
• Fees and funding
• Frequently asked questions
• International students
• Continuing education
• Executive and professional education
• Courses in education
• How the University and Colleges work
• Visiting the University
• Term dates and calendars
• Video and audio
• Find an expert
• Publications
• International Cambridge
• Public engagement
• Giving to Cambridge
• For current students
• For business
• Colleges & departments
• Libraries & facilities
• Museums & collections
• Email & phone search

Faculty of English

Studying at Cambridge

• Undergraduate
• Postgraduate
• Visiting Scholars
• Academic Staff
• Research Staff
• Postgraduate Students
• Emeritus, Visiting and Honorary Fellows
• Administrative Staff
• Faculty Research
• Research Map
• English Handwriting Online
• Scriptorium
• The Tennysons Archive
• Transkills for English
• Troilus & Criseyde: Translation & Commentary
• Directors of Studies
• Teaching Officers & Research Fellows
• Faculty Computing
• BBC Short Story

BBC Short Story Awards

Young writers’ award, bbc young writers’ award winner announced: elena barham.

‘Barnsley Bard’ Elena Barham wins BBC Young Writers’ Award 2022 Elena Barham, a 19-year-old University of Sheffield student from Barnsley, has won the BBC Young Writers’ Award 2022 with Cambridge University (YWA) for ‘Little Acorns’, a 1940s-set story which explores gender, familial relationships, loss and abuse. The news was announced live on BBC Radio 4 […]

Atlas Weyland Eden wins BBC YOUNG WRITERS’ AWARD 2023

Atlas Weyland Eden, an 18-year-old home-schooled writer and poet from Devon, has won the BBC Young Writers’ Award 2023 with Cambridge University (YWA) for ‘The Wordsmith’, a story of an otherworldly craftsman who hammers words into being. The news was announced live on BBC Radio 4 Front Row this evening (Tuesday 26 September) during a […]

The 2023 BBC NSSA and YWA Awards – Submissions Open!

The BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University (NSSA) and BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University (YWA) open for submissions Thursday 12 January 2023 at 9am with BBC News journalist and presenter Reeta Chakrabarti chairing the judging panel for the BBC NSSA’s 18th year. Reeta Chakrabarti, Chair of the 2023 BBC National Short […]

The shortlist for the 2022 BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University (YWA) has been announced!

Now in its eighth year, the BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University challenges young people in the UK aged between 14-18 years to submit stories of up to 1,000 words. The 2022 shortlist was revealed on Life Hacks, on BBC Radio 1 on Sunday, 25 September 2022. The 2022 BBC Young Writers’ Award shortlist […]

YWA Judges Announced

Meet the judges Katie Thistleton (Chair of Judges) (Pictured centre) Katie Thistleton is a TV and radio presenter, NCTJ qualified journalist and published author and is best known for her work on BBC Radio 1 and CBBC. Katie presented CBBC’s live continuity on CBBC HQ for over 6 years and also hosted the CBBC Book […]

Submissions open for 2022 BBC National Short Story and BBC Young Writers’ Awards

  The BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University (NSSA) and BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University (YWA) open for submissions at 9am on Thursday 13th January 2022 with award-winning novelist, journalist and broadcaster Elizabeth Day chairing the judging panel for the BBC NSSA, an award that has enriched both the careers of […]

Winner of the BBC Young Writers’ Award 2021: Tabitha Rubens

Tabitha Rubens, 19, from London, has won the BBC Young Writers’ Award 2021 with Cambridge University (YWA) for ‘Super-Powder’, a story written after the winter lockdown when young people were struggling with their mental health and self-esteem. Exposing modern society’s exploitation of insecurities for profit, the story was praised by the judges for its ‘spirit […]

Winner of the Young Writers’ Award 2020 Announced: Lottie Mills

A second-year student at Cambridge University, Lottie, who has Cerebral Palsy, was previously shortlisted for the Award in 2018. Praised by judge and YA Book Prize winner Will Hill as ‘heartbreakingly well-written’, her story reclaims the myth of the ‘changeling’ and transforms it from something used to persecute and exclude, into a magical, fantastical fable about a girl’s  extraordinary coming of age.

Lottie Mills said:

“ My previous shortlist experience really fuelled my writing. Hearing so many amazing people – the judges, the representatives from the University and First Story, and of course, the BBC – praise my writing – had a huge impact on me, and for the first time a career as a writer seemed to be a realistic prospect. As a disabled person, my stories are quite often preoccupied with ideas of otherhood, based around characters who are outcast from their society in some way or another. I had been researching fairy-related myths for a university essay and when I came across the idea of ‘changelings’, it really stuck in my mind – especially the modern theory that children suspected of being these fairy imposters were actually displaying symptoms of various disabilities. I really wanted to write a story which would show the strengths of disabled people or people who are ‘othered’ in some way, rather than portraying them as disadvantaged and in need of ‘fixing’ as so many stories do.”

The news was announced this evening during a special short story edition of BBC Radio 4 Front Row (Tuesday 6 October) . ‘ The Changeling ’, and a further four shortlisted stories, are available to listen to via the Short Works podcast on the BBC Sounds app and the BBC Radio 1 website. Lottie will be interviewed about her win on Radio 1’s Life Hacks on Sunday 11 October , and will be mentored by award-winning YA author and Judge Will Hill.

Katie Thistleton, BBC Radio 1 presenter and Chair of Judges for BBC YWA 2020 said:

“ We were blown away by ‘The Changeling’ , it’s simply beautiful. I love the way it uses fairy mythology to tell a story about difference, disability, acceptance and coming of age. We had no idea that Lottie, who has been shortlisted for the Award before, was the writer when we chose the winner, but it shows what an incredible talent she is. I’m so happy she has won and is considering a career as an author after being inspired by the Young Writers’ Award.”

Lottie beat stiff competition from Maleeha Faruki, 18 , from Leicester for ‘ Winds that Travel Across ’; Mei Kawagoe, 15 , from Leicestershire for ‘ Three Pomegranate Seeds ’; Ben Marshall, 18 , from Otford, Kent for ‘ Bingo Tuesdays ’ and Naomi Thomas, 17 , from Sheffield for ‘ The Battle of Trafalgar Square ’.

All five shortlisted writers attended a virtual workshop on Saturday 29 th October designed to develop their writing skills and inspire them to consider different career paths within the arts. The session included personalised feedback for each writer from the YWA Judges, and covered how to take stories from page to broadcast with BBC Audio producers, a close reading of Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own led by Cambridge University’s Dr Lisa Mullen, and an interactive creative writing activity with YA author and Judge Muhammad Khan based on a Pixar short animation. Their work is also published in an anthology.  

Antonia Byatt, CEO, First Story, said:

“Congratulations to Lottie Mills for such an extraordinarily powerful and beautifully crafted story.  ‘The Changeling’ challenges us to look beyond our own expectations and boundaries. Lottie’s writing is a superb flight of the imagination for a world now even more narrowed down for so many of us; it opens a door onto a wider, more tolerant view. It really is the right story at the right time. The judges had an immensely difficult task choosing from such a very strong shortlist; congratulations to all this year’s young writers and I urge everyone to read their fantastic stories.”

Now in its sixth year, The BBC Young Writers’ Award with First Story and Cambridge University  has quickly built a reputation for discovering the literary stars of the future with one of Lottie’s fellow 2018 award cohort, Reyah Martin , winning the 2020 Canada/Europe Commonwealth  Short Story Prize aged just 20. Open to all writers between the ages of 13 – 18 years at the time of entry, the Award is a cross-network collaboration between BBC Radio 4 and Radio 1.

Elizabeth Rawlinson-Mills, Fellow in English at Robinson College and Lecturer in the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, said:

“I am delighted to congratulate Lottie Mills on her winning story, from a diverse and exciting shortlist. ‘The Changeling’ is an astonishing, moving and important story in which grief and pain are transfigured and difference is rendered magical. Lottie’s prose is remarkable for its subtle economy; as in all the greatest short stories, carefully chosen details open up a whole beautiful life, a whole convincing and complex mother-daughter relationship. Drawing on folklore and fable, Lottie’s story is nonetheless entirely contemporary – a particularly fitting winner in a year when issues of marginalisation and representation are increasingly receiving the critical attention they deserve. Lottie was inspired to apply to Cambridge after a visit she made to the University as a shortli sted writer for the 2018 Award. It is clear that her journey as a writer, and as a student, has been shaped by the Young Writers’ Award, and we are very proud of her achievement.”

All five shortlisted stories can be read and listened to online at: www.bbc.co.uk/ywa

Submissions Open for Short Story Awards 2020 as judges are announced for 15th Anniversary year

                                    Award-winning journalist and author JONATHAN FREEDLAND and broadcaster KATIE THISTLETON to chair 2020 BBC Short Story Award panels that include ‘Everyday Sexism Project’ founder LAURA BATES; award-winning YA writer MUHAMMAD KHAN; previous BBC NSSA shortlisted writer LUCY […]

Celebrated young poet, Georgie Woodhead wins 2019 BBC Young Writers’ Award with short story about a night out clubbing, friendship and guilt

Georgie Woodhead, 16, from Sheffield has won the 2019 BBC Young Writers’ Award with First Story and Cambridge University (YWA) for ‘Jelly-headed’, a tragi-comic story about an ill-fated night out that ends in devastating circumstances on a nightclub roof. A gripping story about friendship, moral dilemma, and the absurdity of life, it was praised by […]

© 2016 University of Cambridge

• University A-Z
• Contact the University
• Accessibility
• Freedom of information
• Terms and conditions
• Spotlight on...
• About research at Cambridge

This Is Fictional

The Big List of UK Writing Competitions & Awards 2024 (Part 1)

This one's a biggie.

Hello writery pals!

*Fanfare music* Welcome to the big list of 50 writing competitions and awards for UK writers in 2024.

Whether you write novels, short stories, flash fiction, poetry, prose poetry or anything in between , whether you’re unpublished or published, there’s something for everyone.

The opportunities below come along with some impressive prizes. From free places on writing retreats (I’m dying to go on one of these!) and mentoring with industry experts, to tens of thousands of pounds in cash prizes.

Disclaimers — sounds boring but, trust me, they’re worth reading

If you’re a new writer, I’d recommend going only with the free entry opportunities in the first instance. Tip: search this page for the word ‘free’ to find them quicker.

The more prestigious awards on this list are highly competitive and some have more expensive entry fees than others, so only go with what you can afford.

Most of the bigger competitions also offer a number of free or sponsored entries for writers on low incomes.

For any opportunities you’re particularly interested in, I’d recommend signing up to the organisation’s mailing list (most of them have one) and following them on social media for updates. I say this because some deadlines or competition details may change as organisations gear up for the 2024 round.

Always make sure you read the full T&Cs for any opportunity you enter.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. There are tons of other amazing opportunities out there, some still to be announced. If there are any you think should be added to this list, let me know in the comments.

Happy writing!

The Big List of UK Writing Competitions & Awards 2024 — Part 1

New Writers - Flash Fiction Competition

This flash competition is open to writers from around the world. Entries should be 300 words maximum. New Writers is offering a top prize of £1,000, a second prize of £300 and a third prize of £200. The deadline is midnight (UK time) on Wednesday 31st January 2024 and £1.00 from each entry will be donated to First Story.

Entry fee: from £10

Deadline: 31st January 2024

Story Unlikely - Short Story Contest

There are no restrictions on genre for this contest. Story Unlikely says, “we don't care as long as it's written and told with quality and care.” The word limit is 4,500. The competition is open to writers of any age and location. 

A prize package of $1,000- $1,500 will be divided up into: $750 first place, $500 second place, $250 third place. The winning story will be featured on Story Unlikely’s website and will be strongly considered for their annual print sample magazine.

Entry fee: unknown but looks like it’s free

Bath Flash Fiction Award

Submit your best flash fiction to this industry favourite award at 300 words or less. 50 longlisted writers will be offered publication in the end of year print and digital anthology. Longlistees will also receive a free print copy. £1,000 prize for the winner, £300 second and £100 third. Two commendations will receive £30 each.

Entry fee: from £7.50

Deadline: 4th February 2023

Curtis Brown Creative - Gillian McAllister Novel-Writing Scholarship for Disabled Writers

The Gillian McAllister Novel-Writing Scholarship for Disabled Writers awards one disabled writer a free place on their online Writing Your Novel – Three Months course. With weekly teaching and workshopping from author Christopher Wakling on CBC’s interactive platform, the winner will also receive one-to-one tutorials and advice from authors and literary agents. 

The course will help the winning writer hone your craft and develop their novel. 

Entry fee: free

Deadline: 11th February 2024

Writers' & Artists' Short Story Competition 2024

W&A’s free annual short story competition offers the winner a place on an Arvon Residential Writing Week (worth £850) as well as publication on our site.

To enter, all you have to do is submit a short story (for adults) of no more than 2,000 words on the theme of risk via our online competition form. Make sure you have a (free) account on their website. 

Deadline: 12th February 2024

The Watson, Little x Indie Novella Prize

Founded in 1971, Watson, Little Ltd is a long-established literary agency offering a full service to its clients across all aspects of media. 

Indie Novella is an online hub providing free advisory services to aspiring writers and a free online forum to help make novel writing and publishing more transparent and accessible. In celebration of this commitment, they are jointly launching a Fiction Prize for emerging writers.

The Prize is for fiction of all lengths (novels, novellas or stories), open to all unpublished (self-published also accepted) UK-based authors aged 16 and over. Writers are invited to write to fit one of three themes.

Deadline: 14th February 2024

The Rhys Davies Short Story Competition

The Rhys Davies Short Story Competition is a distinguished national writing competition for writers born or living in Wales. The first prize is £1,000 and publication in a short story anthology to be published by Parthian Books. 11 x finalists will win £100 each and publication in the anthology.

Entry fee: £8

Deadline: 15th February 2024

Next Generation Short Story Awards

The 2024 Next Generation Short Story Awards is open to all authors, even first time authors, in the USA, Canada or internationally, who have an original short story of 5,000 words or less. Entries should be previously unpublished and written in English.

Entry fee: from $20

Deadline: 28th February 2024

The London Library - Emerging Writers Programme

The London Library Emerging Writers Programme is a unique opportunity which offers writers, in all genres and disciplines, one year’s free membership of The London Library and includes writing development masterclasses, networking opportunities, peer support, access to and guidance in using all the Library’s resources and publication in the cohort anthology. 

The Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition

Every year since 2014, the CWA and the Margery Allingham Society have jointly held an international short story competition. The word limit on this one is 3,500.

The goal of this competition is to find the best unpublished short mystery, one which fits into Golden Age crime writer Margery Allingham’s definition of what makes a great mystery story.

Entries are welcomed from published and unpublished writers, written in English. The prize for the winner is £500. 

Entry fee: £18

Deadline: 29th February 2024

Scottish Arts Trust - Edinburgh Short Story Award 2024

The Edinburgh Short Story Award is open to writers everywhere with stories on any topic up to 2,000 words. The first prize is £3,000 and there’s a £750 prize for the top entry by an unpublished writer living in Scotland. 

Entry fee: £10 per story

Deadline: 29th February 2024 

P.S. Check out the other awards from the Scottish Arts Trust including the Write Mango Award and Isobel Lodge Award. Entries for these close at the same time as the Short Story Award.

