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Short Story writers

The V S Pritchett Short Story Prize 2025

Information

Closing date: 
13 September 2024
Entry: 
Entry fee £8 Entrants must be citizens of the UK,the Republic of Ireland or the Commonwealth. Stories entered for the competition must not have been published previously. Any story submitted should be between 2,000 and 4,000 words in length. Entries should be in English.
Prize: 
£1,000

The V S Pritchett Memorial Prize 2025

Prize: £1,000

Deadline: 13 September 2024

Entry fee £8

The VS Pritchett Memorial Prize of £1,000 is for an unpublished short story. It is awarded by the Royal Society of LiteratureThis British site may seem rather formal (stated aim ‘to sustain and encourage all that is perceived as best whether traditional or experimental in English letters, and to strive for a Catholic appreciation of literature’), but has a lively series of lectures and discussions involving distinguished authors. Also administers literary prizes. http://www.rslit.org/index1.html. The winning entry will also be published in Prospect magazine online and by the RSL Review.  Read more

Mslexia Women's Fiction Competitions 2024

Information

Closing date: 
23 September 2024
Entry: 
All women are eligible. Entry fee for Short Story £12, Flash Fiction £6 and Novel (Young Adult and Children) £26
Prize: 
Various

Over the years MslexiaStylish and lively site for quarterly UK literary magazine read by 12,000 'committed' women writers. Good range of quality writing, information and advice with news, reviews, competitions and interviews, all presented in a friendly fashion. Praised by Helen Dunmore as 'astute, invigorating and above all an excellent read.' www.mslexia.co.uk has developed a portfolio of highly respected competitions that have propelled many women’s writing careers to the next level. Winners, and finalists have discovered that being placed in a Mslexia competition can make a huge difference to how their work is perceived.  Read more

Aesthetica Creative Writing Award 2024

Information

Closing date: 
31 August 2024
Entry: 
Open to all. Entry fee Poetry entries £12 | Short Fiction entries £18
Prize: 
£2,500 awarded to both the Poetry and Short Fiction winners and publication in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Anthology, plus many other prizes.

The Creative Writing Award is open to Poetry and Short Fiction submissions on any theme, however, we are particularly interested in works that reflect upon our ever changing world.  Read more

The Moth Short Story Prize 2024

Information

Closing date: 
30 June 2024
Entry: 
Open to all writers over 16. Entry fee €15 per story
Prize: 
1st prize €3,000, 2nd prize week-long writing retreat at Circle of Misse in France plus travel stipend, 3rd prize €1,000

The Moth Short Story Prize is an international prize, open to anyone from anywhere in the world, as long as their story is original and previously unpublished. The winners are chosen by a single judge each year, who reads the stories anonymously.
  Read more

The Bridport Prize 2024

Information

Closing date: 
31 May 2024
Entry: 
Poetry, Short Story and Flash Fiction open to unpublished work from any writer writing in English over 16. Novel Award restricted to UK writers, and to British adn American writers living abroad. Entry fee: £12 per poem, £14 per story, £11 for flash fiction and £24 per novel
Prize: 
Poetry and Short Story 1st Prize £5,000, Flash Fiction 1st Prize £1,000. Novel Award a year's mentoring and critique

The Bridport Prize has four sections: Poetry, Short Story, Flash Fiction and Novel Award.

Read the Rules carefully, as they have different rules and entry fees for different prizes.

More details

 

The BBC National Short Story Award 2024

Information

Closing date: 
18 March 2024
Entry: 
British nationals and UK residents, aged 18 years or over. No entry fee
Prize: 
Winner £15,000 plus 4 shortlisted authors £600

The BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University (NSSA) has opened for submissions. This is the first year of a renewed three-year partnership with Cambridge University.

Radio and TV presenter Paddy O'Connell will chair this year's BBC NSSA judging panel.  Read more

Mslexia Women's Fiction Competitions 2023

Information

Closing date: 
18 September 2023
Entry: 
All women are eligible. Not clear whether there’s an entry fee
Prize: 
Various

The MslexiaStylish and lively site for quarterly UK literary magazine read by 12,000 'committed' women writers. Good range of quality writing, information and advice with news, reviews, competitions and interviews, all presented in a friendly fashion. Praised by Helen Dunmore as 'astute, invigorating and above all an excellent read.' www.mslexia.co.uk Women's Fiction Competition 2023 offer a Fiction Competition judged by Sophie Hannah and Natasha Onco with a First Prize of £5,000 and other prizes for all three shortlisted authors for unpublished novels for Adult and Young Adult novels of at least 50,000 words.  Read more

2023 Manchester Writing Competitions

Information

Closing date: 
1 September 2023
Entry: 
Open internationally to those aged 16 or over. Entry fee for both prizes £18
Prize: 
Two £10,000 prizes are awarded: the Manchester Poetry Prize for best portfolio of poems and the Manchester Fiction Prize for best short story

The Manchester Writing Competitions offer the UK's biggest literary awards for unpublished work, offered by the country's most successful writing school. The Competition was established in 2008 by Carol Ann Duffy (UK Poet Laureate 2009-19) and has awarded more than £220,000 to writers.  Read more

The Moth Short Story Prize 2023

Information

Closing date: 
30 June 2023
Entry: 
Open to all writers over 16. Entry fee €15 per story
Prize: 
1st prize €3,000, 2nd prize week-long writing retreat at Circle of Misse in France plus €250 travel stipend, 3rd prize €1,000

Every year, a single judge is asked to choose three winning stories to feature in the autumn issue of The Moth, the international art & literature magazine based in Ireland.  Read more

The Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize

Information

Closing date: 
16 April 2023
Entry: 
Open to all writers over 18 with an unpublished short story in English of up to 2,000 words
Prize: 
Winner will receive €1500 and many other prizes, 2 runners-up €750 and other prizes

The Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize has opened submissions for its sixth year, along with announcing the panel of authors judging the 2023 prize. It asks for innovative and 'boundary-pushing' short fiction under 2,000 words.  Read more

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18 November 2024 - What's new

November 2024
  • This week we have broken through 10,000 pages on the WritersServices site! Our huge site contains an enormous amount of information which can be accessed through the homepage or through Advice for Writers, which gives a breakdown of what is on the site.
  • ‘Georgette Heyer was my favourite author, then and now.
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