OPEN COMPETITION 2026

Liz Ashcroft • 30 June 2026

NAWG Open Writing Competition (Short Story & Poetry) - BIG prizes, but hurry, CLOSES 31st August

The popular Open Writing Competition is here again! The two categories are:

Short Story and Poetry. There are superb prizes for each category:

FIRST £200, SECOND £100, and THIRD £50


Short Story is Judged by Steve Bowkett

Poetry is Judged by Chris Huck and Catherine Fitzsimons


Entry fee: only £5 per entry (for the Poetry category only: 3 poems for £10)

Closing Date: August 31st 2026 (11.59 BST)

Entry by online form HERE

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Saturday 31st October at 7:30 PM (~ one hour) 

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Wednesday 30th December at 7:30 PM (~ one hour-ish!)