The Kelpies Prize for Writing 2024

The Kelpies Prize for Writing is for writers in Scotland who are keen to start a career in children’s books. The prize package includes a mentorship with an experienced editorial team, consideration for a publishing deal and £500 cash, “which we hope will help our winner take their first steps as a children’s author.”

Anthology Poetry Competition

Established to recognise excellence in the craft of poetry writing and provide a platform for publication, the Anthology Poetry Competition is open to original and previously unpublished poems written in English. Entries are welcomed from poets of all nationalities, living anywhere in the world. 

There is no restriction on theme or style. Poems submitted should be 40 lines or less. There is no limit on the number of entries per person. Each submission requires a separate entry form and will be subject to a separate entry fee.

The winner will receive a €1,000 cash prize and the chance to see their work published in a future issue of Anthology. The winner will also receive a one-year subscription to Anthology. Second place: €250. Third place: €150.

Entry fee: €10

Deadline: 27th February 2024 for very early bird entry fee

BBC National Short Story Award

This is one of the most significant short story competitions in the UK. The prize is awarded yearly by the BBC. Writers entering this award must have a prior record of publishing creative work in the UK (so this one is for established writers only). Stories up to 8,000 words are accepted and may be submitted by the author or by their agent. First place: £15,000.

Deadline: estimated March 2024

Tempest Prize

The Tempest Prize will award one unpublished LGBTQ+ writer based in the North of England a £1000 bursary, mentoring from Andrew McMillan and access to the Northern Writers’ Awards Talent Network. It will be open between February and March 2024 to submissions of poetry, fiction and narrative non-fiction. The prize will be judged by Andrew and a co-judge still to be announced.

Andrew McMillan is the writer of award-winning poetry collections physical, pandemonium and playtime and his highly anticipated debut novel, Pity, is due for publication by Canongate in 2024. The Tempest Prize is the second to be set up and funded by a previous award-winner, after author Benjamin Myers inaugurated the Finchale Prize for Short Fiction in 2022.

Entry fee: unknown

P.S. It looks like there’s no website yet so follow Andrew on social media and keep an eye out for this one. 

Forward Prizes for Poetry

This is the largest annual poetry competition in the UK. The prize recognises the best collection, best first collection and best single poem in the UK each year. All works put forward for the prize will also be considered for publication in The Forward Book Of Poetry, an annual anthology. Entries must be published works and individual poets cannot enter their own work. There’s up to £5,000 to be won depending on the category you enter.

The SmokeLong Quarterly Award for Flash Fiction 2024

The SmokeLong Quarterly Award for Flash Fiction (The Smokey) is a biennial competition celebrating excellence in flash.

The grand prize winner of The Smokey is automatically nominated for The Best Small Fictions, The Pushcart, Best of the Net and any other prize deemed appropriate. They’ll also pay the grand prize winner $2,500. Second place: $1,000. Third place: $500. Finalists: $100.

Entry fee: $14

Deadline: 1st March 2024

The Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize 2024

This prize is awarded for the best piece of writing on the theme of the Alpine Fellowship 2024 – to be announced. The winner will receive a cash prize and the runners up will receive travel expense support to attend the 2024 symposium. First place: £3,000. Second place: £1,000. Third place: £1,000

Entry fee: unknown 

PFD Queer Fiction Prize

PFD (Peters, Fraser and Dunlop) runs a Queer Fiction Prize for new LGBTQIA+ writers to find emerging talent. Winners will be signed to PFD and supported in completing their novels. There are two separate categories: Adult and YA & Children’s Fiction.

Any un-agented LGBTQIA+ writer who is in the process of writing a piece of fiction is eligible to enter. Submissions do not necessarily have to be about LGBTQIA+ experiences, though they do especially want stories with LGBTQIA+ characters or themes.

Works do not need to be complete as the prize will provide representation and support in writing to the end of your novel.

The 2024 International Book & Pamphlet Competition

Poets with a collection drafted, this one is for you! This is The Poetry Business’s 38th International Book & Pamphlet Competition, judged by Jane Clarke.

The two winning collections will be beautifully produced and promoted widely and entered for all eligible awards and prizes. They will also be sold in bookshops throughout the UK and through online stockists of The Poetry Business publications.

Entrants should submit a collection of 20 pages of poetry. The two winners will receive £500 each, publication in The North magazine, a reading at The Wordsworth Trust and a place on a residential writing course. Two runners-up will receive publication in East of The North plus an online reading and an honorarium of £100 each.

Entry fee: £29

Deadline: 6th March 2024

Neil Gunn Writing Competition

Poetry and short story entries are welcome for the Neil Gunn Writing Competition. In their entry, writers should respond to this line from Bloodhunt by Neil Gunn: “Mystery. That was the last word, the word you came to at the end. No corner of its coverlet could you lift.”

Entry fee: £10 per single entry or £18 for both a poem and short story

Deadline: 8th March 2023

The Plaza Prose Poetry Prize

A rare one for all you prose poets! The Plaza Prose Poetry Prize aims to shine a light on this exciting hybrid form. They welcome prose poems, up to 50 lines, and encourage writers to be experimental and play with readers' expectations. First prize: £750. Second prize: £200. Third prize: £50

Entry fee: £11 (£5 per additional entry) 

Deadline: 31st March 2024

P.S. The Plaza Prizes has a host of other awards including crime, memoir, microfiction, audio poetry and much more. Check out the website for more information. 

Anthology Short Story Competition

The Anthology Short Story Competition is open to original and previously unpublished short stories, written in English, by a writer of any nationality, living anywhere in the world. 

There are no restrictions on theme or style. There is a maximum word count of 1,500 words. Writers can submit as many entries as they like. Each submission will require a separate entry form and entry fee.

The winner will receive €1,000 and the winning story will be published in a future issue of Anthology. Second place: €250. Third place: €150.

Entry fee: €15

Deadline: 31st March 2024 for early bird entry fee

Anne Brown Essay Prize 2024

The Anne Brown Essay Prize awards £1500 for the best literary essay by a writer in or from Scotland. Essays can be on any topic, with a maximum word count of 4,000. Unpublished essays are especially welcome.

The Deborah Rogers Foundation – The Writers Award

This writer’s award was the first initiative of the Deborah Rogers Foundation. It was set up in 2015 in memory of the much loved and respected literary agent, Deborah Rogers. 

In keeping with Deborah’s special talent for nurturing emerging writers, the Award offers a substantial prize. £10,000 will go to a previously unpublished writer whose submission of 15,000- 20,000 words demonstrates literary talent and who needs financial support to complete their first book. The submitted work can be fiction, non-fiction, children’s or short stories. Applicants must reside in the British Commonwealth or Eire. Two shortlisted authors will win £1,000 each.

Entry fee: estimated £6

Deadline: estimated 31st March 2024

Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize

The Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize was established in 2019 as a celebration of the short story form and the resilience of independent booksellers. Funded by Brick Lane Bookshop, the competition is open to all UK residents and seeks to discover, publish and promote new, exciting and diverse voices in fiction. The prize is run by former Brick Lane Bookseller, Kate Ellis.

Each year, they invite a writer, a publisher and a literary agent to judge the competition. From a longlist of 12, they select a shortlist of six and three prize winners. The first prize is £1,000.

The 12 longlisted stories are published in their anthology which is available to buy from their website, Brick Lane Bookshop and many other good bookshops.

Deadline: estimated April 2024 (check Brick Lane Bookshop to confirm)

Bristol Short Story Prize 2024

The Bristol Short Story Prize is an international writing competition based in Bristol, UK which aims to publish great short stories and promote writers as much as possible. Discovering previously unpublished writers is central to their mission. They are committed to celebrating the short story form and making it accessible and available to as wide an audience as possible.

First prize: £1,000.

Entry fee: £9

Deadline: estimated 26th April 2024 (check Bristol Short Story Prize to confirm)

Jane Austen Literacy Foundation Short Story Competition

The Jane Austen Literacy Foundation Short Story Writing Competition is an international competition for new and experienced writers.

Three winning stories, selected by a panel including Jane Austen’s family, will be recorded as an audiobook by multi-award-winning narrator, Alison Larkin, and published worldwide to raise money for literacy projects in developing communities.

Deadline: 28th April 2024

Belfast Book Festival - Mairtín Crawford Award

The Mairtín Crawford Award invites writers working towards their first full collection of poetry, short stories or a novel. Both published and unpublished writers are welcome to submit between 3-5 poems for the poetry award and a short story of up to 2,500 words for the short story award. The only stipulation is you can’t already have a published collection of poetry, short stories or a novel.

The winner of each award will receive a £500 cash prize. Each winner will also receive a ‘Time to Write’ package which includes a 3-night stay at Bullitt Hotel Belfast and 4 days of dedicated writing space in The Crescent. Two finalists for each category will receive a £250 cash prize.

Deadline: estimated 1st May 2024

The Creative Future Writers’ Award

The Creative Future Writers’ Award (CFWA) is a national writing development programme celebrating talented, underrepresented writers who lack opportunities due to mental health issues, disability, health or social circumstance.

The prizes sound amazing! They include £20,000 and top writing development prizes supplied by publishers and development agencies. 

Deadline: estimated 14th May 2024

SI Leeds Literary Prize

The SI Leeds Literary Prize is for unpublished fiction by UK-based Black and Asian women, aged 18 and above. The aim of the prize is to act as a loudspeaker for fresh literary voices from under-represented groups and to help them reach new audiences in the mainstream.

The writer of the winning entry in 2022 was awarded of £4,000 and a range of additional valuable benefits through the prize’s unique writer development scheme, including: a free place at an Arvon creative writing course, free manuscript assessment of their work from The Literary Consultancy, an invitation to New Writing North’s London summer salon event for publishers and agents, workshops and support, speaking engagements and serious consideration for publication by Peepal Tree Press.

Entry fee: £10 but they do have a number of free entry bursaries for writers on a low income

Deadline: estimated 25th April 2024

Bridport Prizes - Short Story Competition

One of the largest short story prizes. The winning story will features in the Bridport Prize anthology, so you will see your words in print, maybe for the first time. The first place prize is £5,000. You will be invited to the awards celebration and get feedback from the judges and professional partners. Bridport will also champion you and your work. Second place: £1,000. Third place: £500. 

Entry fee: from £11

Deadline: May 31st 2024

BPA First Novel Award 2024

This award is open to unrepresented and unpublished authors for a novel in any adult fiction genre.

The winner receives £1,000 and an introduction with an agent. The runner up will get £500 and an introduction with an agent. And the highly commended writer will receive £150 and an introduction with an agent.

Entry fee: £24

Deadline: estimated 31st May 2024

Bath Novel Award 2024

The Bath Novel Award is an international writing competition based in Bath, UK for writers of novels in every genre. Now in its 10th year, the prize celebrates emerging authors who may be unpublished, self-published or independently-published. 

First prize: £5,000 with full manuscript feedback for shortlistees and extract feedback for all listees. Additional longlist prize of a £1,800 course with the Professional Writing Academy & Cornerstones Literary Consultancy 

Entry fee: £29.99 with sponsored places available for writers on a low income

Deadline: 31 May 2024

Jenny Brown Associates – Over 50 Award

Open to all writers over 50, this award was created to address the lack of literary opportunities available to older writers eager to break into the publishing industry. The award also aims to celebrate and value the collected, distilled wisdom and a lifetime of reading and experience of writers over 50. 

Debut novelists are invited to submit the first 5,000 words of their novels. The prize will consist of £1,000 and a week’s residential placement at Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre (the dream!) for the winner. The runners up will receive mentoring sessions with experienced writers, editors and agents as appropriate.

Deadline: estimated 31st May 2024 (check the Jenny Brown Associates website for more details) 

As well as compiling this list, I’ve also created a deadline calendar for you, populated with all 50 opportunities! This will make it even easier to keep up to date with writing competitions and awards throughout the year and never miss a deadline.

Read Part 2 and get the deadline calendar link

Ready for more?

Essay  COMPETITION

2024 global essay prize, the short list for the 2024 global essay prize was released on wednesday, 31 july..

The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style. Our Essay Competition invites students to explore a wide range of challenging and interesting questions beyond the confines of the school curriculum.

Entering an essay in our competition can build knowledge, and refine skills of argumentation. It also gives students the chance to have their work assessed by experts. All of our essay prizes are judged by a panel of senior academics drawn from leading universities including Oxford and Princeton, under the leadership of the Chairman of Examiners, former Cambridge philosopher, Dr Jamie Whyte.

The judges will choose their favourite essay from each of seven subject categories - Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law - and then select the winner of the Grand Prize for the best entry in any subject. There is also a separate prize awarded for the best essay in the junior category, for under 15s.

Q1. Do we have any good reasons to trust our moral intuition?

Q2. Do girls have a (moral) right to compete in sporting contests that exclude boys?

Q3. Should I be held responsible for what I believe?

Q1. Is there such a thing as too much democracy?

Q2. Is peace in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip possible?

Q3. When is compliance complicity?

Q1. What is the optimal global population?  

Q2. Accurate news reporting is a public good. Does it follow that news agencies should be funded from taxation?

Q3. Do successful business people benefit others when making their money, when spending it, both, or neither?

Q1. Why was sustained economic growth so rare before the later 18th century and why did this change?

Q2. Has music ever significantly changed the course of history?

Q3. Why do civilisations collapse? Is our civilisation in danger?

Q1. When, if ever, should a company be permitted to refuse to do business with a person because of that person’s public statements?

Q2. In the last five years British police have arrested several thousand people for things they posted on social media. Is the UK becoming a police state?

Q3. Your parents say that 11pm is your bedtime. But they don’t punish you if you don’t go to bed by 11pm. Is 11pm really your bedtime?

Q1. According to a study by researchers at four British universities, for each 15-point increase in IQ, the likelihood of getting married increases by around 35% for a man but decreases by around 58% for a woman. Why?

In the original version of this question we misstated a statistic. This was caused by reproducing an error that appeared in several media summaries of the study. We are grateful to one of our contestants, Xinyi Zhang, who helped us to see (with humility and courtesy) why we should take more care to check our sources. We corrected the text on 4 April. Happily, the correction does not in any way alter the thrust of the question.

Q2. There is an unprecedented epidemic of depression and anxiety among young people. Can we fix this? How?

Q3. What is the difference between a psychiatric illness and a character flaw?

Q1. “I am not religious, but I am spiritual.” What could the speaker mean by “spiritual”?

Q2. Is it reasonable to thank God for protection from some natural harm if He is responsible for causing the harm?

Q3. Does God reward those who believe in him? If so, why?

JUNIOR prize

Q1. Does winning a free and fair election automatically confer a mandate for governing?

Q2. Has the anti-racism movement reduced racism?

Q3. Is there life after death?

Q4. How did it happen that governments came to own and run most high schools, while leaving food production to private enterprise? 

Q5. When will advancing technology make most of us unemployable? What should we do about this?

Q6. Should we trust fourteen-year-olds to make decisions about their own bodies? 

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS & FURTHER DETAILS

Please read the following carefully.

Entry to the John Locke Institute Essay Competition 2024 is open to students from any country.

Registration  

Only candidates who registered before the registration deadline of Friday, 31 May 2024 may enter this year's competition.

