Our current competition is the New Writers Historical (Pre-1960) Flash Fiction Competition 2025.
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Farnham’s First Five Pages writing competition is part of the annual Farnham Literary Festival which will take place from 5th – 15th March 2026.
Entrants are asked to submit the first 5 pages of their novel and a 250-word synopsis, their work does not have to be finished. There is no set theme or style of writing however the entry should be an unpublished, original story. The judges will agree on a longlist of 20 submissions and 10 will be shortlisted. The longlist announcement will be made on Monday 16th February 2026, the shortlist announcement on Friday 27th February 2026 and the results on Sunday 15th March 2026. An award ceremony will be held on Sunday 15th March 2025 at Farnham Town Hall.
Participants must be 18 and over, an unpublished writer (self-published writers are eligible, but the work itself must not be published anywhere). Only fiction work will be accepted and must be original. All entries are judged anonymously.
The entries will be judged by authors BA Paris, Sue Stephenson, Melanie Whipman, Guy Morpuss and Louise Morrish.
Details