STOP writing for a second. You’re about to miss one of the biggest writing competitions of the year.

The Bridport Prize is the writing award everyone wants to win. Did you know that one of our retreat attendees Poppy had her novel longlisted last year? (You can follow her on Instagram @dr_poppy_writesforlove)

Poppy during our first ever retreat event. (She's on the left)

To be in with a chance of winning this year, head over to bridportprize.org.uk for more details about submission, entry fees and formatting guidelines. In summary, they are looking for writing as follows with no particular specified theme:

• Poetry prize: poems of 42 lines max.

  Prizes 1st £5000, 2nd £1000, 3rd £500. Entry fee £13 per poem.

  
  

• Short story prize: stories of up to 5000 words.

  Prizes 1st £5000, 2nd £1000, 3rd £500 Entry fee £15 per story.

  
  

• Flash Fiction: micro stories of 250 words max.

  Prizes 1st £1000, 2nd £500, 3rd £250 Entry fee £12 per flash fiction.

  
  

• Novel Award: send the opening 5000-8000 words and a 300 word synopsis. You need to have the first 30,000 words of your novel ready in case you are shortlisted.

  Prizes 1st £1500 + consultation with literary agents AM Heath and publisher Headline, 2nd £750 + anthology publication, 3rd £150 + appraisal by the literacy consultancy. Entry fee £26 per novel

All of the above categories have a close date of 31st May 2026. 

Good luck to anyone entering and remember, you can’t win, if you don’t enter!