All entries must be submitted by 11.59 pm BST on  the submission deadline: Sunday, 30 June 2024 .  Candidates must be eighteen years old, or younger, on that date. (Candidates for the Junior Prize must be fourteen years old, or younger, on that date.)

Entry is free.

Each essay must address only one of the questions in your chosen subject category, and must not exceed 2000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, endnotes, bibliography or authorship declaration). 

The filename of your pdf must be in this format: FirstName-LastName-Category-QuestionNumber.pdf; so, for instance, Alexander Popham would submit his answer to question 2 in the Psychology category with the following file name:

Alexander-Popham-Psychology-2.pdf

Essays with filenames which are not in this format will be rejected.

The candidate's name should NOT appear within the document itself. 

Candidates should NOT add footnotes. They may, however, add endnotes and/or a Bibliography that is clearly titled as such.

Each candidate will be required to provide the email address of an academic referee who is familiar with the candidate's written academic work. This should be a school teacher, if possible, or another responsible adult who is not a relation of the candidate. The John Locke Institute will email referees to verify that the essays submitted are indeed the original work of the candidates.

Submissions may be made as soon as registration opens in April. We recommend that you submit your essay well in advance of the deadline to avoid any last-minute complications.  To submit your essay, click here .  

Acceptance of your essay depends on your granting us permission to use your data for the purposes of receiving and processing your entry as well as communicating with you about the Awards Ceremony Dinner, the academic conference, and other events and programmes of the John Locke Institute and its associated entities.  

Late entries

If for any reason you miss the 30 June deadline you will have an opportunity to make a late entry, under two conditions:

a) A late entry fee of 20.00 USD must be paid by credit card within twenty-four hours of the original deadline; and

b) Your essay must be submitted  before 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 10 July 2024.

To pay for late entry, a registrant need only log into his or her account, select the relevant option and provide the requested payment information.

Our grading system is proprietary. Essayists may be asked to discuss their entry with a member of the John Locke Institute’s faculty. We use various means to identify plagiarism, contract cheating, the use of AI and other forms of fraud . Our determinations in all such matters are final.

Essays will be judged on knowledge and understanding of the relevant material, the competent use of evidence, quality of argumentation, originality, structure, writing style and persuasive force. The very best essays are likely to be those which would be capable of changing somebody's mind. Essays which ignore or fail to address the strongest objections and counter-arguments are unlikely to be successful .

Candidates are advised to answer the question as precisely and directly as possible.

The writers of the best essays will receive a commendation and be shortlisted for a prize. Writers of shortlisted essays will be notified by 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 31 July. They will also be invited to London for an invitation-only academic conference and awards dinner in September, where the prize-winners will be announced. Unlike the competition itself, the academic conference and awards dinner are not free. Please be aware that n obody is required to attend either the academic conference or the prize ceremony. You can win a prize without travelling to London.

All short-listed candidates, including prize-winners, will be able to download eCertificates that acknowledge their achievement. If you win First, Second or Third Prize, and you travel to London for the ceremony, you will receive a signed certificate. 

There is a prize for the best essay in each category. The prize for each winner of a subject category, and the winner of the Junior category, is a scholarship worth US$2000 towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute programme, and the essays will be published on the Institute's website. Prize-giving ceremonies will take place in London, at which winners and runners-up will be able to meet some of the judges and other faculty members of the John Locke Institute. Family, friends, and teachers are also welcome.

The candidate who submits the best essay overall will be awarded an honorary John Locke Institute Junior Fellowship, which comes with a US$10,000 scholarship to attend one or more of our summer schools and/or visiting scholars programmes. 

The judges' decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

R egistration opens: 1 April, 2024.

Registration deadline: 31 May, 2024. (Registration is required by this date for subsequent submission.)

Submission deadline: 30 June, 2024.

Late entry deadline: 10 July, 2024. (Late entries are subject to a 20.00 USD charge, payable by 1 July.)

Notification of short-listed essayists: 31 July, 2024.

Academic conference: 20 - 22 September, 2024.

Awards dinner: 21 September, 2024.

Any queries regarding the essay competition should be sent to [email protected] . Please be aware that, due to the large volume of correspondence we receive, we cannot guarantee to answer every query. In particular, regrettably, we are unable to respond to questions whose answers can be found on our website.

If you would like to receive helpful tips  from our examiners about what makes for a winning essay or reminders of upcoming key dates for the 2024  essay competition, please provide your email here to be added to our contact list. .

Thanks for subscribing!

The John Locke Institute's Global Essay Prize is acknowledged as the world's most prestigious essay competition. 

We welcome tens of thousands of submissions from ambitious students in more than 150 countries, and our examiners - including distinguished philosophers, political scientists, economists, historians, psychologists, theologians, and legal scholars - read and carefully assess every entry. 

I encourage you to register for this competition, not only for the hope of winning a prize or commendation, and not only for the chance to join the very best contestants at our academic conference and gala ceremony in London, but equally for the opportunity to engage in the serious scholarly enterprise of researching, reflecting on, writing about, and editing an answer to one of the important and provocative questions in this year's Global Essay Prize. 

We believe that the skills you will acquire in the process will make you a better thinker and a more effective advocate for the ideas that matter most to you.

I hope to see you in September!

Best wishes,

Jamie Whyte, Ph.D. (C ANTAB ) 

Chairman of Examiners

Q. I missed the registration deadline. May I still register or submit an essay?

A. No. Only candidates who registered before 31 May will be able to submit an essay. 

Q. Are footnote s, endnotes, a bibliography or references counted towards the word limit?

A. No. Only the body of the essay is counted. 

Q. Are in-text citations counted towards the word limit? ​

A. If you are using an in-text based referencing format, such as APA, your in-text citations are included in the word limit.

Q. Is it necessary to include foo tnotes or endnotes in an essay? ​

A. You  may not  include footnotes, but you may include in-text citations or endnotes. You should give your sources of any factual claims you make, and you should ackn owledge any other authors on whom you rely.​

Q. I am interested in a question that seems ambiguous. How should I interpret it?

A. You may interpret a question as you deem appropriate, clarifying your interpretation if necessary. Having done so, you must answer the question as directly as possible.

Q. How strict are  the age eligibility criteria?

A. Only students whose nineteenth birthday falls after 30 June 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation. In the case of the Junior category, only students whose fifteenth birthday falls after 30 June 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation. 

Q. May I submit more than one essay?

A. Yes, you may submit as many essays as you please in any or all categories.

Q. If I am eligible to compete in the Junior category, may I also (or instead) compete in another category?

A. Yes, you may.

Q. May I team up with someone else to write an essay?  

A. No. Each submitted essay must be entirely the work of a single individual.

Q. May I use AI, such as ChatGPT or the like, in writing my essay?

A. All essays will be checked for the use of AI. If we find that any content is generated by AI, your essay will be disqualified. We will also ask you, upon submission of your essay, whether you used AI for  any  purpose related to the writing of your essay, and if so, you will be required to provide details. In that case, if, in our judgement, you have not provided full and accurate details of your use of AI, your essay will be disqualified. 

Since any use of AI (that does not result in disqualification) can only negatively affect our assessment of your work relative to that of work that is done without using AI, your safest course of action is simply not to use it at all. If, however, you choose to use it for any purpose, we reserve the right to make relevant judgements on a case-by-case basis and we will not enter into any correspondence. 

Q. May I have someone else edit, or otherwise help me with, my essay?

A. You may of course discuss your essay with others, and it is perfectly acceptable for them to offer general advice and point out errors or weaknesses in your writing or content, leaving you to address them.

However, no part of your essay may be written by anyone else. This means that you must edit your own work and that while a proofreader may point out errors, you as the essayist must be the one to correct them. 

Q. Do I have to attend the awards ceremony to win a prize? ​

A. Nobody is required to attend the prize ceremony. You can win a prize without travelling to London. But if we invite you to London it is because your essay was good enough - in the opinion of the First Round judges - to be at least a contender for First, Second or Third Prize. Normally the Second Round judges will agree that the short-listed essays are worth at least a commendation.

Q. Is there an entry fee?

A. No. There is no charge to enter our global essay competition unless you submit your essay after the normal deadline, in which case there is a fee of 20.00 USD .

Q. Can I receive a certificate for my participation in your essay competition if I wasn't shortlisted? 

A. No. Certificates are awarded only for shortlisted essays. Short-listed contestants who attend the award ceremony in London will receive a paper certificate. If you cannot travel to London, you will be able to download your eCertificate.

Q. Can I receive feedba ck on my essay? 

A. We would love to be able to give individual feedback on essays but, unfortunately, we receive too many entries to be able to comment on particular essays.

Q. The deadline for publishing the names of short-listed essayists has passed but I did not receive an email to tell me whether I was short-listed.

A. Log into your account and check "Shortlist Status" for (each of) your essay(s).

Q. Why isn't the awards ceremony in Oxford this year?

A. Last year, many shortlisted finalists who applied to join our invitation-only academic conference missed the opportunity because of capacity constraints at Oxford's largest venues. This year, the conference will be held in central London and the gala awards dinner will take place in an iconic London ballroom. 

TECHNICAL FAQ s

Q. The system will not accept my essay. I have checked the filename and it has the correct format. What should I do?  

A. You have almost certainly added a space before or after one of your names in your profile. Edit it accordingly and try to submit again.

Q. The profile page shows my birth date to be wrong by a day, even after I edit it. What should I do?

A. Ignore it. The date that you typed has been correctly input to our database. ​ ​

Q. How can I be sure that my registration for the essay competition was successful? Will I receive a confirmation email?

A. You will not receive a confirmation email. Rather, you can at any time log in to the account that you created and see that your registration details are present and correct.

TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR SUBMISSION

If you are unable to submit your essay to the John Locke Institute’s global essay competition, your problem is almost certainly one of the following.

If so, please proceed as indicated.

1) PROBLEM: I receive the ‘registrations are now closed’ message when I enter my email and verification code. SOLUTION. You did not register for the essay competition and create your account. If you think you did, you probably only provided us with your email to receive updates from us about the competition or otherwise. You may not enter the competition this year.

2) PROBLEM I do not receive a login code after I enter my email to enter my account. SOLUTION. Enter your email address again, checking that you do so correctly. If this fails, restart your browser using an incognito window; clear your cache, and try again. Wait for a few minutes for the code. If this still fails, restart your machine and try one more time. If this still fails, send an email to [email protected] with “No verification code – [your name]” in the subject line.

SUBMITTING AN ESSAY

3) PROBLEM: The filename of my essay is in the correct format but it is rejected. SOLUTION: Use “Edit Profile” to check that you did not add a space before or after either of your names. If you did, delete it. Whether you did or did not, try again to submit your essay. If submission fails again, email [email protected] with “Filename format – [your name]” in the subject line.

4) PROBLEM: When trying to view my submitted essay, a .txt file is downloaded – not the .pdf file that I submitted. SOLUTION: Delete the essay. Logout of your account; log back in, and resubmit. If resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “File extension problem – [your name]” in the subject line.

5) PROBLEM: When I try to submit, the submission form just reloads without giving me an error message. SOLUTION. Log out of your account. Open a new browser; clear the cache; log back in, and resubmit. If resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “Submission form problem – [your name]” in the subject line.

6) PROBLEM: I receive an “Unexpected Error” when trying to submit. SOLUTION. Logout of your account; log back in, and resubmit. If this resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “Unexpected error – [your name]” in thesubject line. Your email must tell us e xactly where in the submission process you received this error.

7) PROBLEM: I have a problem with submitting and it is not addressed above on this list. SOLUTION: Restart your machine. Clear your browser’s cache. Try to submit again. If this fails, email [email protected] with “Unlisted problem – [your name]” in the subject line. Your email must tell us exactly the nature of your problem with relevant screen caps.

READ THIS BEFORE YOU EMAIL US.

Do not email us before you have tried the specified solutions to your problem.

Do not email us more than once about a single problem. We will respond to your email within 72 hours. Only if you have not heard from us in that time may you contact us again to ask for an update.

If you email us regarding a problem, you must include relevant screen-shots and information on both your operating system and your browser. You must also declare that you have tried the solutions presented above and had a good connection to the internet when you did so.

If you have tried the relevant solution to your problem outlined above, have emailed us, and are still unable to submit before the 30 June deadline on account of any fault of the John Locke Institute or our systems, please do not worry: we will have a way to accept your essay in that case. However, if there is no fault on our side, we will not accept your essay if it is not submitted on time – whatever your reason: we will not make exceptions for IT issues for which we are not responsible.

We reserve the right to disqualify the entries of essayists who do not follow all provided instructions, including those concerning technical matters.

• Search Results

Writing prizes and opportunities

There are many awards and development schemes available for authors at all stages of their careers. Below is a list of monetary awards, sponsored retreats, mentorships and training opportunities.

If you're looking for help both in development or funding from organisations near you, find information about local support here.

Take a look through the opportunities for new writers:

- Opportunities from Penguin - From other organisations - For published writers - Writing retreats

For new writers

From Penguin

WriteNow is run by Penguin Random House and aims to find, nurture and publish new writers from communities under-represented on the nation's bookshelves. It offers workshops and feedback, and includes the chance to join a year-long programme.

#Merky New Writers' Prize

#Merky Books is a home for underrepresented voices and provides a platform where their stories can be told, heard and uplifted. The winner of the New Writers’ Prize receives a publishing contract. All longlisted writers are invited to our Writers’ Camp, where they participate in writing workshops, panel talks, editorial one-to-ones, and meet the #Merky Books team.

Penguin Michael Joseph Undiscovered Writers' Prize

Penguin Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin Books, is a leading publisher of commercial fiction and non-fiction. The aim of the Penguin Michael Joseph Undiscovered Writers' Prize is to find new authors from underrepresented backgrounds who we can bring to the widest possible readership. The winner will receive a publishing contract worth at least £10,000, and representation by the Janklow & Nesbit agency. All shortlisted writers will also receive one-to-one editorial feedback and guidance from an editor or agent.

Harvill Secker Young Translators' Prize

The Harvill Secker Young Translators’ Prize aims to recognise the achievements of young translators at the start of their careers and to encourage and support the next generation of literary translators. It focuses on a different language each prize year and is open to anyone between the ages of 18 and 34, with no more than one full-length translation published.

Fern Academy Prize

The Fern Academy Prize, in association with Tortoise Media, is designed to find and nurture emerging non-fiction talent and will be awarded to an essay of literary merit with an international and multicultural interest. The prize is open to unagented and unpublished writers from around the world, writing in the English language.

From other organisations

The Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize

Awarded for the best piece of writing on an annual theme. The winner of the Writing Prize receives a cash prize, and the runners-up receive travel expense support that must be used to attend their annual symposium which is hosted in a European country. All genres of writing are permitted, including fiction, non-fiction and non-academic essays. Open to unpublished writers only.

Anthology Poetry Competition

Established to recognise and encourage excellence in the craft of poetry writing and to provide a platform for publication, the Anthology Poetry Competition is open to original and previously unpublished poems in the English language.

Anthology Short Story Competition

Established to recognise and encourage creative writing and provide a platform for publication, the Anthology Short Story Competition is open to original and previously unpublished short stories in the English language by a writer of any nationality, living anywhere in the world. 

