Are you looking to kickstart your career in writing? Are you an aspiring writer? Well, there are loads of writing competitions you can enter as a beginner to progress in the creative careers industry!
The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting
The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting is the UK’s biggest national competition for playwrights. It is the search for great new plays and great writers. The playwriting competition is looking for scripts that are original and unperformed, by writers of any experience.
How to enter:
Submissions for the 2022 Prize are open until 6th June 2022 via The Bruntwood Prize site only. The 2022 Prize is split across four categories:
- The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting– £16,000
- The Judges Award– £8000
- The Bruntwood Prize International Award- £8,000. Introduced in 2019, this sister prize is open to international playwrights who can apply through our partners
- Atlantic Theatre (New York, USA)
- Berkeley Rep (Berkley, California, USA)
- Australian Plays Transform (Carlton, New South Wales, Australia)
- Melbourne Theatre Company (Melbourne, Australia)
- Canada Banff Playwrights Laboratory (Banff, Canada)
This year also sees the introduction of a new category: The Northwest Original New Voice Award and Residency. In recognition of the Prize’s Manchester home and to enable Bruntwood to work closely with the winning playwright, this year the winner must be based in the Northwest of England and have not had a full-length play professionally produced for 12 performances or more in a professional venue.
In addition to winning £8,000, they will also access an additional £10,000 fund dedicated to their professional development at the Royal Exchange Theatre during a bespoke one-year residency.
Each winner will enter into a development process with the Royal Exchange Theatre in an endeavour to bring their work to production.
For all information and where to enter, click here.
STORYMIX:
STORYMIX is keen to work with Black and Minority Ethnic writers and illustrators who like working collaboratively.
STORYMIX is a fiction production company that creates books for publishers. Craft stories with diverse casts, fantastic worldbuilding and exciting plots. STORYMIX is passionate about incubating ideas that are original and inclusive. Nurturing upcoming UK based writing talent of colour and also offer a platform to BME illustrators to showcase their work to publishers.
Creatives are required to submit their writing submission on Submittable and fill in the form which includes a request for contact details and a short CV of writing and/or illustration experience.
You are also required to submit a 10-page sample of your writing or a link to your illustrations, before you are added as a creative to the Storymix database, which will help them to pair the chosen creative to the right creative project.
What Storymix is looking for?
You don’t need to have many years of experience in writing, you still have the chance to submit your writing and illustrations as a beginner or if you’re just starting out. What does matter is that you love telling stories and have an engaging voice which is appealing to children.
You also need to be responsive, open to the editorial process and able to work to a brief and a deadline!
Submit a sample of your writing and illustrations via this link.
Inscribe:
Supporting writers of colour in England to professionally advance their creative work and their careers through coaching, mentoring, workshops, residentials, training, newsletters, publications and general advice.
Inscribe is a successful writer development programme aimed at writers of African and Asian descent and is run by co-directors Kadija George and Dorothea Smartt and funded by Arts Council England. The Inscribe programme aims to assist writers of colour in England to professionally advance their creative work and their careers.
Welcoming writers of poetry, fiction & non-fiction. With its roots in Peepal Tree’s practice of editorial development, Inscribe supports writers in England through coaching, mentoring, workshops, residentials, training, newsletters, publications and general advice. Coaching/ Mentoring…
Email info@peepaltreepress.com for more information about joining.
Click here for more information.
(Image: Dorothea Smartt | Inscribeco-director)
BridPort Prize
Bridport Prize is passionate about discovering creative writing talent from around the world. Previous winners include the novelist Kate Atkinson MBE, Kit de Waal and Kelleigh Greenberg- Jephcott. Former judges include Monica Ali, Roger McGough and Zoe Heller. Many writers have launched their careers with Bridport Prize and ended up on the best sellers list!
BridPort promise to:
- Provide opportunities for aspiring writers
- Give new writers a route to publication through their anthologies
- Create access to their partners AM Heath Literary Agency, Tinder Press and The Literary Consultancy
- Discover new talent
Poetry: Life on the line | Competition
You don’t have to be Tennyson, Just talented…
When entering for the poetry competition all is required is for poems to be kept at 42 lines, max, or submit short poems. In addition to the prize money, the top three winning poems are automatically entered into the Forward Prize For Poetry’s competition, with the chance to win a further £1000.
When it comes to the Bridport Prize competition, you can write about absolutely anything with rhyme or reason.
What to expect:
First prize: £5,000
The winning poem will be featured in Bridport’s anthology, giving you a chance to see your poem printed in words. That’s not all, you will encounter further opportunities where your poem will be published. You will also be invited to take part in the Bridport Prize awards celebration, receive feedback from the judges and professional partners. Finally, Birdport Prize will champion you not only as one of their winners but as their alumni, part of the Bridport Prize family.
Second prize: £1,000
Your poem will be featured in Bridport’s anthology, giving you a chance to see your poem printed in words. . Being published now gives you access to pursue other opportunities in writing. You will also be invited to the Bridport Prize awards celebration and enjoy the recognition of your success.
Third prize: £500
Your poem will be featured in Bridport’s anthology, giving you a chance to see your poem finally in the pages of a book. Being published now gives you access to other opportunities. You will also be invited to the Bridport Prize awards celebration.
Highly Commended 10 x £100
For full details on entering, click here.
Short Story: Keep it brilliantly brief | Competition
All the winning and highly commended pieces are entered into the Sunday Times Audible competition, top prize £30,000. UK based writers are entered into the BBC short story competition. That’s not all, literary agent A.M. Heath reads all the shortlist and considers representation. Long story short? You are 5,000 words away from success.
