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At NewWriters.org.uk, we curate the best and most trusted current and upcoming writing competitions for writers in the UK and internationally — including flash fiction, short stories, poetry, novels, and non-fiction. Each competition listing includes the deadline, prize details, word limit, entry fee, and eligibility so you can quickly decide which contests fit your writing goals.
Our current competition: New Writers 100-Word Writing Competition 2026 – Deadline: 30th Apr 2026. Prizes: 1st: £1,000; 4x Runners-up: £100.
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Hachette UK’s The Future Bookshelf is running the Mo Siewcharran Prize for its sixth year to help discover unpublished fiction writers from Black, Asian, mixed heritage and/or multiple ethnic backgrounds. For 2026, the prize will be hosted by Bookouture and we are looking for page-turning commercial fiction within the genres of psychological thriller and romantic fiction.
The initiative, named in memory of NielsenIQ BookData’s former Director of Marketing and Communications, aims to nurture talent from under-represented backgrounds writing in English. Run as part of Hachette UK’s The Future Bookshelf scheme, the prize was launched in 2019.
The Judges are: Ellen Gleeson (Publishing Director at Bookouture), Hennah Sandhu (former co-chair of Thrive, Hachette UK’s network for Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage employees and allies), Leodora Darlington (editor, Bookseller Rising Star, and author of The Exes), Silé Edwards (Literary Agent at Andrew Nurnberg Associates), and Jenn Li (book influencer @bookmarkonthewall).
Judges will be looking for:
– A well-written and entertaining piece of writing
– A page-turning story that will speak to romance or psychological thriller readers
– An attention-grabbing concept, also known as the hook
– A compelling plot that drives us through the story
– Memorable characters that readers care for
– The submission must be aimed at adults.
Details