Aurora Prize For Writing

The Aurora Prize for Writing is a national competition run by Writing East Midlands, in partnership with the Society of Authors. It seeks outstanding new writing in short fiction and poetry.

The Bracken Prize

The Financial Times and McKinsey want to encourage young authors to tackle emerging business themes and ask entrants to submit a business book proposal. The prize aims to encourage a new generation of business writers and has already seen a number of shortlisted and longlisted proposals emerge as published books. 

The Bath Novel Awards

The Bath Novel Award and The Bath Children’s Novel Award spotlight emerging writers, and are open to unpublished and independently published novelists worldwide.

Blue Pencil Agency First Novel Award

The First Novel Award is open to unrepresented and unpublished authors for a novel in any adult fiction genre.

Breakthrough Writers' Programme

Curtis Brown Creative, supported by the Curtis Brown and C&W agencies, run a programme of creative writing courses, mentoring opportunities and scholarships for under-represented writers – with all opportunities fully funded for the writers taking part.

Breakthrough scholarships

Curtis Brown Creative, supported by the Curtis Brown and C&W agencies, regularly offer funded places on their courses to talented writers facing barriers to entry.

Breakthrough Mentoring Programme

This mentoring programme is for talented writers who fulfil the eligibility criteria and are seeking targeted, detailed one-to-one feedback on a work-in-progress, plus industry advice. You can apply to be mentored for a project at any writing stage.

Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize

Entries of original short fiction between 1000 and 5000 words can be entered into the Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize. The winner will receive £1,000 and 12 shortlisted writers will be included in an anthology. 

The Bridport Prize

The Bridport Prize has a number of categories: novel, poetry, short story and flash fiction. All the awards are for work which has not previously been published, while the novel award is only open to writers who are not represented by a literary agent.

The Bristol Short Story Prize

This is an annual international writing competition open to all published and unpublished, UK and non-UK-based writers.

The Caledonia Novel Award

An Edinburgh-based, international writing competition for unpublished and self-published novelists in all genres for adults and YA.

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize

The prize is open to all Commonwealth citizens aged 18 and over entering a story of between 2,500 and 5,000 words. The regional winners receive £2,500 and the overall winner receives a total of £5,000. The winning stories are published online by  Granta  and in a special print collection by Paper + Ink.

Creators of Justice Literary Awards

The Creators of Justice Literary Awards is an annual, international contest featuring works which highlight the struggle for human rights and social justice across the world. Writers can submit one poem, essay, or short story on an annual theme.

The Creative Future Writers’ Award

The Creative Future Writers’ Award (CFWA) is a national writing development programme which celebrates talented, underrepresented writers who lack opportunities due to mental health issues, disability, health or social circumstance. Prizes include £20,000 of cash and top writing development prizes supplied by prominent publishers and development agencies.

Criptic x Spread The Word

CRIPtic Arts x Spread the Word collaboratively produce a range of activities including salons, a retreat and research for deaf and disabled writers. Their work together aims to offer a range of activities to support, develop and empower deaf and disabled writers.

Discoveries

The Women’s Prize Trust, NatWest, Curtis Brown Literary Agency and Curtis Brown Creative Writing School have partnered to create Discoveries, a unique initiative searching for the most talented and original new female writing voices in the UK and Ireland. The winner will be offered representation by Curtis Brown Literary Agency and a cash prize of £5,000.

Footnote x Counterpoints Writing Prize

Footnote Press and Counterpoints Arts have partnered to launch the Footnote x Counterpoints Writing Prize for writers from refugee and migrant backgrounds. The £15,000 award, which includes an advance of £5,000 and a publication agreement with Footnote Press, is for narrative non-fiction centred around themes of displacement, identity and/or resistance. Writers can be published or unpublished.

Green Stories Writing Competitions

Green Stories writing competitions are a series of free writing competitions open to all across various formats to solicit stories that showcase what a sustainable society might look like. 

Grindstone Literary International Novel Prize

The 2023 Novel Prize is open to authors from all countries, provided their submissions are in English. To be eligible to enter, authors must be unrepresented .  Entrants are asked to submit the first 5,000 words of their manuscript.

The London Library Emerging Writers Programme

Geared towards supporting writers at the start of their careers, the programme includes writing development masterclasses, literary networking opportunities, peer support and guidance in use of the Library’s resources. With its extensive open-access book collection, dedicated writing spaces and diverse community of established writers, the benefits of Library membership are very valuable. 

The London Writers’ Awards

This is a development programme run by Spread the Word which aims to increase the number of writers from under-represented communities being taken up by agents and publishers. The awards support  30  London-based writers of  colour  and working class, LGBTQ+ and disabled writers  each year, and bursaries are available for writers in need. There is also an Access Fund for disabled writers. Writers on the awards scheme take part in group feedback sessions on their work and also attend one-to-one professional development sessions.

Mairtín Crawford   Awards

The Mairtín Crawford   Awards are aimed at writers working towards their first full collection of poetry, short stories, or a novel. Both published and unpublished writers are invited to submit between 3-5 poems for the poetry award, and a short story of up to 2,500 words for the short story award, with the only stipulation being that they have not yet published a full collection of poetry, short stories, or a novel.

The Malorie Blackman Scholarships for Unheard Voices

City Lit’s Malorie Blackman Scholarships for Unheard Voices provide three annual awards worth up to £1000 each, to fund one year’s study within the Creative Writing department at City Lit. 

The Manchester Writing Competition

The Manchester Writing Competition for poetry and fiction, offers the UK’s biggest literary awards for unpublished work, with each category awarding £10,000.

Mogford Prize for Food and Drink Writing

The Mogford Prize for Food and Drink Writing is an annual short story competition open to writers across the globe. The prize awards £10,000 to the best short story that has food and drink at its heart.

Morley Prize for Unpublished Writers of Colour

Jointly run by Morley College London and the Rachel Mills Literary Agency, the prize is awarded to unpublished aspiring authors of colour. There are two prizes – one for works of fiction and one for Life Writing and Creative Non-fiction.

The Moth Prizes

The Moth Magazine runs an annual short story prize, nature writing prize and poetry prize open to anyone from anywhere in the world, as long as their writing is original and previously unpublished.

The National Poetry Competition

The National Poetry Competition is one of the world’s most prestigious prizes for an unpublished poem of up to 40 lines, open to anyone 18 or over.

New Writers Poetry Competition

Open to poets from around the world, the winner receives £1,000, with a second prize of £300 and a third prize of £200. 

The Nine Dots Prize

The Nine Dots Prize is a prize for creative thinking that tackles contemporary societal issues. Entrants are asked to respond to a question in 3,000 words, with the winner receiving $100,000 to write a short book expanding on their ideas. The aim of the Prize is to promote, encourage and engage innovative thinking to address problems facing the modern world. Its name references the nine dots puzzle – a lateral thinking puzzle which can only be solved by thinking outside the box.

The Oxford Poetry Prize

The winner of the Oxford Poetry Prize receives £1,000, the runner-up £200, and third place £100. The winning poets are also offered publication in Oxford Poetry.

Poetry London Prize

The Poetry London Prize is a major, internationally renowned award for a single outstanding poem. The first prize is £5,000.

Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize

Run by Wasifiri , the magazine of international literature, in conjunction with Queen Mary University, this prize supports new writers.

Rhys Davies Short Story Competition

The Rhys Davies Short Story Competition is a distinguished national writing competition for writers born or living in Wales. The first prize is £1,000 and publication in a short story anthology to be published by Parthian Books.

The Royal Society of Literature V. S. Pritchett Short Story Prize

The annual prize of £1,000 goes to the best unpublished short story of the year. The winning entry is also published in  Prospect  magazine and the  RSL Review.

Scottish Book Trust New Writers Awards

The New Writers Awards is an annual awards programme supporting individuals committed to developing their writing. The award includes a cash award, a week-long retreat, training and mentoring.

Scottish Book Trust Next Chapter Award

The Next Chapter Award is an annual award supporting an emerging writer over the age of 40. The Award includes a cash reward, 2-week writing retreat, training and mentoring.

The Society of Authors' Awards

The Society of Authors runs annual awards, which are open to writers at all stages of their careers. Among them is The ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award for a short story (applicants need to have had at least one short story accepted for publication); and The McKitterick Prize, which is given annually to an author over the age of 40 for a first novel, published or unpublished.

Seán Ó Faoláin International Short Story Competition

The competition is open to original, unpublished and unbroadcast short stories in the English language of 3,000 words or fewer. The first prize is €2,000 and a one-week residency at Anam Cara Retreat.

Searchlight Awards

Searchlight Writing for Children Awards is an international competition for aspiring authors writing for children or young adults. Categories are 'Best Children’s Picture Book Text' and 'Best Novel Opening for Children or Young Adults'.

The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition

Chicken House are looking for original ideas, a fresh voice, and a diverse range of entries and stories that children will love! They'd particularly like to encourage entry from writers from underrepresented backgrounds. The first prize is a worldwide publishing contract with Chicken House with a royalty advance of £10,000, plus an offer of representation from an agent.

The Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize

The Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize is an international prize that supports and celebrates the best adventure writing today. The Prize is open to writers of any nationality, writing in English. Awards are presented in three categories: Best Published Novel, New Voices and Author of Tomorrow.

W&A Working-Class Writers' Prize

Writers & Artists run the W&A Working-Class Writers' Prize – a celebration of stories as a mode of communication, and a reminder of how vital it is that everyone can share their ideas and experiences via the written word. The prize includes a cash prize and mentoring sessions with an acclaimed author.

The Writers Award

Run by The Deborah Rogers Found - set up in memory of a late literary agent - The Writers Award gives £10,000 to an unpublished writer to enable them to complete a first book. It is run biannually.

For published writers

These awards are for published writers only, and in order to be considered books must be nominated by their publisher or agent - authors cannot usually enter themselves (with the exception of the fellowships). However, as a writer looking to get published, it's always worth taking stock of the titles being longlisted and shortlisted for some of the top literary awards to give you a sense of which types of books are receiving critical acclaim. We've included prizes for fiction and non-fiction titles here. 

Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction

The Baillie Gifford Prize rewards excellence in non-fiction writing across current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts.

BBC National Short Story Award

An annual prize, entrants must have a prior record of publishing creative work in the UK. Stories up to 8,000 words are accepted and may be submitted by the author or by their agent. Shortlisted stories are awarded a prize of £600.

The Booker Prize

The leading literary award in the English-speaking world, which has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for over 50 years. Awarded annually to the best novel of the year written in English and published in the UK or Ireland. Although you have to be nominated by your publisher, many debut novels have been longlisted and shortlisted in the past.

The Desmond Elliot Prize

The Desmond Elliott Prize encourages publishers from across the UK and Ireland to submit literary fiction debuts for consideration, awarding one winning author £10,000 to shape their developing career.

Forward Prizes for Poetry

The Forward Prizes for Poetry honour excellence in contemporary poetry published in UK and Ireland.

FT & McKinsey Business Book of the Year

This prestigious £30,000 prize goes to the book that is judged to have provided the most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues, with £10,000 awarded to each runner-up.

Nero Book Awards

Celebrating outstanding writing by great authors living in the UK and Ireland, these awards list the best books of the year for their quality of writing and readability. There are four categories: Children’s Fiction, Debut Fiction, Fiction and Non-Fiction. An overall winner, given the Nero Gold Prize for the “Book of the Year”, is also be named.

Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize

Awarded for the best published literary work in the English language, written by an author aged 39 or under, the prize celebrates the international world of fiction in all its forms including poetry, novels, short stories, and drama. The winner receives a prize of £30,000.

The Royal Society of Literature Christopher Bland Prize

The RSL Christopher Bland Prize is an annual award of £10,000 to a debut novelist or non-fiction writer first published aged 50 or over.

The Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize

The annual award of £10,000 for a distinguished work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry, evoking the spirit of a place.

Scottish Book Trust Ignite Fellowship

The Ignite Fellowship supports established writers who are embarking on or working through a significant project. You can apply whether the project is in its very earliest stages or already a work in progress.

Women's Prize for Fiction

The Women's Prize for Fiction is the UK's most prestigious annual book award celebrating and honouring fiction written by women.

Writing retreats

Arvon runs an annual programme of creative writing courses and retreats for schools, groups and individuals. Their courses, tutored by leading authors, are held at three rural centres and include a mix of workshops and individual tutorials, with time and space to write, free from distractions of everyday life. Arvon courses are in a range of genres and they have different styles of courses. Grants are available to help with course fees.

The Garsdale Retreat

The Garsdale Retreat is a creative writing centre in the Yorkshire Dales. It provides inspirational courses tutored by professional writers, enabling participants to develop their individual creativity in a place of peace and tranquillity, away from the distractions and stresses of everyday life.

Gladstone's Library

Gladstone's Library is a residential library and meeting place which is dedicated to dialogue, debate and learning for open-minded individuals and groups, who are looking to explore pressing questions and to pursue study and research. They offer a programme of courses and events that keep them connected with a wide range of writers and thinkers.

Moniack Mhor Creative Writing Centre

Moniack Mhor is Scotland’s National Writing Centre. Based in the Scottish Highlands, they run courses in a range of genres tutored by some of the finest authors in the UK and beyond. They also sponsor awards, bursaries, and professional residencies to develop works in progress and a programme for young writers.

The River Mill

This former flour mill in South Down, Northern Ireland is now a boutique reading and writing retreat. They offer individual residencies and workshops. 

Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre

Tŷ Newydd is the National Writing Centre of Wales, run by Literature Wales specialising in residential creative writing courses.

Urban Writers Retreat

Providing residential retreats in Devon and one-day courses in London, they offer guidance and space away from everyday life.

We will keep this page updated with new opportunities as and when they become available. If you want to let us know about a new opportunity, please email us: [email protected]

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

By signing up, I confirm that I'm over 16. To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Our 3rd Annual Personal Narrative Writing Contest

We invite students to tell a short story about a meaningful life experience in 600 words or fewer. Contest Dates: Oct. 13 to Nov. 17, 2021

By The Learning Network

Update, Jan. 20, 2022: Winners have been announced!

When you think of The New York Times, you probably think of front-page news, but The Times also has a long tradition of publishing personal narratives, and you can find new ones online nearly every day if you know where to look.

In fact, over the years there have been columns dedicated to personal narratives on themes from love and family to life on campus, how we relate to animals, living with disabilities and navigating anxiety.

For this contest, we invite you to write a personal narrative of your own about a meaningful life experience.

We’re not asking you to write to a particular theme or to use a specific structure or style, but we are looking for short, powerful stories about a particular moment or event in your life. We want to hear your story, told in your unique voice, and we hope you’ll experiment with style and form to tell a tale that matters to you, in a way you enjoy telling it.

Take a look at the full guidelines and related resources below. Please post any questions you have in the comments and we’ll answer you there, or write to us at [email protected]. And, consider hanging this PDF one-page announcement on your class bulletin board.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .

School Reading List

Recommended reading books for primary & secondary aged children in the UK

Home » Competitions for Children » Children’s Writing Competitions

Children’s Writing Competitions

Young writer’s competitions for children and teens aged 5-18

Please read our list of writing competitions for children. The contests are checked and updated each month . We are happy to feature writing challenges open to primary-age children, secondary-age pupils, and young adults in the UK. If you would like your competition featured here, please contact us . We are happy to feature competitions with at least one month remaining before the closing date. We have also compiled a list of recommended creative writing manuals and writing workshop activity guides suitable for use with KS1, KS2, KS3, and KS4 at the bottom of this page.

