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is an international prize, open to anyone from anywhere in the world, as long as their story is original and previously unpublished.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.
This year's judge is Evie Wyld.
The Prize is open to anyone over 16, as long as the work is original and previously unpublished. There is a word limit of 3,000. The entry fee is €15 per story. Closing 30 June 2025.
PRIZES: 1st prize €3,000 2nd prize week-long writing retreat at Circle of Misse in France plus open travel stipend 3rd prize €1,000
With thanks to Circle of Misse for the superb second prize of a week-long writing retreat in France and an open travel stipend, enabling the 2nd prize winner to travel to France from anywhere in the world.
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.
According to organisers: 'Now the biggest children's writing competition in the UK, the Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition has been running for 14 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), S.J. Bennett (The Windsor Knot) and Efua Traoré (Children of the Quicksands). Since the competition's inception, over half of shortlistees have gone on to be published, including winners.
'The competition is open to unpublished, unagented writers based anywhere in the world. We accept entries aimed at readers from age 7 all the way up to age 18 (Young Adult).
The top prize is a publishing contract with Chicken House with an advance of £10,000, plus a discussion of representation with literary agent Gyamfia Osei of Andrew Nurnberg Associates
Sells rights internationally on behalf of UK/US agencies and publishers. Agent for UK and international authors, including children's writers. Fiction, non-fiction and children's fiction. Does not represent children's picture books, poetry or scripts for film, T.V, radio or theatre.
Submission Guidelines:
Send a short, 1-page synopsis and the first three chapters (double or 1.5 spaced) with a covering letter. If sending by post include an S.A.E for the return of your material.
'This year also sees the return of the Lime Pictures New Storyteller Award, a bespoke prize sponsored by leading TV production company Lime Pictures, awarded to the submission which shows the greatest TV development potential and chosen by Chicken House Publisher Barry Cunningham and Lime Pictures' Tim Compton. The winner will receive a £7,500 publishing contract plus a discussion of representation.'
Barry Cunningham, Chicken House Publisher and MD, said: "It's inspiring to see submission numbers - and talent! - for the Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition grow year on year. For me, the important thing is to offer writers a chance to be heard and read outside the mainstream - and the competition continues to offer exactly that."
The competition costs £20 to enter and is open to writers from all over the world, as long as they write in English, are unagented and have not had a children's book published before.