Gail Honeyman was shortlisted in the Short Story Bridport Prize competition and went on to write Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, winning the Costa debut novel award.
What to expect:
First prize: £5,000
One of the largest short story prizes, the winning story features in the Bridport Prize anthology, so you will see your words in print, maybe for the first time. That’s not all. It opens up further opportunities where your story can be published. You will be invited to the Bridport Prize awards celebration and get insightful feedback from the judges and their professional partners. Finally, they will champion you not only as their winner but always as part of the Bridport Prize family.
Second prize: £1,000
Your story features in the Bridport Prize anthology, so you will see your words printed for a long period of time. It also means you are officially published and can pursue other opportunities. You will also be invited to the Bridport Prize awards celebration and receive recognition of your success.
Third prize: £500
Your short story will be featured in Bridport’s anthology, giving you a chance to see your work finally in the pages of a book. Being published now gives you access to other opportunities. You will also be invited to the Bridport Prize awards celebration.
Highly Commended 10 x £100
For information on how to enter, click here
Meet the Bridport Prize Judges | Click Here
Monique Roffey | Novel Award Judge
Inua Ellams | Poetry Judge
Kathy Fish | Flash Fiction Judge
Tim Pears | Short Story Judge
Cathy Rentzenbrink | Memoir Judge
Check out all the competitions you can enter via Bridport Prize | Click Here
Bristol Short Story Prize
An annual international writing competition open to all published and unpublished, UK and non-UK based writers.
The 2022 Bristol Short Story Prize is open for entries. The closing date is May 4th, 2022. 20 stories will be shortlisted and published in Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology Volume 15. 1st prize is £1,000, 2nd prize is £500, 3rd prize is £250. 17 further prizes of £100 will be presented to the remaining shortlisted writers. The Sansom Award will be presented to the highest placed story by a Bristol writer. Entry fee is £9.250 free online entries are available to those for whom the entry fee is a barrier to submitting.
20 stories will be shortlisted and published in Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology Volume 15 by Tangent Books. The winner and 2 runners up will be selected from the shortlist and announced at an awards ceremony in October 2022.
The 2022 judging panel is: literary agent, Tom Drake-Lee; award-winning writer, Irenosen Okojie; independent bookshop manager, Jessica Taylor, more information here.
The competition is open to all published and unpublished writers. There is no geographical restriction on entry – the 2022 Bristol Short Story Prize is open to everyone, whether they are based in the UK or outside the UK. Entries can be made online or by post. Entries must be previously unpublished with a maximum word count of 4,000 words, there is no minimum word count. Stories can be on any theme or subject and are welcome in any style or genre. Entry fee is £9.
For full details and rules, please visit this link.
To find out what some of the past winners and shortlisted writers have gone on to achieve, please visit this link.
For full competition & prize details Click Here
First Novel Prize 2022
A literary contest open to unpublished and independently published novelists. The First Novel Prize is an annual opportunity for writers to expose their work as well as win one of the three attractive prizes: £1,000 for the First Winner, £250 for the Second Winner and £100 for the Third Winner.
Entries are now open
First Prize: £1,000
Second Prize: £250
Third Prize: £100
Have you written a novel that is self-published or is yet to be published? Then this is the competition for you.
In its seventh consecutive year, the First Novel Prize aims to discover a powerful new voice in fiction writing, across the English language world.
With a First, Second and Third Prize available to unpublished or independently published novelists. If your novel is over 50,000 words and of an adult genre, then we would love to read it.
The straight-forward entry process is as follows:
1) Upload your manuscript onto the website, making sure that your details are on the title page of your manuscript, followed by the synopsis and the novel within the same document.
2) Pay the £25 competition entry fee via PayPal by clicking ‘Make Payment and Submit’. After making the payment, please wait to be automatically redirected to the website.
3) You will receive an automatic confirmation email from First Novel Prize and a receipt for your payment. Your manuscript submission will be in possession by First Novel Prize. Once checked, it will be forwarded on to the judges.
Read full Terms and Conditions Here
Entries will close on the 31st of May 2022
Good Luck!
For full entry details and about the First Novel Prize competition Click Here
First Novel Prize 2022 Judges: Here
Click Here to enter.
Creative Future Writers’ Award
Showcasing the work and amplifying the voices of underrepresented writers.
Founded in 2013, the Creative Future Writers’ Award is an annual development programme for talented writers from a wealth of backgrounds.
It includes the UK’s only national writing competition for all underrepresented writers, alongside a series of workshops in hubs throughout the UK.
With the support of their leading literary partners, winners are selected by a panel of industry experts and are given the opportunity to develop their work through training, mentoring, assessment and coaching.
Prizes are awarded for both poetry and short fiction, including cash & professional writing development opportunities.
Alongside the Creative Future Writers’ competition, they hold a high-profile awards ceremony – in 2021 the awards ceremony was held at the Southbank Centre in London as part of London Literature Festival — featuring the winning writers and prominent guest authors.
Winning submissions are also published in an anthology alongside work by guest authors, available in hard copy and as an e-book.
How to enter:
The 2022 Writers’ Award competition opened on 13 January until 22 May 2022.
This year’s theme is How It Started. Your work should respond to the theme, implicitly or explicitly, making sure you comply with quality writing first and foremost. The theme is a creative prompt, not a requirement.
The deadline for submissions is Sunday 22 May 2022 at 11:59 pm.
You can submit ONE piece of writing in one category (poetry or fiction) or ONE in each category, up to and not exceeding the word limits per category:
* Poetry: maximum 50 lines
* Fiction: maximum 2,000 words
How to enter: Click Here
For full rules Click Here
For prizes click here
For judging panellists Click Here
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