New competitions are listed at the top of each month. Past and annual competitions are listed below .

Writing competitions for children and teens

Please note   that  many previous annual competitions were or are being affected by the recession,  or cost of living crisis. This is beyond our control.

Closing date in September

• World Record attempt for World Poetry Day – this is not a competition, but a challenge. Your school could participate in Laura Mucha’s plan to involve 60,000+ 7-12-year-old students in writing a poem about ‘what counts’. Full sign-up details can be found on the National Poetry Day website.
• The Betty Haigh Shakespeare Prize – is open to “any sixth-form student of English Literature”. There are two options, both with detailed entry criteria which can be viewed on the competition website.
• The Yorkshire Festival of Story Children’s Story Competition invites short stories from UK children aged 7-12.

Closing date in October

• Poem 99 competition – 5-7, 8-10, 11-13 and 14-16-year-olds can enter up to 20 lines of poetry on a prescribed theme. There is an entry fee for this competition.
• C.A.B.B Publishing is running a short story competition for young adults. Full details are available on their website.
• ‘If Dylan met Thomas Hardy’ is the title of a new competition hosted by the Dylan Thomas Society and the Thomas Hardy Society. Writers aged 11+ can submit a play of up to 15 minutes in length for up to four cast members. The best three plays entered will be performed at the Dylan Thomas Theatre.
• Royal Geographical Society School Essay Competition – an annual competition, run in association with the Financial Times, for 16-19-year-olds, with a closing date in October.
• The Young Walter Scott Prize is dedicated to historical fiction, defined as “in a time before you were born”, and this competition has two age categories: 11-15 and 16-19. Entries can be prose, poetry, drama, fictional letters, or reportage. The closing date is the end of October.
• The Solstice Nature Prize For Young Writers , organised by Writing East Midlands, invites children and teens aged 7-17 to write ‘ imaginative short stories (up to 500 words) and provocative poems (up to 40 lines)’. The competition offers cash prizes and an anthology of the best entries. There are three age categories: 7-11, 12-14 and 15-17.

Closing date in November

• BBC 500 words short story competition for children –  with two age group categories, 5-7-year-olds and 7-11-year-olds.
• The WILD WORDS National Eco-Poetry Project is open to young people aged 18 and under in the UK, who are asked to “imagine co-writing a poem with a tree, river, or even the weather” . Poem entries should be a maximum of one side of A4. Full details are on the competition website.
• Poetry Together Competition – children under 18 in the UK are invited to enter poems of no more than 14 lines on a theme detailed on the competition website, and choose a poem on any theme to learn by heart. There are two age group categories and full details are available on the competition website.
• The East Riding Festival of Words runs an annual poetry competition. Entries of up to 45 lines are open to children aged 4-10 and 11-16 and there are cash prizes for the winners.
• The Tadpole Press 100 Word Writing Contest is a worldwide competition open to writers of all ages. There’s an entry fee for this one, with cash prizes and writing development packages on offer for the winners. The deadline is November 30th.
• Wenlock Olympian Society Short Story Competition – open to students aged 16+ who are invited to write a story on any theme of up to 2500 words. Full entry details are on the Wenlock website.
• One Teen Story – story submission site for teenagers. The deadline is 27th November.
• The Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize for writers aged 18-25 invites entries of 1000-1500 words on a Franklin quote which changes each year. The deadline is 30th November.

Closing date in December

• Love Letters to London , run by the London Society, offers children aged 11 and under and 12-18 year-olds the opportunity to win cash prizes by entering prose (fiction, essays, and reportage) or poetry that celebrates ‘our wonderful, fantastic, infuriating city’. Full details, including this year’s theme, can be found on the competition website.
• Into Film awards will hopefully return in 2024. See also the ‘Film of the Month’ competition and the extensive resources to encourage school film clubs.

Closing date in January

• This Page is Printed offers an under-18s competition with cash prizes for entries of up to one page of A4 ‘in any genre: prose, poetry, script’. Judges will be looking for ‘something that dares to be different.’
• The Young Cartoonist Awards have an under-18 category where children and teens can enter ‘pocket (gag) cartoons, political cartoons and short strip cartoons.’
• The Cheshire Prize for Literature invites primary and secondary-aged students to enter short stories, poetry, children’s literature and scriptwriting. To qualify, entrants ‘must live or have lived, work or have worked, studied or have studied in Cheshire, Wirral, Warrington or Halton.’
• The Royal Mint Museum short story competition – will return in January 2024.
• The Japan Society runs the World Children’s Haiku Contest . Students aged 15 and under can enter a haiku on A4 or letter-sized paper on the theme of “family”, accompanied by hand-drawn artwork on the same page. Full details are available on the competition website.
• The Immerse Essay Competition offers teens aged 13-18 the opportunity to write an essay choosing from a range of topics including architecture, science, law, international relations, medicine, economics, creative writing and many more. There are two age groups: 13-15 and 16-18. The deadline is 4th January.
• North Eastern University London is running an essay competition for students in year 12. Pupils can submit up to 1,500 words, choosing from a range of set essay titles that span a broad range of topics including humanities, philosophy, social issues, the law and creative writing. There are cash prizes for the top three entries.
• The Korean Spirit & Culture Promotion Project Essay Contest is an international competition open to children in two age group categories: years 6-9 and years 10-13. There are cash prizes for the top three entries and honourable mentions in each category. Full entry details are available on this information poster . All submissions must be submitted by 15th January.
• The Herne Hill Lit Fest is running a “Stepping into Stories” competition for children aged 4-7, 8-11 and 12+. The theme is “ bouncing back “. Entries can be written stories, drawings, comic strips, poetry, raps, or digital animations. There are book token prizes for the winners.
• Bournemouth Young Writers prize – open to children in years 3&4, and years 5&6 and stories can be “ about anything you like “. Prizes include £150 worth of books.
• Rotary Club International Young Writer competition.

Closing date in February

• The Elmbridge Literary Competition is open to children under 18 (free) in four age group categories: 5-7; 8-11; 11-13 and 14-18. The theme for 2024 is “Fame”. Short stories or poems can be entered. Full entry details and requirements can be viewed on the competition website.
• Perse Research’s Year 9 Aristotelian Award is open to students in Year 9 or equivalent. The award exists to “ promote the independent study skills in Year 9 pupils while simultaneously providing an avenue to explore super-curricular interests in the arts, humanities and sciences. ” Entrants are invited to write an 800-1500 word essay choosing a title from a choice of topics and essay titles spanning arts, humanities and the sciences.
• The Canterbury Tales Writing Competition – annual – open to all children of school age, including school and college pupils, home-educated children and entries from young people’s community organisations. There are three age categories: 5-10; 11-14 and 15-18. The 2024 theme is “ Being Part of a Group “.
• The Royal Society of Literature invites students aged 13-18 to write up to 500 words about “ the writer from the past that most inspires them “. Prizes for the “ History is in the Making ” competition include book tokens for both entrants and the school.
• The Hugo Young Award – held in memory of Guardian political columnist Hugo Young, this competition encourages “fresh voices” aged 16-18 and 19-25 from UK state schools to pen political opinion pieces. Highly recommended for students studying A-level politics, sociology or looking towards a career in journalism.
• Voices – a writing competition, run by the charity Coram Voice, which is open to children and young people who are in or have experience with the care system.
• Christopher Tower Poetry Prize – open to young adults aged 16-18.

Closing date in March

• Young Science Writer of the Year Award – run by the Association of British Science Writers, this award is open to UK pupils aged 14-16 in non-selective state schools. Students can submit up to 800 words “on any subject in science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics.”
• Humanimal Trust Creative Awards – children and teens aged 7-18 can share their creative skills on the theme of ‘ Time to Connect ‘ in four age group categories: 7-9; 10-11; 12-15 & 16+. Full details are on the competition website.
• Young Songwriter 2024 – “ The world’s leading songwriting competition for young aspiring songwriters, aged 8-18 “. Children are invited to enter up to five songs. There are three age group categories for UK children and teens: 8-12; 13-15 & 16-18. Full details are on the Song Academy website.
• The BBC Young Reporter Competition is open to children and teens aged 11-18 who “want to report on a story or issue which is important to their life or the world around them”.
• Young Financial Journalist Competition – open to secondary students aged 14-15, 15-15, 16-17 and 18-19. “We are seeking well-argued articles from students aged 14–19”.
• Fitzwilliam College Cambridge is running a series of essay competitions aimed at pupils in their penultimate year of education before university – i.e. Year 12, S5 or Y13 (Northern Ireland). Entries (written in English) are welcome from around the world. With six categories: Ancient World and Classics, Archaeology, History, Land Economy, Medieval World, and Architecture; this competition is highly recommended for 6th formers and could provide useful evidence for university applications, a starting point for an EPQ project, or a talking point for an admissions interview. The deadline is 3rd March.
• The BBC Young Writer’s Award – is open to 14-18-year-olds who can submit a piece of original fiction of up to 1000 words. Highly recommended.
• The Portico Sadie Massey Awards feature two competitions open to children. There’s the KS2, KS3, KS4, and KS5 Young Readers Competition (write a book review – any genre – on any subject) and the Young Writers competition, open to pupils in KS3,4&5 (write a story based in the North of England.)
• The Girton College Humanities Writing Competition – open to Year 12 students in the UK, the writing task is based on five objects in the college’s antiquities museum.
• The Royal Mint runs an annual competition for primary school pupils aged 8-11 who can enter short stories of up to 500 words. Prizes include books for the school library. For this year’s theme and entry details, see the competition website.
• The Lowry’s Creative Writing Challenge is open to children aged 7-11 from across Salford and Greater Manchester. “ Pupils can draw on all aspects of writing for performance “, and enter writing of up to 500 words including poetry and stories or up to three minutes of playscript.
• The ISA Handwriting Competition is open to children in years 1, 2, 3-4 & 5-6 in ISA member schools, “to showcase their handwriting skills”.

Closing date in April

• The Guardian newspaper is running a Young Country Diary  writing competition open to 8-14-year-olds based in the UK. Six winners will be published in the Guardian and to enter students need to write a 200-250 word article about ‘a recent encounter they’ve had with nature’. Full details can be found on the competition webpage.
• Pitch Magazine is running a Young Sports Journalist competition . Students aged 14-24 can enter an article of 400-600 words in response to the question prompts on the website. There are four age group categories: 14-15, 16-17, 18-19 and 20-21 and there’s a £50 prize and work experience opportunity for each winning entry.
• Tadpole Press is running a worldwide 100-word writing contest open to writers of all ages. 100 words can be submitted in any genre. There is an entry fee for this competition and there’s a cash prize for 1st place and writing coaching and editing packages for the 2nd and 3rd places. The deadline is 30th April.
• Reading Zone offers a Create a Picture Book competition that’s open to 4-18-year-olds in three age group categories: 4-7; 7-11 and 11+. Prizes include £200 of books.
• Author of Tomorrow – run by the Wilbur and Niso Smith Foundation, the Author of Tomorrow prize aims to find adventure writers of the future. Young people under 21 can submit entries between 1500 and 5000 words (under 500 words for primary-aged pupils). The prizes are £1000 for the 16-21 age group, £100 and £150 in book tokens for the 12-15 age group, and £100 and £150 in book tokens for the 11 and under age group.
• The Day ‘ Young Journalist Awards ” are open to anyone under 19 (under 10 and 11-18)  and entrants can submit a written article, a video clip, an audio piece, photography, an illustration or a graphic in any one of 12 subject categories. Full details including how to enter are on the competition website.
• Goldsmiths University of London is running a series of competitions for 16-18-year-olds who are invited to a short story, a piece of journalism with a historical angle, or a piece about identity and culture: The Young Writer, Young Columnist, and Young Anthropologist competitions.
• The annual OxBright Essay Competition invites 15-18-year-olds to submit an essay of up to 3,800 characters (around 500 words). Details of the theme and subject requirements are on the competition website.

Closing date in May

• The Poetry of Science Competition – Can you write a ‘ terrific scientific poem ‘? Each entrant can enter one poem of up to 150 words. There are three age group categories: 5-7, 8-11 and 12-16. For schools, there’s a downloadable poster for classrooms here . Winners will be invited to Oxford to attend a celebration event and perform their poems.
• Never Such Innocence – The 2024 theme is “How does war affect people’s lives?” , and to enter children and teens can ‘ using poetry, art, speech and song’ . There are four age group categories (9-11;  11-14;  14-16;  & 16-18) and full details are on the competition website.
• The D.H. Lawrence Children’s Prize: Writing Competition is open to students aged 11 and under and 12-16, who can enter up to 500 words on the theme of “The Four Seasons”. Prizes include Kindles and book tokens.
• Bournemouth Writing Festival is running an international students competition, with the theme of “ On Bournemouth Beach “. It’s open to international students aged 16+ whose first language is not English.
• War Through Children’s Eyes is open to children aged 7-17 and aims to “ raise awareness of the impact of wars and violent conflicts on the communities caught up in them, and particularly on the most vulnerable members of those communities: their children “. Entries of up to 1000 words are invited, there are vouchers for the top three entries and full details are available on the website.
• The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition is open to young people under the age of 19. The competition features a starter paragraph and invites entrants to write under 1000 words to continue the story.

Closing date in June

• BCC Young Entrepreneurs , run by First News invites young entrepreneurs aged 5-15 to write up to 200 words about their business idea or innovation. There are four categories to pick from and prizes include a trip to the British Chambers of Commerce’s Global Annual Conference.
• Stories of the Future creative challenge . What does the future hold for young people around the world? asks this international competition run by Earth4All. With three categories: 15 and under, 16-18 and 19-21, students can enter writing up to 800 words or videos of up to 1.5 minutes. Full details are on the competition website. There are free resources and posters for schools.
• In the b small Young Language Learner Award , 6-11-year-olds can “send in a story or comic written in a language of their choice, other than a mother tongue .” There are French and Spanish activity packs available for teachers.
• The Philosophy Garden ‘Write a Script’ competition invites 11-18-year-olds to submit a nature-themed script for a short explainer video using animal characters to tell a story. Full details are on the website. The best entries will be made into a video to be exhibited in the Philosophy Museum in Milan.
• The Wells Festival of Literature offers young poets aged 16-25 the opportunity to enter poems of up to 35 lines on any subject for the annual Young Poets Competition. All entries must be in English .
• Celebration Day writing competition – entrants are invited to write 250 words (primary) or 500 words (secondary) to tell the story of an inspirational person they know. There are five age categories: 5-7; 8-10; 11-13; 14-16; 17-18 & teachers. Full details and resources are available on the competition website and the Celebration Day website.
• The Orwell Youth Prize – for secondary students aged 12-18, entries can be in any form, up to 1000 words. This year’s task is to respond to this title: “The Future We Want”.
• Cambridge University and SATIPS handwriting competition .
• Atom Learning’s Young Author Award offers 7-9-year-olds and 10-11-year-olds the chance to win a trip to Disneyland Paris. Children can enter fiction stories of up to 500 words. There’s also a free creative writing activity pack to download.

