Competitions and Submissions

Deadline: Sat 1 Aug 2026
Location: Suffolk

INK Festival is offering a free series of adult scriptwriting workshops this autumn, led by acclaimed playwright, scriptwriter and theatre director Rob John. Read more...

Deadline: Sat 1 Aug 2026
Location: Wales

Following the success of A470: Poems for the Road/ Cerddi’r Ffordd, and Afonydd: Poems for Welsh Rivers /Cerddi Afonydd Cymru, we are looking forward to our next entirely bilingual Welsh/English anthology, Home Ground/Y Filltir Sgwâr. We hope to publish this book in Summer 2027. Read more...

Deadline: Sat 1 Aug 2026
Location: UK, Republic of Ireland

The theme for the Mainstage Prize for Playwriting 2026 is Horror. Writers in the UK or Ireland are invited to submit a full-length horror play (approximately 70–120 minutes). Read more...

Deadline: Sat 1 Aug 2026
Location: International

Val McDermid is heading up the Gordon Burn Prize judging panel for another year, and this time she is joined by journalist and author Lanre Bakare, author Eliza Clark, novelist and screenwriter Nikita Lalwani, and singer and songwriter Paul Smith. Read more...

Deadline: Mon 3 Aug 2026
Location: UK

The Jewish Literary Foundation has announced the return of its Jewish Playwrights Programme for 2026/27, with applications opening to playwrights across the UK for the first time.  Read more...

Deadline: Tue 4 Aug 2026
Location: UK

The latest round of Arvon Low Income (David Pease) Grant funding is now available. We are accepting grant applications for residential or online courses running from 5 October to 19 December 2026 only. Read more...

Deadline: Wed 5 Aug 2026
Location: East Midlands

The Mentoring Scheme 2026/27 is now open! Writing East Midlands’s ever-popular free writer craft and career development programme is accepting applications until the deadline of the 5th August 2026. Read more...

Deadline: Fri 14 Aug 2026
Location: UK, Republic of Ireland

Next Generation Poets aims to promote and build the career of 20 emerging poets, increase book sales across the poetry sector and raise awareness of the diverse range of contemporary poetry in the UK and Ireland. Read more...

Deadline: Sat 15 Aug 2026
Location: International

Entries are now officially OPEN for the Bournemouth Writing Prize 2027 - our international short story and poetry competition run in partnership with Bournemouth University. Read more...

Deadline: Sat 15 Aug 2026
Location: International

Do you have an obsession? A subject that you think would make an incredible Sidekick-style book? Send us your ideas for a collaborative, combinatory masterpiece. Read more...