Competitions and Submissions

Deadline: Thu 1 Jan 2026
Location: International

Exeter Novel Prize has a new home with Word Kitchen. The competition is open to everyone, living anywhere in the world, published, self-published or yet to be published, who is not represented by a literary agent. Read more...

Deadline: Sun 4 Jan 2026
Location: International

Poems (max 40 lines) are invited from writers worldwide aged 18 and over. This year's theme is Family. Head Judge: Fiona Benson. Read more...

Deadline: Sun 4 Jan 2026
Location: UK

In celebration of the work of the Cornish poet Charles Causley, the Young Person’s Poetry Competition 2026 aims to encourage and enable young writers in the UK to try their hand at writing poetry themselves. This year’s theme is Family in all its varied meanings. Head Judge: Fiona Benson. Read more...

Deadline: Mon 5 Jan 2026
Location: International

Submit the opening 3000 words of your novel. No need to have written more or to provide a synopsis. Read more...

Deadline: Mon 5 Jan 2026
Location: International

There are 25 ways of submitting to Mslexia, from a four-line poem to a 3,000-word lead article, from a 300-word bedtime story to a 700-word memoir performance piece – so there’s bound to be something to suit your kind of writing. Including big-name commissions and as-yet-undiscovered newcomers, we publish over 60 women in every issue. Read more...

Deadline: Mon 5 Jan 2026
Location: North of England

Northern Broadsides and Arvon invite writers from across the North of England to submit a winter’s tale (between 2,000 – 3,000 words). Read more...

Deadline: Tue 6 Jan 2026
Location: UK

Submissions are now open for the second year of the Bill Cashmore Award: One Act Play Prize. Read more...

Deadline: Wed 7 Jan 2026
Location: UK, Ireland or the Channel Islands

Founded in 2010, the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize seeks submissions that seamlessly blend literary merit with captivating storytelling. Open to unagented women writers aged 18 or over (at the time of applying), and currently living in the UK, Ireland or the Channel Islands full time. Read more...

Deadline: Wed 7 Jan 2026
Location: UK, Republic of Ireland

WriteNow is Penguin’s award-winning programme to seek out, nurture, and publish new writers from under-represented communities in UK and Irish publishing. Read more...

Deadline: Wed 7 Jan 2026
Location: West Midlands

Room 204 is Writing West Midlands' annual writer development programme which allows writers from across the West Midlands to develop their skills through mentoring, networking, one-to-ones with Writing West Midlands staff, performances and access to the wider Room 204 network of 205 writers. Read more...