Closing date in July

• Martha Mills Young Writers’ Prize invites 11-14-year-olds living in the UK to enter 500 words or less on a prescribed theme. There are cash prizes and books for three winners. Full details are on the competition website run by London Review Bookshop.
• Young & Talented Cornwall invites 16-23-year-old residents of Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly who ‘ aspire to see your work in print, on stage or on screen ‘ to enter a personal statement and sample of work – both of up to 500 words – in this creative writing award scheme ‘ to help budding Cornish writers ‘. Grants of up to £1000 are available, together with a reading award of up to £150 worth of books.
• The Laurie Lee Prize for Writing offers a young person’s category for those who either live in Gloucestershire or were born in Gloucestershire.  16–20-year-olds  can enter up to 2500 words or up to 125 lines of poetry on “a nature or conservation theme”. More details are on the competition website.
• The Young Wild Writers competition , run by Hen Harrier Action invites children aged 5-8, 9-12 and 13-16 to enter stories, poems, articles, prose or letters of up to 500 words on the theme of Human Impact . Prizes include book vouchers and an online author visit to the winning child’s school. Full details, including a downloadable poster, are on the competition website.
• The Hampshire Young Poets competition is open to any young person aged 4-7; 8-11 or 12-16 “ who lives or studies in Hampshire “. Entrants can submit up to 14 lines of poetry on the theme of ‘ home ’. Full details are on the competition website.
• Foyle Young Poets competition – for 11-17-year-olds, the competition welcomes “poems on any theme and any length”.
• Stephen Spender Trust poetry in translation prize – the challenge is to translate a poem from any language into English. There are three categories for young people: U18, U16, and U14. The top prize is £1000.
• Ledbury Under 18’s poetry competition . Two categories – 11 and under and 12-17 request poems of no more than 40 lines in length. There are cash prizes or book tokens for the winners.
• HG Wells short story competition.
• Young Muslim Writers Award – open to UK children and teens in KS1, KS2, KS3 and KS4 who can submit a short story or poetry – and in KS3 and KS4, this is extended to also include journalism, screenplays, and play scripts. Full details are on the website.

Closing date in August

• Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Words of the Wild Competition invites those under 18 to submit a poem, journalistic article, essay, letter, song lyrics or a short story of under 100 words of fiction or nonfiction “ connected to the native wildlife of Scotland. “
• Cinemagic Young Filmmaker – open to films on any subject from young filmmakers aged under 25. The prizes include winning films being screened in cinemas.

Undated or open

• The Scottish Book Trust runs monthly mini-sage 50-word story writing competitions for children aged 5-11 and 12-18, with a different theme each month.
• Wordhound runs a monthly creative writing challenge for children aged 12 and under, who can send in 300-word stories “of funny, weird or otherwise unique writing” on a different subject each month.
• Kids’ Poetry Club runs a variety of competitions for primary and secondary-aged children, with a new theme announced every few months.
• Reading Solutions UK offers a range of monthly competitions and activities which include both writing and reading challenges.
• The Young Poets Network runs regular writing challenges and competitions, which can be viewed on their website.
• BBC Today Student Journalism Awards – annual. this competition features a variety of journalism categories, including journalism (any medium), broadcasting, visual and photojournalism, criticism, publication, and programme. Entrants must be over 18 and in full-time UK higher education. The prizes include places on highly coveted BBC Journalism Trainee Schemes (paid positions).
• BBC Writers Room is inviting speculative screenplay submissions of at least 30 pages from young scriptwriters aged 16+ in the UK or the Republic of Ireland.
• Blue Things Zine invites young writers aged 13+ to write articles and stories under 1500 words for consideration for publication.
• Scholastic We Are Writers – not a competition per se, but lots of ideas for literacy and writing projects with the aim of getting your pupils published. Ideal for fundraisers or whole-school writing initiatives.
• Inkhead short story competition and writing clubs.
• Amnesty International has a series of online resources – ‘ Words That Burn ‘ – to inspire teenagers to write about human rights, equality and discrimination.
• National Literacy Trust competitions page.
• Readers’ Digest Competitions . – including a 100-word story competition for children.
• The Guild of Food Writers Write It – Young Food Writer of the Year – is open to children up to 18 in three age categories.
• Live Canon: Children’s Poetry Competition – for young people aged 5-18.
• For a non-competitive option, the John Muir Award offers schools an opportunity to “encourage people of all backgrounds to connect with, enjoy and care for wild places.” Through an award scheme, pupils can create a dossier of experiences, challenges and presentations to demonstrate how they have discovered a wild place, explored it, done something to conserve it and shared their experience. A good option for larger groups, classes and year groups, this award requires teacher input and planning. Suitable for year 4 through to secondary-aged pupils.
• The First Story Young Writers Festival offers pupils a day-long online festival with workshops, resources, interviews with writers, showcases for young writers, resources and CPD for teachers. This is a fantastic resource to inspire children to write for publication and would make a great starting point for pupils considering entering writing competitions. ( Note the festival is not running a competition of its own ).

Resources for creative writing in schools and at home

• Hoo’s Writing Corner – an exciting creative writing website for primary-aged children. The website includes writing prompts and exercises, and the monthly subscription magazine includes story construction ideas and spelling worksheets.
• Below is a collection of books recommended to inspire children to write – whether it be creative writing, nonfiction, or poetry.

Help! We Need a Story by James Harris

Write Like a Ninja: An essential toolkit for every young writer by Andrew Jennings

500 Words: A collection of short stories that reflect on the Black Lives Matter movement

Descriptosaurus by Alison Wilcox

How to Write your Best Story Ever! by Christopher Edge

How to Write Poems by Joseph Coelho

Just Imagine by James Carter

Spilling Ink – A Young Writer’s Handbook by Ellen Potter & Anne Mazer

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

For more competition ideas, have a look at our public speaking and debating contests.

Browse our list of Children’s Book Publishers in the UK

Peruse our list of magazines for children and teens

Why not have a look at our suggested reading lists for children aged 3-16?

Books for EYFS & Reception Books for Year 1 Books for Year 2 Books for Year 3 Books for Year 4 Books for Year 5 Books for Year 6 Books for Year 7 Books for Year 8 Books for Year 9 Books for Year 10 Books for Year 11 Books for 6th formers

Please respect copyright and don’t copy or reproduce our reviews. Thanks .

About Tom Tolkien

Further Reading

• School Reading List Children's Book of the Month
• Christmas children's book advent calendar
• Magazines and newspapers for children and teenagers
• Summer Reading Challenge
• Online courses and home learning for children and teens
• Children's Book Festivals and Events

Follow the School Reading List

Keep up to date with our latest social media posts about reading, children's books and literacy.

© 2024 School Reading List. All Rights Reserved | As an Amazon Associate schoolreadinglist.co.uk earns from qualifying purchases | Policies and Terms of Use

Looking to publish? Meet your dream editor, designer and marketer on Reedsy.

Find the perfect editor for your next book

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

Best Writing Contests in 2024

Showing 425 contests that match your search.

The Reedsy Prompts Contest

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

Every Friday, Reedsy sends out five writing prompts. Enter your response within a week for a chance at $250. Winners may also be included in a future issue of Reedsy’s literary magazine, Prompted.

Additional prizes:

$25 credit toward Reedsy editorial services

💰 Entry fee: $5

📅 Deadline: December 31, 2024

National Poetry Competition 2024

The Poetry Society

Genres: Poetry

The competition, run by The Poetry Society since 1978, is one of the world’s most prestigious prizes for a single unpublished poem. Judged by Stephen Sexton, Romalyn Ante, John McAuliffe. Open to all poets worldwide aged 18+.

Runners-up receive £2,000 and £1,000. Commended entries receive £500

💰 Entry fee: $8

📅 Deadline: October 31, 2024

#GWstorieseverywhere

Gotham Writers

Genres: Fiction and Flash Fiction

Each month we invite you to post a story on Twitter using #GWstorieseverywhere for a chance to win a free class. Your story must be no longer than 25 words, with a max of 280 characters, including spaces and the hashtag #GWstorieseverywhere.

Gotham Writers Workshop

💰 Entry fee: $0

📅 Deadline: January 31, 2022 (Expired)

Craft your masterpiece in Reedsy Studio

Plan, write, edit, and format your book in our free app made for authors.

Learn more about Reedsy Studio .

Free Verse Poetry Contest

FanStory.com Inc.

Write a free verse poem. This is a method of writing poetry, which does not essentially follow any structure or style. There is no fixed meter and no structure regarding rhyme and lines in each stanza.

💰 Entry fee: $10

📅 Deadline: August 22, 2022 (Expired)

The Plough Prize

The Plough Arts Centre

Now in its twenty first year, the Plough Poetry Prize is an international open competition for poems in English up to 40 lines on any subject. We're delighted that this year's competition will be judged by Roger McGough.

2nd: £500 | 3rd: £250

💰 Entry fee: $6

📅 Deadline: March 31, 2024 (Expired)

Dzanc Books Prize for Fiction

Dzanc Books

Genres: Fiction and Novel

The Dzanc Books Prize for Fiction recognizes daring, original, and innovative novels. It is open to all writers, including those with agents. Submissions must be unpublished and include a synopsis, author bio, and contact info.

Advance and publication by Dzanc Books

💰 Entry fee: $25

📅 Deadline: September 30, 2024

South Warwickshire Literary Festival Writing Competition

South Warwickshire Literary Festival

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction 800 words, Poetry 40 lines, any genre any style. Over 16s only

Read entry at literary festival, September 2024 UK

📅 Deadline: March 29, 2024 (Expired)

Annual Student Essay Contest

Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum

Genres: Essay and Non-fiction

The contest encourages students to reflect on strength and resilience in overcoming challenges. Since 2001, it has engaged over 15,000 students from more than 20 countries, with 900 participants this year. Winners were selected based on their unique voice and thoughtful analysis.

2nd place: $750 3rd place: $500

📅 Deadline: March 04, 2024 (Expired)

Literary and Photographic Contest 2023-2024

Hispanic Culture Review

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, and Poetry

As we move forward we carry our culture wherever we go. It keeps us alive. This is why we propose the theme to be “¡Hacia delante!”. A phrase that means to move forward. This year we ask that you think about the following questions: What keeps you moving forward? What do you carry with you going into the future? How do you celebrate your successes, your dreams, and your culture?

Publication in magazine

📅 Deadline: February 07, 2024 (Expired)

The Letter Review Prize for Poetry

The Letter Review

This Prize is free to enter. 2-4 Winners are published. We Shortlist 10-20 writers. Seeking poems up to 70 lines. Judges’ feedback available. Open to writers from anywhere in the world, with no style / theme restrictions. Judged blind. All entries considered for publication + submission to Pushcart.

Publication by The Letter Review

The Book of the Year Awards

The Independent Author Network

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Thriller, Young Adult, Crime, and Short Story

The Independent Author Network presents the 10th Annual IAN Book of the Year Awards, an international contest open to all authors with 55 fiction and non-fiction categories. Winners are eligible to receive a share of cash prizes of $6,000 USD. Open to all English language print and eBooks available for sale, including small presses, mid-size independent publishers, university presses, and self-published authors.

$6,000.00 USD in total cash prizes

💰 Entry fee: $49

📅 Deadline: August 16, 2024 (Expired)

Anthology Flash Fiction Award

Anthology Magazine

Genres: Fiction, Short Story, and Flash Fiction

The Anthology Flash Fiction Competition is open to original and previously unpublished flash fiction on any theme in the English language by writers of any nationality. We are looking for writing that is clever and unique, inspires us, and crafts a compelling story. Max 250 words.

💰 Entry fee: $12

True Story Flash

Genres: Flash Fiction and Non-fiction

Share your flash fiction story. But for this contest we aren't looking for fiction. Rather share your true story with only 100 words. Cash prize!

📅 Deadline: June 15, 2024 (Expired)

A Very Short Story Contest

Genres: Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction, and Short Story

Participants write a short story using ten words or fewer, inspired by the famous six-word story attributed to Hemingway. The submission must be original and unpublished, with entries judged based on originality and quality.

Winning entry receives a free Gotham class of their choosing (excluding premium classes).

📅 Deadline: May 31, 2024 (Expired)

UNO Press Publishing Lab

University of New Orleans Press

Genres: Novel

The Publishing Laboratory at the University of New Orleans seeks to promote innovative publicity and broad distribution for authors. They accept submissions for unpublished novels and short story collections. A selected author is awarded a $10,000 advance on royalties and a publishing contract.

Advance on royalties

💰 Entry fee: $28

📅 Deadline: August 31, 2024 (Expired)

J. Michael Samuel Prize for Emerging Writers Over 50

Lambda Literary

Genres: LGBTQ

The J. Michael Samuel Prize honors emerging LGBTQ writers over the age of 50. This award is made possible by writer and philanthropist Chuck Forester, who created it out of the firmly held belief that “Writers who start late are just as good as other writers, it just took the buggers more time.” The prize will go to an unpublished LGBTQ writer over 50 working in any genre.

📅 Deadline: February 16, 2024 (Expired)

Narratively 2023 Memoir Prize

Narratively

Genres: Essay, Humor, Memoir, and Non-fiction

Narratively is currently accepting submissions for their 2023 Memoir Prize. They are looking for revealing and emotional first-person nonfiction narratives from unique and overlooked points of view. The guest judge is New York Times bestselling memoirist Stephanie Land.

$1,000 and publication

💰 Entry fee: $20

📅 Deadline: November 30, 2023 (Expired)

PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers

PEN America

The PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize recognizes 12 emerging writers for their debut short story published in a literary magazine, journal, or cultural website. The 12 winning stories are selected by a committee of three judges who are well-respected experts in the art of the short story. The winning writers each receive a $2,000 cash prize and will be published by Catapult in their annual anthology.

Publication in Catapult

📅 Deadline: November 15, 2021 (Expired)

Kinsman Poetry Slam

Kinsman Avenue Publishing, Inc

The Kinsman Poetry Slam is a global competition seeking unique contemporary poetry for the upcoming collection, SLAM! Winners receive up to $300 cash prizes and publication. Submissions of original, unpublished works in English up to 10 pages are encouraged, focusing on themes of culture, resilience, passion, and justice. Entry fee is $5.99, and submissions must be received by May 31, 2024.

2nd place: $200 3rd place: $100 4th place: $50 Top 6 Finalists: $25 Amazon gift card; 6 Honorary Mentions. Winner also receives publication in Kinsman Quarterly and the "SLAM" anthology.

Colorado Gold Writing Contest for Unpublished Writers

Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Colorado Gold Rush Literary Awards Contest is aimed at unpublished writers of novel-length fiction, offering feedback and exposure to literary agents and editors. It encourages diverse voices and celebrates various genres.

Winner receives official certificate, trophy, and reading during the conference luncheon. Three finalists receive $50, certificate, and pitch session with agents.

📅 Deadline: May 01, 2024 (Expired)

Goldfinch Books Novel Award

Goldfinch Books

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Novel, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller, and Young Adult

Goldfinch Books, an independent bookshop, café and event space in Alton, Hampshire, UK has announced a UK nationwide literary competition to coincide with the inaugural Alton Arts Festival. The Goldfinch Novel Award 2024 is a prize for emerging authors (aged 16+) with completed young adult or adult novels. This competition is open to authors in the UK and will have a prize of £300 for the winning novel, chosen by judge Kiya Evans, Associate Literary Agent at Mushens Entertainment.

