Skip to Content

Young Adult

The Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition 2025

Information

Closing date: 
6 June 2025
Entry: 
Open to unpublished, unagented children’s writers based anywhere in the world. Entry fee £20
Prize: 
First Prize: a publishing contract with Chicken House with an advance of £10,000

Top prize in children's writing competition is a publishing contract with Chicken House with an advance of £10,000


Chicken House is 'thrilled to announce' the opening of its 2025 writing competition, ran in conjunction with The Times, and with a prize sponsored by TV production company Lime Pictures. The deadline for submissions is 2 June 2025.  Read more

Action! Prize

Information

Closing date: 
30 January 2025
Entry: 
Unagented writers resident in the UK, Ireland and US. No entry fee
Prize: 
Publishing contract for 3 authors, First Prize £12,000 advance, Second Prize £9,000 advance and Third Prize £6,000 advance.

Faber is launching the Action! Prize, in response to research from the National Literacy TrustUK-based organisation which has campaigned since 1993 to improve literacy standards across all age groups. Excellent research information and details of the many initiatives the charity is currently involved in. www.literacytrust.org.uk. It also has a useful page of news stories on UK literacy, which links to newsletter http://www.readitswapit.co.uk/TheLibrary.aspx that reveals children's reading enjoyment is at its lowest level in almost two decades, and that the problem is most acute for boys.  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

The Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition 2024

Information

Closing date: 
1 June 2024
Entry: 
Open to unpublished, unagented children’s writers based anywhere in the world. Entry fee £20
Prize: 
First Prize: a publishing contract with Chicken House with an advance of £10,000, plus the offer of representation from literary agent Lydia Silver of Darley Anderson Children's Book Agency.

The Times/Chicken House Prize  Read more

2023 Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition

Information

Closing date: 
1 June 2023
Entry: 
Open to unpublished, unagented children’s writers based anywhere in the world. Entry fee £20
Prize: 
First Prize: a publishing contract with Chicken House with an advance of £10,000, plus the offer of representation from literary agent Davinia Andrew-Lynch of Andlyn

Chicken House 'is thrilled to announce' the opening of its 2022 writing competition, in conjunction with The Times, and with a new prize sponsored by TV production company Lime Pictures. The deadline for submissions is 1 June 2023.  Read more

The Imagined Futures

Information

Closing date: 
9 September 2022
Entry: 
YA writers resident in the UK or Ireland. No entry fee
Prize: 
The first prize is a worldwide publishing contract with Faber and a £15,000 advance, while the second and third prizes also receive publishing contracts with advances of £8,000 and £5,000 respectively.

Faber has launched The Imagined Futures, a new YA science fiction prize aimed at finding stories that 'offer hope and spark the imagination in this period of incredible global and environmental change'. It is looking for fiction that shines a spotlight on the power and value of the natural world and explores the potential outcomes for our collective future.  Read more

2022 Times/Chicken House writing competition

Information

Closing date: 
1 June 2022
Entry: 
fee Open to unpublished, unagented children’s writers based anywhere in the world. Entry fee £20
Prize: 
First Prize a publishing contract with Chicken House with an advance of £10,000, plus the offer of representation from literary agent Louise Lamont at LBA Books, Second Prize a £7,500 publishing contract plus an offer of representation

Now the biggest children's writing competition in the UK, the Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition has been running for 12 years and has kickstarted the careers of many of the most established writers for both children and adults in the UK - including Jasbinder Bilan (Costa-winning author of Asha & the Spirit Bird), SJ Bennett (The Windsor Knot) and Nicki Thornton (The Last Ch  Read more

Chicken House Open Coop

Information

Closing date: 
20 September 2021
Entry: 
Open to writers of children’s novels for 7 up including YA. No entry fee
Prize: 
Mentoring

24-hour open submissions period window will be open on 20 September only

The day is for finished or unfinished novels for children aged 7 up to (and including) YA, and offers the chance to gain mentorship from a member of the editorial team.  Read more

Leapfrog Global Fiction Prize

Information

Closing date: 
3 May 2021
Entry: 
International entry. No entry fee
Prize: 
Adult Fiction prize and a Young Adult /Middle Grade prize. First Prize Publication contract offer from Leapfrog Press and Can of Worms Press with advance against royalties, Second Prize $150 and critiques

Leapfrog Global Fiction Prize

*Open for submissions until May 3rd*

The first Leapfrog Fiction Prize was established in 2009 as an additional means of discovering new writing. This year, we have rebranded the contest the Leapfrog Global Fiction Prize and have split the competition into two, providing both an Adult Fiction prize and a Young Adult /Middle Grade prize.  Read more

The International Rubery Book of the Year Award 2021

Information

Closing date: 
31 March 2021
Entry: 
Open to all writers internationally who have published or self-published their work Entry fee £37
Prize: 
£1500 plus £150 for at least three category winners

The Rubery Prize is a prestigious international book award seeking the best books by indie writers, self published authors and books published by independent presses, judged by reputable judges. Creative writing is such a key part of life for those who enjoy writing yet it is increasingly difficult to become traditionally published.  Read more

Syndicate content

Linked items...

12 May 2025 - What's new

May 2025
  • 'I did something which I haven't done before, which was really just play. I went into the British Library, looked at a whole load of books about subjects I was interested in, and just waited to see anything that jumped out at me.
  Read more