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Competition Details
The Bridport Short Story Prize can prove a fantastic stepping stone for fiction writers who are seeking to make a career out of telling stories. The prestige of the Bridport Prize means that winning their short story prize (or even making it onto the shortlist) can cause agents and publishers to take you seriously. Winning and highly commended UK based writers are entered into the BBC short story competition. Literary agent A.M. Heath reads all the shortlist and considers representation.
Oh, and the £5,000 prize for the winner isn’t bad either!
The 5,000-word limit gives you plenty of room to flex your writing muscles, but there’s no minimum length so only write as many words as if necessary for your story.
The judge for the short story competition is Leone Ross, a short story writer, novelist and editor. Her fiction has been nominated for the Women’s Prize, the Goldsmiths award, the RSL Ondaatje award and the Edge Hill Prize, among others. In 2022, she won the Manchester Prize for Fiction for her short story, When We Went Gallivanting.
The following additional prizes may also apply to entrants who fit certain criteria:
Young Writer Award £500 – For the highest placed writer aged 16 to 25 in poetry, short story, flash fiction and novel.
Never Too Late Award – This £500 award is given to the highest placed writer aged 60+ in Poetry, Short Story, Novel and Flash Fiction. The winning piece will feature in our anthology, which counts as being published and opens doors with literary agents and publishers. It also accesses other competitions not available to the public.
Dorset Award £100 – Given to the highest placed Dorset writer in poetry, short story, flash fiction and novel. Sponsored by The Bookshop, Bridport.
Details