Goldfinch Membership

💰 Entry fee: $14

📅 Deadline: May 27, 2024 (Expired)

Tom Howard / Margaret Reid Poetry Contest

Winning Writers

Welcome to the 20th annual Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest. Submit published or unpublished work. $3,000 for a poem in any style or genre. $3,000 for a poem that rhymes or has a traditional style.

$200 for 10 honorable mentions

📅 Deadline: October 01, 2024

Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest

Ayn Rand Institute

Genres: Essay

The Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest is open to all high school, college, and graduate students worldwide. Participants write essays based on prompts related to Ayn Rand's novel _Atlas Shrugged_. The contest has seasonal entry rounds with unique prompts, and essays must be between 800 and 1,600 words. The winning essays demonstrate a strong grasp of the book's themes.

Annual Grand Prize of $25,000 Seasonal prize winners: 1st place: $3000 2nd place: $2000 3rd place: $1000

📅 Deadline: June 14, 2024 (Expired)

The Carla Crown Jewel of Books

Mid-America Romance Authors (MARA)

Genres: Romance

The Carla Crown Jewel of Books contest is for traditionally or self-published authors with an original copyright date of 2022. Finalists are announced in late October and the winner on or about November 30, 2024.

📅 Deadline: June 10, 2024 (Expired)

The Grace Paley Prize for Short Fiction

Association of Writers & Writing Programs

AWP sponsors the Award Series, an annual competition for the publication of excellent new book-length works. The competition is open to all authors writing in English regardless of nationality or residence, and is available to published and unpublished authors alike.

Publication by Red Hen Press

💰 Entry fee: $30

📅 Deadline: February 28, 2024 (Expired)

Military Anthology: Partnerships, the Untold Story

Armed Services Arts Partnership

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

Partners are an integral aspect of military life, at home and afar, during deployment and after homecoming. Partnerships drive military action and extend beyond being a battle buddy, wingman, or crew member. Some are planned while others arise entirely unexpectedly. Spouses, family, old or new friends, community, faith leaders, and medical specialists all support the military community. Despite their importance, the stories of these partnerships often go untold. This anthology aims to correct that: We will highlight the nuances, surprises, joy, sorrow, heroism, tears, healing power, and ache of partnerships. We invite you to submit the story about partnerships from your journey, so we can help tell it.

$500 Editors' Choice award

$250 for each genre category (prose, poetry, visual art)

📅 Deadline: March 01, 2024 (Expired)

AWP Prize for the Novel

Publication by New Issues Press

Spring Microfiction Battle

Writing Battle

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

Two days to write a 500 word short story. The peer-powered quarterly writing contest where every story receives oodles of feedback. Write one. Read ten. Win thousands.

Genre Winner (x4): $1,500

Genre Runner-up (x4): $375 | Feedback by industry professionals

📅 Deadline: May 03, 2024 (Expired)

Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Short Story

Welcome to the 31st annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest. Submit published or unpublished work. $9,000 in prizes.

Two-year gift certificate from Duotrope; 10 Honorable Mentions will receive $300 each

💰 Entry fee: $22

Emerging Writer's Contest

Ploughshares

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Poetry

The Emerging Writer's Contest, held by Ploughshares since 1971, recognizes outstanding work by emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Winners are announced in the fall and their works are published in the Winter 2024-25 issue of Ploughshares.

Publication in Ploughshares and a conversation with Aevitas Creative Management.

Inspiring Fiction's Special Edition Short Story Contest

Inspiring Fiction

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Thriller

The contest invites participants to explore the theme of freedom through crime, speculative, and fantasy fiction. Winning entries will be published in a special bumper issue of Tangled Web Magazine and Mirk Fantasy Magazine.

Winner published in a special issue.

📅 Deadline: July 31, 2024 (Expired)

The Bath Novel Award

The Bath Novel Awards

Genres: Fiction, Novel, and Young Adult

The Bath Novel Award is a £5,000 international prize for emerging writers of adult fiction. Submit the first 5,000 words plus a one-page synopsis of your novel for adults or young adults. Shortlisted entrants will receive feedback on their full manuscript and all listees will receive editorial director feedback on their extract and synopsis.

£1800 for one longlistee

💰 Entry fee: $38

Bacopa Literary Review Annual Writing Contest

Writers Alliance of Gainesville

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

The Bacopa Literary Review is an annual international print journal seeking engaging and original submissions across multiple genres. The contest includes various categories with specific guidelines to encourage diverse forms of writing.

$100 Honorable Mention in each of six categories

📅 Deadline: May 02, 2024 (Expired)

Share Your Story

Genres: Essay and Memoir

Write about an event in your life. Everyone has a memoir. Not an autobiography. Too much concern about fact and convention. A memoir gives us the ability to write about our life with the option to create and fabricate and to make sense of a life, or part of that life.

📅 Deadline: August 13, 2024 (Expired)

The One Page Poetry Contest

One Page Poetry

One Page Poetry is dedicated to the art of expressing a poetic theme on a single page, whether your poem is four lines or forty, whether yours is a love poem, inspirational poem, philosophical poem, or just one that is fun or whimsical. We welcome any and all poetic forms, as long as they fit on a single page.

2nd: $1000 | 3rd: $500

Discover the finest writing contests of 2024 for fiction and non-fiction authors — including short story competitions, essay writing competitions, poetry contests, and many more. Updated weekly, these contests are vetted by Reedsy to weed out the scammers and time-wasters. If you’re looking to stick to free writing contests, simply use our filters as you browse.

Why you should submit to writing contests

Submitting to poetry competitions and free writing contests in 2024 is absolutely worth your while as an aspiring author: just as your qualifications matter when you apply for a new job, a writing portfolio that boasts published works and award-winning pieces is a great way to give your writing career a boost. And not to mention the bonus of cash prizes!

That being said, we understand that taking part in writing contests can be tough for emerging writers. First, there’s the same affliction all writers face: lack of time or inspiration. Entering writing contests is a time commitment, and many people decide to forego this endeavor in order to work on their larger projects instead — like a full-length book. Second, for many writers, the chance of rejection is enough to steer them clear of writing contests. 

But we’re here to tell you that two of the great benefits of entering writing contests happen to be the same as those two reasons to avoid them.

When it comes to the time commitment: yes, you will need to expend time and effort in order to submit a quality piece of writing to competitions. That being said, having a hard deadline to meet is a great motivator for developing a solid writing routine.

Think of entering contests as a training session to become a writer who will need to meet deadlines in order to have a successful career. If there’s a contest you have your eye on, and the deadline is in one month, sit down and realistically plan how many words you’ll need to write per day in order to meet that due date — and don’t forget to also factor in the time you’ll need to edit your story!

For tips on setting up a realistic writing plan, check out this free, ten-day course : How to Build a Rock-Solid Writing Routine.

In regards to the fear of rejection, the truth is that any writer aspiring to become a published author needs to develop relatively thick skin. If one of your goals is to have a book traditionally published, you will absolutely need to learn how to deal with rejection, as traditional book deals are notoriously hard to score. If you’re an indie author, you will need to adopt the hardy determination required to slowly build up a readership.

The good news is that there’s a fairly simple trick for learning to deal with rejection: use it as a chance to explore how you might be able to improve your writing.

In an ideal world, each rejection from a publisher or contest would come with a detailed letter, offering construction feedback and pointing out specific tips for improvement. And while this is sometimes the case, it’s the exception and not the rule.

Still, you can use the writing contests you don’t win as a chance to provide yourself with this feedback. Take a look at the winning and shortlisted stories and highlight their strong suits: do they have fully realized characters, a knack for showing instead of telling, a well-developed but subtly conveyed theme, a particularly satisfying denouement?

The idea isn’t to replicate what makes those stories tick in your own writing. But most examples of excellent writing share a number of basic craft principles. Try and see if there are ways for you to translate those stories’ strong points into your own unique writing.

Finally, there are the more obvious benefits of entering writing contests: prize and publication. Not to mention the potential to build up your readership, connect with editors, and gain exposure.

Resources to help you win writing competitions in 2024

Every writing contest has its own set of submission rules. Whether those rules are dense or sparing, ensure that you follow them to a T. Disregarding the guidelines will not sway the judges’ opinion in your favor — and might disqualify you from the contest altogether. 

Aside from ensuring you follow the rules, here are a few resources that will help you perfect your submissions.

Free online courses

On Writing:

• "How to Craft a Killer Short Story" ( Click here )
• "The Non-Sexy Business of Writing Non-Fiction" ( Click here )
• "How to Write a Novel" ( Click here )
• "Understanding Point of View" ( Click here )
• "Developing Characters That Your Readers Will Love" ( Click here )
• "Writing Dialogue That Develops Plot and Character" ( Click here )
• "Stop Procrastinating! Build a Solid Writing Routine" ( Click here )

On Editing:

• "Story Editing for Authors" ( Click here )
• "How to Self-Edit Your Manuscript Like a Pro" ( Click here )
• "Novel Revision: Practical Tips for Rewrites" ( Click here )
• "How to Write a Novel: Steps From a Bestselling Writer" ( Click here )
• "How to Write a Short Story in 9 Simple Steps" ( Click here )
• "100 Literary Devices With Examples: The Ultimate List" ( Click here )
• "20 Writing Tips to Improve Your Craft" ( Click here )
• "How to Write Fabulous Dialogue [9 Tips + Examples]" ( Click here )
• "8 Character Development Exercises to Write 3D Characters" ( Click here )

Bonus resources

• 200+ Short Story Ideas ( Click here )
• 600+ Writing Prompts to Inspire You ( Click here )
• 100+ Creative Writing Exercises for Fiction Authors ( Click here )
• Story Title Generator ( Click here )
• Pen Name Generator ( Click here )
• Character Name Generator ( Click here )

After you submit to a writing competition in 2024

It’s exciting to send a piece of writing off to a contest. However, once the initial excitement wears off, you may be left waiting for a while. Some writing contests will contact all entrants after the judging period — whether or not they’ve won. Other writing competitions will only contact the winners. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind after you submit:

Many writing competitions don’t have time to respond to each entrant with feedback on their story. However, it never hurts to ask! Feel free to politely reach out requesting feedback — but wait until after the selection period is over.

If you’ve submitted the same work to more than one writing competition or literary magazine, remember to withdraw your submission if it ends up winning elsewhere.

After you send a submission, don’t follow it up with a rewritten or revised version. Instead, ensure that your first version is thoroughly proofread and edited. If not, wait until the next edition of the contest or submit the revised version to other writing contests.

Join a community of over 1 million authors

Reedsy is more than just a blog. Become a member today to discover how we can help you publish a beautiful book.

Save your shortlist

Enter your email address to save your shortlist so that you don't lose it!

By continuing, you will also receive Reedsy's weekly publishing tips and access to our free webinars.

We sent over your shortlist. Thank you for using Reedsy's Writing Contest Directory, happy publishing! 🙌

Join our weekly contest

Get 5 new writing prompts every Friday. Write and submit a story for a chance to win $250.

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

Enter your email or get started with a social account:

• Major Programmes

Young Science Writer of the Year Award 2024

Announcing the Winners of the Young Science Writer 2024 Competition!

We are delighted to announce the winners of the Young Science Writer Award 2024.  This year, we received an exceptional number of submissions from talented young writers across the UK. Each entry showcased remarkable creativity, scientific insight, and a passion for communicating complex ideas in an engaging and accessible way.

After careful consideration by our panel of judges, we are proud to present the winners:

First Place: Jasmin Notarangelo, Musselburgh Grammar School, East Lothian Essay Title: "Are Insulin Pumps the Future of Type 1 Diabetes Management"

Jasmin's essay impressed us with its dedication to highlighting a pressing global issue. With its personal take on diabetes management and dedication to investigative journalism, this outstanding piece presented a compelling message about the accessibility of healthcare in the UK.

Runners-Up:

Anna Joby, The Swan School, Oxford Essay Title: "The Negative Effects of Light Pollution"

Anna's entry was thoroughly researched featuring evidence from high quality sources. The piece presented a clear narrative on the negative effect of light pollution on a variety of populations and ended with a clear call to action.

Lissie Marsh, The Compton School, Barnet Essay Title: "The Unseen Consequences of the Overuse of Tyres"

Lissie's submission stood out for its alternative take on the global issue of microplastics. This well-structured and thought-provoking essay presented hard-hitting statistics from reputable sources about the overuse of tyres and their substantial contribution to the pollution of our planet. 

Highly Commended:

We would also like to acknowledge the following entrants for their outstanding contributions:

Aaila Ahmed, Eden Girls School, London. "The Illuminating World of Shrimpoluminescence".

Aaron Rae, Boclair Academy, Glasgow. "Bridging Humanity and Artificial Intelligence: Towards an Equitable Future".

Cerys Davies, North Berwick High School, East Lothian. "Science, Magic and Platypuses".

Eimaan Khan, Plashet, London.  "Sleep: Essence, Evolution and the Perils of Deprivation".

Fatima Jamula, Plashet, London. "Ingredient Households, A Blessing in Disguise".

Harrison Alexander, The Buckingham School, Buckingham. "Cosmic Energy - Saving the Human Race!".

Jumana Al-Shibaany, Henley Bank High School, Gloucester. "The Future of Healing: AI's Journey in Transforming Healthcare".

Miranda Hume, Waldegrave School, Middlesex. "The Fragile Future of our Corner of Paradise".

Phoebe McIntosh, Tudor Grange Academy, Worcecter. "Satellites: The Pyramids we didn't want to Build".

Rimzim Baser, Sarah Bonnell School, London. "GeneGenius: Revolutionising Healthcare through Advanced Gene Therapy".

Congratulations to all the winners!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Young Science Writer 2024 competition. Your passion for science and dedication to science writing and communication are truly inspiring. We encourage all entrants to continue writing and exploring the wonders of science!

The ABSW is currently seeking sponsors for the Young Science Writer Award 2024. This is a national competition reaching secondary schools across the UK with the aim of nurturing the talents of young people with a passion STEM. Please consider supporting our aims for the award and get in touch with our YSWA manager Maisie Keogh at [email protected] .  You can download our support brochure to find out more.

Could you be the next ABSW National Young Science Writer of the year?

Who and what.

The Association of British Science Writers invites students from  non-selective state funded schools, or those who are home schooled with disabilities and who cannot attend school in person, aged  14-16 years , to submit an 800-word essay on any subject in science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics. 

This competition is open to students nationally in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

This competition is designed to get young people writing and thinking about the big questions in science, technology, engineering and maths, with a focus on how science impacts on policymaking and society. 

Criteria for Entry:

1. You must be aged 14-16 years old ;

2. You MUST  be attending a state funded AND non-selective school  in the UK.

What are we looking for? 

Great storytelling . We would love the essay to be an enlightening, informative and engaging read. We would also like it to include analysis, context, and perspective, helping the reader explore and understand the social, ethical, and political implications of scientific advances and the scientific process. This year, we will also have available a few informative videos to help, which will feature experienced science journalists sharing some of their tips on what makes a compelling and impactful story.

