Competitions and Submissions

Deadline: Fri 9 Jan 2026
Location: North East England

In partnership with Gala Durham and funded by Arts Council England, Haddaway & Write will support up to six North East writers to develop original short plays, with dramaturgical support from award-winning writer, Sarah Tarbit. Read more...

Deadline: Sat 10 Jan 2026
Location: East Riding, Yorkshire

The East Riding Festival of Words Poetry Competition is now open for entries with the theme of 'My universe'. Adult and school-age children categories. Read more...

Deadline: Sun 11 Jan 2026
Location: UK

DPF Prize for Poetry 2025 is a national poetry competition run by Derby Poetry Festival, seeking newly written, high-quality poems and writing. The winners (First, Second, Third and a prize for a shortlisted writer from the East Midlands) will receive a cash prize.  Read more...

Deadline: Sun 11 Jan 2026
Location: International

Enter the first Europeana Creative Climate Action Award! Submit your 500-word story or poem in response to our gallery of climate action imagery. Free to enter. Read more...

Deadline: Mon 12 Jan 2026
Location: UK, Republic of Ireland

Curtis Brown Creative and the Curtis Brown literary agency are partnering with the Women’s Prize Trust and Audible to deliver the Discoveries writing development programme and prize for unpublished women writers aged 18 years and upwards currently residing in the UK or Ireland. Free to enter. Read more...

Deadline: Mon 12 Jan 2026
Location: East of England

Each year National Centre for Writing partners with The Literary Consultancy to provide up to ten low-income writers with expert advice and support on their manuscript. Read more...

Deadline: Mon 12 Jan 2026
Location: Argyll and Bute

Funded residencies for artists based in Scotland whose careers have been impacted by a breast cancer diagnosis and who have undergone successful treatment and are up to five years in remission. Read more...

Deadline: Mon 12 Jan 2026
Location: North of England

The Hachette Children's Novel Awards are open to debut writers of middle-grade children’s fiction and early teen fiction aged over 18 and living in the North of England. Part of the first submission window of the Northern Writers' Awards 2026. Read more...

Deadline: Wed 14 Jan 2026
Location: International

$5,000 prize package. No genre restrictions; open to fiction and creative non-fiction. 7,000 word limit (or 10,000 for Members). NO entry fee. Read more...

Deadline: Thu 15 Jan 2026
Location: International

Every January, the world tells you to go fix yourself. New Year, New You. Rise and grind. Detox, optimize, and #lifehack your way to a better life. Ads and influencers tell you that your current self is outdated, and the cult of productivity steps into the spotlight. But what if you refuse to listen? Read more...