YOUNG WALTER SCOTT NEWS

9th September, 2024

Competitions for young writers

Getting words down onto the page might not be difficult, but finding time to polish a story or poem can be hard. That’s especially true if you’re in school and juggling other demands like exams or extracurricular activities. But entering a writing competition – with a deadline – could motivate you to craft your inspired first draft until you’re confident that you have created your best work.

Here’s a list of competitions for young writers and poets, which we’ve updated for 2024. We try to keep this list up to date, but we can’t guarantee that they are all running – so always take time to read and follow the guidelines and terms and conditions. And always check the closing date!

Good luck!

The Young Walter Scott Prize

We are proud to run the Young Walter Scott Prize. It is the UK’s only creative writing prize for young writers of historical fiction. You can enter if you’re between 11 and 19 and live in the UK. You could win a £500 travel grant, and a chance to see your winning story in print in our annual anthology. Entries must be between 800 and 2,000 words, set in a time before you were born. The deadline for this year’s competition is 31^st October 2024. Details of how to enter are here, and you’ll find some of the previous winning entries here!

You can also follow the YWSP on Instagram, facebook, TikTok and YouTube @walterscottprizes.

Atom Learning Young Author Award

Open to young writers aged 7 to 11, a story of no more than 500 words inspired by the annual theme. You’ll find the information you need here: https://atomlearning.com/young –author –award

Author of Tomorrow

The Author of Tomorrow prize is open to young writers in a range of age categories, from 11 and under, up to 21 years. The competition aims to find the adventure writers of the future. Find out more at https://www.wilbur –niso –smithfoundation.org/awards/author –of –tomorrow –2019

BBC 500 Words

‘Write a story you would love to read.’ This popular competition for 5- to 11-year-olds invites entries of 500 words or less, written in prose. Guidelines and information can be found here – https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/500 –words

C.A.B.B. Publishing Writing Competitions

C.A.B.B. Publishing runs two writing competitions, one for writers aged 8 to 12 and the other for writers aged 13 to 16. Visit the website for more information:

https://www.caabpublishing.co.uk/submit –competitions

Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award

The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is the biggest poetry competition for 11–17-year-olds in the world. The Award has kickstarted the career of some of today’s most exciting poetic voices. Find out more here: https://poetrysociety.org.uk/competitions/foyle –young –poets –of –the –year –award/

Green Stories Writing Competitions

This is a series of free writing competitions across various formats inviting stories that showcase what a sustainable society might look like. Entries must be in English and unpublished. The intention is to create a resource that entertains and informs about green solutions, inspires green behaviour and raises awareness of the necessary transformations towards a sustainable economy. You’ll find more information here: https://www.greenstories.org.uk/writing –competitions/

Hampshire Young Poets Prize

Open to young people aged 4 to 16 who live or study in Hampshire. For more information, here’s the website: https://www.hampshireculture.org.uk/hantsyoungpoets23

Orwell Youth Prize

The Orwell Foundation’s Orwell Youth Prize is open to 8- to 13-year-olds. Write a story, essay or even your own game. The themes they’re looking for vary from year to year. Sign up for more information, including details of the next annual theme at https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the orwell –youth –prize/

Royal Geographical Society Essay Competition

Organised in partnership with the Financial Times, entrants are asked to answer a question in a 1000-word essay. You’ll find details – including lots of helpful resources to aid research – on the website: https://www.rgs.org/schools/competitions/school –essay –competition/

Scotland’s Next Generation Makars

A chance for 16- to 15-year-olds to join a programme of workshops and readings run by the Scottish Poetry Library. Details here: https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/scotlands –next –generation young –makars –2024/

Solstice Prize

Organised by Writing East Midlands, this nature-themed writing competition is open to writers and poets aged 7 to 17. The website has examples of previous winning entries, and details of the next competition:https://writingeastmidlands.co.uk/young –writers –groups/solstice –writing –prize/

The Stephen Spender Prize

A prize for poetry in translation with categories for pupils, teachers and individual young people living in the UK and Ireland, as well as an Open category for adults from all over the world. The rules are simple: translate into English any poem from any language – from French to Farsi, from Spanish to Somali. The details are here: https://www.stephen –spender.org/stephen –spender –prize/

War Through Children’s Eyes

Organised by the Azerbaijani Community in the United Kingdom, this award is for art and creative writing and was set up as part of the 30th anniversary commemoration of the Khojaly massacre in Azerbaijan in 1992. If you are a UK resident aged between 7 and 17 (the award is divided into 7-11 and 12-17 age categories), you can enter with artwork or a written piece inspired by the themes of war and peace. Entry is free, although participants are encouraged to make a donation to War Child. For more information about how to enter, and a list of the judges, go to https://www.warthroughchildrenseyes.org.uk/competition_entries

HG Wells Short Story Competition

There is an annual theme for this short story competition – go to the website to find out more – https://hgwellscompetition.com/competition –rules –2024/ The competition is free to enter for writers under 21.

Wenlock Olympian Society Writing Competition

This competition welcomes stories and poems and is open to young writers from around the world. There are awards in three medal categories — gold, silver and bronze — and all medallists receive their own Wenlock Olympian Society medal. Find copies of winning stories on their website, where details of the next competition are published. https://www.wenlock –olympian society.org.uk/wenlock –olympian –society –arts/creative –short –story/

Yorkshire Festival of Story: Children’s Story Competition

Open to young writers aged 7 to 12 years, entrants are given a theme to inspire their story of up to

500 words. Find out more here: https://www.settlestories.org.uk/whats_on/childrens_story –comp/

Wells Festival of Literature: Young Poets’ Competition

First, second and third places all win cash awards, plus a year’s subscription to the Poetry Society. Find out more here:https://www.wellsfestivalofliterature.org.uk/2024/03/2024 –young –poets competition/

Write on Art

Write on Art is an annual national writing competition sponsored by Art UK and the Paul Mellon Centre to encourage an interest in art history among young people. To enter, you must be aged 15 to 18 and live in England, Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland. For details and guidelines see https://artuk.org/learn/what –is –write –on –art

Young Writers Awards

Goldsmiths University in London runs a series of writing competitions for 16- to 19-year-olds. Details can be found here: https://www.gold.ac.uk/schools –and –colleges/young –writer –competitions/

BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University

This writing prize, run by the BBC along with Cambridge University, could be for you if you’re aged 14 to 18 and live in the UK. Entries can be up to 1,000 words; the shortlist will be announced on Radio 1 and the winner will be announced live on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row. The winner in 2024 was Atlas Weyland Eden – winner of the Young Walter Scott Prize. Find out more at

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2cslf9QxZKznVCqplBS0SY0/the –2023 –bbc –young writers –award

The Young Muslim Writers’ Awards

The Young Muslim Writers’ Awards are open to entrants aged from 5 to 16 years. Short stories, poems, articles, screenplays and playscripts are welcome – all details can be found here:

https://ymwa.org.uk/competitions/

Young Writers Annual Showcase

An opportunity for writers aged from 4 to 18 years – submit an entry of up to 1000 words for a chance to win, and to see your work in print. There’s more information on the website – https://www.youngwriters.co.uk/competitions/all –ages/showcase –23?view=ind

Whether you’ve ambitions to become a published author or just enjoy working with words, it’s fun to take part. And why not take a look at the YWSP YouTube channel where past winners talk about their experiences?

You’ll also find inspiration on our TikTok , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , and our website .

And if you come across other competitions for young writers that should be included in this list, just let us know here.