Wells Festival of Literature takes place from 17th-25th October 2025, but before that they hold their annual writing competitions, with entries accepted until 30th June.

The categories are open poetry, short stories, poetry and children’s books, as well as poetry by anyone aged 16-22 inclusive.

The Open Poetry Competition

The fee for each separate entry is £6. Each poem must be under 36 lines long, and may be on any subject.

First Prize is £1,000. Second prizes is £500. Third prize is £250. There’s also a £100 prize for a local poet.

The judge is Camille Ralphs. Her first full collection of poems has recently been published by Faber & Faber, and is titled After You Were, Here I Am. Her work embodies themes of miracles and magic beginning with a reimagining of the Common Book of Prayer.

The Short Story Competition

The fee for each separate entry is £6. Stories should be between 1,000 and 2,000 words in length. They can be on any subject.

First Prize is £750. Second prize is £300. Third prize is £200. There’s a £100 prize for a local writer.

The judge is Judith Heneghan, who currently leads the MA Creative Writing at the University of Winchester. Her first novel for adults, Snegurochka is set in Kyiv and was shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards. Her second novel, Birdeye is set in upstate New York. She has also written extensively for young readers.

Book for Children Competition

The fee for each separate entry is £6. The competition will judge writing for children, age 7 and up. This includes writing for young adults

First Prize is £750. Second prize is £300. Third prize is £200. There’s a £100 prize for a local writer.

The judge is Fleur Hitchcock, whose latest novel for children is Murder at Wintertide, published by Noisy Crow. Fleur began her writing career in the small hours when her young family was fast asleep. She went on to do an MA in Writing For Young People at Bath Spa University, graduating with distinction. Since then her books have been shortlisted or have won many honours.

The Young Poets Competition

The fee for each separate entry is £3. Each poem must be under 36 lines long, and may be on any subject.

First Prize is £200. Second prizes is £150. Third prize is £100. All three prize-winners also get a year’s subscription to the Poetry Society.

The judge is Sanah Ahsan. Her work has been awarded the Out-Spoken Performance Poetry Prize and shortlisted for the Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize, the White Review Poet’s Prize and the Bridport Prize. Sanah has also been longlisted for the National Poetry Competition and Frontier Poetry Prize.

The closing date for all entries is 30th June 2025. Prizes for all four competitions will be presented during the Festival.

Find the full rules and details of how to enter.

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