Award Categories

In 2024 we are introducing five award categories to which you can align your essay to:

• Climate & Environment
• AI & Technology
• Engineering the Future
• Healthcare & Life Science
• Maths & Physical Sciences 

The Young Science Writer 2024 Award has now closed for submissions. We will announce the winners on Wednesday 29th of May.

Submit your essay.

What should you write about?

We are keen to hear about whatever STEM topics you are passionate about; it can be anything from the role of AI in societies of the future to the importance of meeting our net zero goals in the next decade.

Here are some ideas on types of questions that could guide your essays:

• How far away are settlements on Mars from becoming reality?
• Should those who make science policy be scientists?
• How is fast fashion contributing to the climate emergency?
• What are the materials of the future and how could they be used to house growing populations?

And finally here are some questions for you to consider when thinking about the content of the essay:

• How does the subject you choose relate to society?
• Who are the winners and losers of scientific advance in this area?
• What role should the public play in policymaking in this area?

Please be aware, we check all essays using AI detection software. If it is discovered that your submission has been written with the help of an AI-based tool, it may be disqualified from the competition.

How to Write an Engaging and Informative Essay

There are several things to consider when writing an essay which is educational, compelling and impactful.

1. Chose a topic which you find interesting -  It is much easier to write an essay on a topic you are passionate about. You can find inspirational from many reputable sources from newspapers and online news sites, to academic journals and books. You might even come across content on social media which piques your interest and you might like to do further research into (we will share some tips about using social media as a source of information later on). 

Top Tip : Sites such as New Scientist , Scientific American , Chemistry World and Quanta are all examples of reputable science publications although there are many more examples of excellent science journalism available.

2. Research extensively - Unless the topic which you have chosen to write about is brand new and pushing the frontiers of science, you will likely encounter a large number of resources that you can access to find out more about it. We highly recommend researching your topic broadly to ensure you are considering multiple viewpoints but also with depth, so that you fully understand what the subject is about.

For example, you might come across a video on TikTok which discusses an interesting chemical reaction - the thermite reaction. You then do a quick online search where you find that several  reputable  news outlets have recently written about this in relation to new sustainable methods of energy production. You then use a website such as  ScienceDirect  to find some peer-reviewed academic journal papers to dive into this topic in more depth.

3. Think of your audience and the message you are trying to share - All areas of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) contain technical jargon specific to that subject. However, if your audience does not have a background in that area, it will make it challenging for them to understand. Help to make the essay more accessible to a general audience by explaining technical terms. What do you want the audience to do once they have read your essay - do you want them to take action? Or do you want to inspire them to learn more about a particular subject? 

For example, your essay might discuss advances in AI and robotics and how they can be integrated into devices used in healthcare. This subject raises several ethical questions which you may want your reader to consider. Perhaps you are trying to make a persuasive argument as to why these advances should be implemented more quickly - they might save lives. Perhaps there has been a recent change in policy which prevents the use of such devices within the NHS and you are keen to influence your audience to lobby for this to be changed. Whatever your message is, it should be concise and set the tone for a cohesive narrative.

4. Support your writing with evidence - If you make an argument in your essay you must provide evidence for this. The use of statistics and data really helps to strengthen the point you are making - but, only if you can back it up. Using reputable sources and properly referencing will help you to avoid plagiarism (passing someone else's work off as your own). Avoid using information you have gathered on social media. Instead, search for reputable sites which tell you the source of the information.  

Top Tip: There are several types of referencing systems  but you only need to choose one to use. Whatever one you decide to use, remain consistent and use it throughout your essay.

We will be sharing a series of helpful videos created by ABSW science journalists and writers. These will be made available shortly and will provide tips and tricks to crafting a compelling piece of writing. 

Photo Credit: Vadim Gromov on Unsplash

1st prize:  £1000 + Visit to BBC Science HQ in Cardiff + 1 year Young Ri membership

2nd & 3rd prize:  £250 + 1 year Young Ri membership

Commended Prizes: An additional 10 students will receive a commendation prize of £100 each. The commended entrants will also be invited to the awards ceremony to be presented with their certificates.

The prize money will be transferred to the winning entrants, to help support their personal development. The winner, runners-up and their entire classes will be invited to the Awards Ceremony held at The Royal Institution in 24th   June 2024.  A contribution to travelling costs for the winner will be available.

In addition, the winning student will participate in an exclusive visit to BBC Science HQ in Cardiff to meet with an experienced Science Journalist. They will receive a coaching session where they will have the opportunity to discover what a career in science writing/journalism entails. They will also be able to observe various types of science media being produced, providing a comprehensive overview of what it is like working in this exciting area of STEM! 

Please note: The winner will be allowed to bring a maximum of two other individuals with them during their visit to BBC Science HQ in Cardiff, one of whom must be a parent/guardian.

The winning essay will be published on the BBC Science news website at the end of 2024 and will include a mention of their school. The two runner-up entries will be published on the ABSW and The Royal Institution websites.

How to apply

Write an essay of up to 800 words (this does not include references) and submit it via this website by 5pm GMT Monday 18th March.

Alongside your essay, we will ask some additional questions which will help us review your submission. You can access this form by clicking on the 'Submit your essay' button below.

Please note that the winner and runners up will need permission from their parent/guardian before any details about them can be made publicly available.

We also ask that you make your school aware you have entered the competition. Should you be selected as a winner or runner-up, we will invite you and your class to our awards ceremony and we will need a point of contact within your school to arrange this with.

Submissions must be in English.

Who is eligible to participate in this contest?

In 2024 the competition is open to students from non-selective state funded schools and who are home-schooled, aged 14-16 years, across the UK. 

Can I submit a previously published essay (i.e. in my school newspaper)?

No. We ask that your essay be original for this competition. Please don’t submit anything you have already published at the time of submission, whether in a school newspaper, for another contest or anywhere else.

Who can I contact if I have questions about this competition or I am having issues submitting my entry?

Please contact YSWA project manager Maisie Keogh at [email protected]

Frequently asked questions

Who will judge my essay?

A detailed list with names will be published after the submission closing date. The judges will include science journalists and editors from the ABSW and from institutions across the world.

How will my essay be judged?

It will be judged on: 

• Clarity of writing. As you have 800 words or fewer to write for a general audience you will need to make sure your essay is focused enough to be clear and concise.
• Supporting evidence. Citing sources and including references to studies for example.
• Language and style. Are you telling a captivating and engaging story. For example: Does your opening paragraph hook the reader? 

Can I take part if I am home-schooled?

Yes, those teenagers who are home-schooled due to disability are most welcome to submit an essay - please let us know if this is the case in the school name and address section of the form.

Am I a student at an eligible school?

If your school is listed on a Council website and is a non-selective state funded school, then it meets the eligibility criteria. 

For teachers:

How do my students prove to me that they entered this contest?

After students submit their essays they will receive an email that will confirm that their submission has been received. This will happen once the competition has closed.

Resources for Teachers and Students

• How to become a science writer - an ABSW guide
• Using narrative to tell science stories
• Hooking the reader right from the start

The award is funded by Alex and Jeff O'Brien. With generous support by the BBC and the Royal Institution.

• +44 (0) 1892 710877

My Writing Journey Competition

The my writing journey competition is free to enter and open to writers from around the world..

Write us a 600-word essay on the theme: The best writing tip I’ve ever received.

We’ll publish the best piece in our newsletter and on our blog – plus the winner receives $200 (R2 000 or £100).

CLOSING DATE: 31 December 2024

The short story writing course, competition rules:.

• Send in your entry in the body of the email, not as an attachment.
• Use the subject line ‘My Writing Journey Competition’ in your email.
• Entries must be no more than 600 words and must be the author’s original work.
• Use Times New Roman size 12 or Arial size 11.
• Entry is free.
• All submissions and enquiries can be sent to Nichola:  [email protected]
• The competition is open to any writer living anywhere in the world.
• Only one story per entrant is allowed.
• Prizewinners will be notified via email as well as on our website; please ensure you supply a valid email address with your entry.
• Writers retain full copyright over their work.
• The judges’ decision is final; no disputes will be entered into.
• If your entry has not been acknowledged within three working days, please contact us as your email may have got lost in transit.
• Absolutely no generative AI to be used (ChatGPT etc.). If we deem stories were not written by a human they will be excluded.
• The Writers College reserves the right to extend the competition deadline or cancel the competition should the entries not be of publishable quality or up to the required standard.

Read Past Winning Entries

The best writing tip: this is material, the best writing tip: you're never too old, the best writing tip i ever received was not to write, the best writing tip: cut with a razor, write about things you can drop, how i learned to write garbage, the write a novel course, have any questions, send us a message and we'll get back to you within one working day., subscribe to our newsletter, read past winning entries, download our free e-book.

Here’s an anthology of the 22 best prize-winning essays from our ‘My Writing Journey’ Competition over the past decade. The anthology offers 100 pages of timeless writing advice and heartfelt personal stories from talented writers from around the world.

Edited by our graduate copy-editing student Emma Hager, cover design by Andrea Vanek, and type-setting by Koos Turenhout, this e-book makes a perfect gift. Whether it’s for you, or for your writer friends, download your free copy today.

Writing Articles for Websites and Blogs

Freelance journalism for magazines and webzines, advanced freelance journalism, travel writing, write a non-fiction book, basics of creative writing, advanced creative writing, short story writing, advanced short story writing, write a novel, write a romance novel, advanced novel writing, writing science fiction and fantasy course, an introduction to poetry, advanced poetry, scriptwriting, advanced scriptwriting, writing for video games, writing books for children | part one, writing books for children | part two, write your memoir, advanced memoir writing, the writers' marketing and publishing toolkit, from idea to publication in 36 months, grammar for writers (english 1st language), grammar skills (english 2nd language), business writing toolkit, writing coach course, mastering punctuation, report writing and presentation, write better newsletters, copy-editing and proofreading, press release and media writing, copywriting, writing seo copy for websites, self-publish your e-book, self-guided 14-day creative writing intensive, self-guided 14-day story building intensive, free 5-day creative writing challenge, writers and editors for hire, how we train, terms and conditions, privacy policy, connect with us, © 2005 - 2024 the writers college all rights reserved, +44 (0)1892 710877, [email protected].

Rep. Miller-Meeks announces fall contest for Iowa students

Writing contest dedicated to honoring the state of Iowa due Sept. 28. (Hero Images/Getty Images)

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01) announced a fall writing contest dedicated to honoring the state of Iowa. The contest is open to elementary, middle, and high school students in Iowa’s 1st District and is a unique opportunity for students to highlight what they love about the Hawkeye State.

“Iowa 1st District has a robust culture of writing as the home of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Iowa is also home to great schools and a rich heritage grounded in hard work and the American spirit,” Miller-Meeks said. “In honor of the state we all love and cherish, I am proud to invite students from Iowa’s 1st District to submit works of writing and art on what makes Iowa special.”

Winners will be honored with a meeting opportunity with Congresswoman Miller-Meeks and works acknowledged in the congressional record.

Contest Details

The prompt for this year’s competition is “What makes Iowa special?”

Submission Requirements

• Essays should not exceed 450 words
• Visual art submissions must include a caption/description
• Include the student’s name, school, grade/year, and a parent or guardian’s contact details (address, phone number, email)

Eligibility and Categories

• High School Students: Written Essay (3 winners)
• Middle School Students: Written Essay (3 winners)
• Elementary School Students: Written Essay or Visual Art (3 winners)

Deadline and Announcement

• Submit entries by email by Sept. 28
• Winners will be announced by Oct. 10

Contest questions and submissions should be directed to [email protected] .

Featured local savings

• News releases
• Report an incident of misconduct
• Work with us
• ICRC Supply Chain

Call for Applications: The 2024 Essay Competition on the topic “Digitalization of Armed Conflicts”

• Republic of Moldova
• Learning and teaching IHL
• New technologies and warfare
• Cyber and information operations

The International Committee of the Red Cross in the Republic of Moldova (ICRC) is proud to announce an essay competition on the theme Digitalization of Armed Conflicts . The competition seeks to spotlight that, applied in the spirit in which they were designed to protect and function, the Geneva Conventions can rise to the modern challenges of today’s armed conflicts.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, a moment of recommitment towards IHL. The Geneva Conventions were adopted in 1949 and are now universally ratified. They represent a universal acknowledgement that war needs rules to limit its devastating impact. In an often-divided world, when parties respect the law, lives are saved, humanitarian actors are enabled to provide aid to affected populations and the principle of humanity is upheld. 

At the same time, new challenges such as cyber warfare have become reality in contemporary armed conflicts. We, therefore, encourage students to approach the topic from various perspectives, such as: What are the ethical challenges of using cyber operations in warfare? How can technology be used responsibly in armed conflicts so as to ensure civilian safety? How can the global community work together to reduce the risks of cyber warfare? How does international humanitarian law protect humanitarian workers from cyber warfare? How can media reporting on military cyber operations help raise awareness about civilian risks during armed conflicts? These are examples, and participants are welcome to choose one of these questions or explore other related topics in their essays.

In today’s world, that is increasingly polarized and where international commitments are being challenged, the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law embody universal humanitarian values that preserve lives and dignity. What the world needs more than ever is a more robust adherence to the Geneva Conventions. This is where the students of today - the future generations of professionals - step in. We at the ICRC support the students in exploring, engaging and debating with the ethical and humanitarian issues arising from armed conflict so that they are able to play their role of re-affirming the enduring relevance of IHL, the deep-rooted respect for human dignity, both in peacetime and in the midst of armed conflict. Doris El Doueihy, Head of Delegation, ICRC, Chisinau

To participate, students must submit their essays along with a copy of their identification and proof of enrollment in a university programme (undergraduate or masters). These documents must be received by the ICRC Chisinau Delegation no later than 31 October 2024 at 23:59 . Submissions can be sent by email to [email protected] or by mail to Bulgara Str. 23, MD-2001, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova. Participation in the competition is individual, collective work is not accepted. Essays can be written in Romanian, Russian or English. Winners will be informed in the last week of November 2024 and invited for an awards ceremony scheduled for early December.

The winning entries will be selected by a panel of IHL experts chosen by the ICRC. Participants will be assessed on their logical arguments, the depth to which they develop their answers, structure and demonstrated knowledge of the subject matter. 

The winners will be notified by the end of November 2024 and invited to an awards ceremony. 

The 1 st prize essay:  an internship at the ICRC in Chisinau ;

The 2 nd prize essay:  a day spent at the ICRC in Chisinau and attendance of an ICRC event on IHL ;

The 3 rd prize essay:  ICRC IHL publications

Certificates of participation will be provided for all submissions that are not disqualified.  

Useful links to sources on the topic of the competition:

ICRC Report,  Protecting Civilians Against Digital Threats During Armed Conflict , September 2023

Humanitarian Law & Policy Blog,  Foghorns of War: IHL and Information Operations During Armed Conflict , Tilman Rodenhauser and Samit D’Cunha, October 2023

Humanitarian Law & Policy Blog,  What We Don’t Understand About Digital Risks in Armed Conflict and What to Do About it , Rizk and Cordey, July 2023

ICRC Position Paper,  International Humanitarian Law and Cyber Operations during Armed Conflict , November 2019

Related articles

South Africa: 22nd Annual Regional Seminar on IHL

China: Annual International Humanitarian Law Summer Session Held in Jiangsu

International Humanitarian Law and China: Historical Timeline