Category: Competitions

To enter, and for full competition rules, see: How to Enter

Brief:  ‘A man or woman stands on a beach looking out to sea… Write 300 words based on this scenario, any genre. I’m looking for great prose, story, character or simply something that makes me think.’

(max 300 words, 10% plus or minus)

Deadline: August 25th 11:59pm

Adjudicator: Vaseem Khan

Winners will be announced at the September meeting and thereafter in the newsletter. Please come in person to the meeting to receive your certificate!

To enter, and for full competition rules, see: How to Enter

Brief:  ‘ For this challenge, research is not background—it is the engine of your story. Show us characters who are gathering data, asking dangerous questions, delving into memories, or uncovering hidden worlds. You may write in any genre, but the piece must highlight how research propels action, creates tension, or leads to transformation. Keep the narrative tight, the stakes sharp.’

(max 300 words, 10% plus or minus)

Deadline May 25th 11:59pm

Adjudicator: Louise Morrish

Winners will be announced at the June meeting and thereafter in the newsletter. Please come in person to the meeting to receive your certificate!

Winning entries

FIRST PLACE: Buried Evidence by Johnathan Reid

SECOND PLACE: Cracking Eggs by Philip Evans

THIRD PLACE: The Man Who Never Was by Michael Hopkins

HIGHLY COMMENDED: C. R. O. 21736/26 by Anne Eckersley

To enter, and for full competition rules, see: How to Enter

Brief:  ‘Write a short piece of historical fiction (300 words max) set in any era of your choosing. I would be looking to see how well the piece absorbs me in the period chosen.’

(max 300 words)

Deadline April 25th 11:59pm

Adjudicator: Stephen Hodgson

FIRST PLACE London 1974 By Shirley Jackson

SECOND PLACE A Heart from a Hart By Wendy Falla

THIRD PLACE Basing House by Michael Hopkins

HIGHLY COMMENDED The Plot By Ro Devile

To enter, and for full competition rules, see: How to Enter

Brief:  ‘Natural sounding dialogue is always important in storytelling, as is the ability to introduce fresh developments in a believable manner, so please write 300 words about a conversation between two people that is interrupted by something unexpected!‘

(max 300 words)

Deadline March 25th 11:59pm

Adjudicator: Nick Spalding

FIRST PLACE The Right Time for Waffles by Francesco Sarti

SECOND PLACE 22nd November 1963 by Maggie Farran

THIRD PLACE Number Twenty Three by Michael Hopkins

To enter, and for full competition rules, see: How to Enter

Brief:  Write a short story (300 words)  inspired by a work of art. It could be about an unknown painting, or a famous sculpture; seen from the artist’s perspective, or the viewer’s. The art might be the subject of the story, or merely the starting point. If you can, please include a copy of the image which sparks your interest. 

Deadline February 25th 11:59pm

Adjudicator: Sarah Freethy

Winners will be announced at the March meeting and thereafter in the newsletter. Please come in person to the meeting to receive your certificate!

FIRST PLACE The Blue Tit by Francesco Sarti

SECOND PLACE Man with a Quilted Sleeve by Viv Smith

THIRD PLACE Doom by Michael Hopkins

HIGHLY COMMENDED Blindsided by Eleanor Marsden

HIGHLY COMMENDED Tooth Fairy by M J White

To enter, and for full competition rules, see: How to Enter

Brief:  ‘Write a love story.’

(max 300 words)

Deadline January 25th 11:59pm

Adjudicator: Della Galton

Winning Entries

FIRST PLACE A Good Beginning by Michael Hopkins

SECOND PLACE Acting Out by Rachel O’Neill

THIRD PLACE A Blush in the Ivy by Eleanor Marsden

HIGHLY COMMENDED The Loving Maze by David Sinclair

To enter, and for full competition rules, see: How to Enter

Brief:  Write a short story (300 words) imagining Licoricia of Winchester travelling from her world in 13th-century England to the streets of 21st-century Winchester. What would she see? How would she feel? Who would she meet? What questions might she ask or answer? Your story should capture the imagined spirit of Licoricia and reflect on how her legacy lives on today.

(max 300 words)

Deadline October 25th 11:59pm

Adjudicator: Emily Stiles

Results

First Place: A New World By Rachel O’Neill

To enter, and for full competition rules, see: How to Enter

Brief:  Jane Austen wrote her ground-breaking and innovative novels from within an intergenerational all-female household made up of her mother, sister and sister-in-law.

Write a short story set within another all-female household, but without using any of Austen’s characters or a Regency setting.

(max 300 words)

Deadline October 25th 11:59pm

Adjudicator: Lizzie Dunford

FIRST PLACE Scholarship girl, 1937 by Miriam Coley

SECOND PLACE A Disparate Situation by Johnathan Reid

Winners will be announced at our December 2025 meeting; online and in the newsletter thereafter. Please attend the meeting in person to receive your certificate!

To enter, and for full competition rules, see: How to Enter

Brief:  A short fiction prose piece on the subject of “Witness”: Witness can mean many things – witnessing a crime, witnessing the passing shadow of the moon during an eclipse, witnessing deer passing on a snowy verge (à la Ted Hughes in his poem Roe Deer), witnessing a street fight or a moment between friends, etc. It is the aspect of not just seeing, but a moment of profound significance and all it portends.

(max 300 words)

Deadline September 25th 11:59pm

Adjudicator: Sean Bennett

Winners will be announced at our October 2025 meeting; online and in the newsletter thereafter. Please attend the meeting in person to receive your certificate!

Results

First Place: A Breath of Imagination by Rose Politi

Second Place: Karma by John Quinn