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Historical Flash Fiction Competition Rules, Terms and Conditions

The New Writers Historical Flash Fiction Competition is up and running. So if you fancy winning a share of the £1,000 prize fund (and/or the additional Historic Houses prize), check out the details below. Or go straight to the ENTRY FORM and submit your stories or poems.

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Competition Details:

  • Deadline: 23:59 (UK time) on Wednesday 5th November 2025
  • Entry Fee: £8 per entry (£15 for two entries or £21 for three entries, when submitted together)
  • Main Prizes: 1st: £500; 2nd: £300; 3rd: £200
  • Additional Prize: The best story set in one of these Historic Houses properties will win a year’s Historic Houses membership for one or two adults (living at the same address)
  • Publication: The three winning entries will be published on the NewWriters.org.uk website and in the next New Writers Anthology; the winning Historic Houses entry will be published in the Historic Houses Magazine
  • Theme: Entries must be set before 1960 (Historic Houses setting optional)
  • Judges: New Writers Editorial Team
  • Word Limit: 300 words (excluding title)
  • Charity: 10% of all proceeds will be donated to charity (split between First Story & the Funzi & Bodo Trust)
  • Please read the full Historical Flash Fiction Competition Terms & Conditions before entering (see below).
  • Winners and those who have made the shortlist will be notified by email no later than Wednesday 17th December 2025. The announcement of winners and shortlisted entries will also be made no later than this date.

Low Income Entries: We want to make the competition accessible to as many writers as possible. We therefore have a limited number of free entries (one per person) for low-income writers, available on a first-come, first-served basis (though no later than 23rd October 2025). Please see the terms and conditions for details.

By entering the New Writers Historical Flash Fiction Competition 2025, you agree to adhere to the rules, terms and conditions as detailed on this page.

New Writers Historical Flash Fiction Competition 2025 – SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Go to the Entry Form page, select the number of entries you wish to submit (maximum three per person), and click the PayPal button or the Check Out button.
  2. Complete the payment using your PayPal account, or your debit or credit card.
  3. Once your payment has gone through, please make a note of the Transaction ID. You will also receive a confirmation email from PayPal.
  4. Complete the fields in the Entry Form: your PayPal transaction ID (which they should email you), the amount you have paid, your email address, your first name, your last name, and – if applicable – a pen name or alias.
  5. Add the title(s) of your entry/entries and upload it/them in one of the following file formats: Microsoft Word Document, OpenDocument Text, or PDF (.doc, .docx, .odt, or .pdf).
  6. If any of your entries are set in one of the Historic Houses properties, please tick the relevant box to make those entries eligible for the additional prize.
  7. Note that an entry may win both a main top-three prize AND the additional Historic House prize (if the story is set in a Historic Houses property).
  8. Ensure the file names are the same as the entry titles. Please DO NOT include your name or other identifying information on the entry or in the file name (as entries are judged anonymously).
  9. Tick the box to confirm you have read, understood and agree to the Terms and Conditions (details below).
  10. Tick the next box if you would like to receive our monthly newsletter (optional) which includes details of upcoming writing competitions including regular free-to-enter competitions from NewWriters.org.uk that are exclusive to newsletter subscribers.
  11. Click the ‘Submit’ box and your entry/entries will be sent to the judges at NewWriters.org.uk. You will then receive a confirmation email from NewWriters.org.uk. If you do not receive this within 24 hours (and it is not in your spam folder), please contact us: david@newwriters.org.uk.
  12. You can submit up to three entries to the competition, and the discounted rates apply only when the entries are submitted at the same time (i.e. after one transaction at PayPal).

New Writers Historical Flash Fiction Competition 2025 – Terms and Conditions

  1. All entries must be received by 23.59 (UK time) on Wednesday 5th November 2025. Any entries received after this time will not be eligible, so please don’t be late to the party.
  2. The entry fee is £8 (one entry), £15 (two entries), £21 (three entries). Note that the discounted rate will only apply if the entries are paid for together and attached to the same entry form submission.
  3. 10% of the proceeds from the competition will be split equally between two UK-registered charities: First Story and The Funzi & Bodo Trust.
  4. Entrants can submit a maximum of three entries.
  5. The prizes will be allocated based on the judges’ decision (which is final) as follows: 1st Place: £500; 2nd Place: £300; 3rd Place: £200. The top three entries will also be published on the New Writers website and in the next New Writers Anthology.
  6. An additional prize – an annual Historic Houses membership for one or two adults (living at the same address) – is available to the best entry set (wholly or partially) in on or more of the Historic Houses properties. The winning Historic Houses entry will also be published in the Historic Houses Magazine.
  7. The Historical Flash Fiction Competition is open to anyone aged 18 years or older (at the time of entry) from anywhere in the world.
  8. Entries must be set before 1960 (although this can be implied rather than explicitly stated), and they can be prose (fiction) or poetry.
  9. Entries must be written in English (although dialects, e.g. Scottish or regional are fine), and be the original work of the entrant. No AI software or similar will be permitted (checks will be made for plagiarism and AI-generated writing – for more information on AI-related issues, check out the AI Best Practices for Authors article on The Authors Guild website). Obviously, there should be no potentially libellous material contained within any entries.
  10. Although the competition is open to published and unpublished authors alike, entries themselves must be unpublished (including online or on social media). Entries must not have been awarded a prize or won another competition. Any entries that are published, set to be published or that win a prize after the time of entry should be withdrawn as they will become ineligible to win the New Writers Historical Flash Fiction Competition (entry fees will not be refunded in this scenario).
  11. The maximum word count for entries is 300 words (excluding the title). Any entries that breach the 300-word limit will be disqualified, and no refund will be given (so please double-check before submitting!).
  12. Entries must be submitted online using the Historical Flash Fiction Competition Entry Form as an attachment in one of the following file formats: Microsoft Word Document, OpenDocument Text, or PDF (.doc, .docx, .odt, or .pdf). Postal entries will not be accepted (let’s save the trees!).
  13. Your entry file name should be the title of your entry. Please do not include your name (or other details about yourself) in the file name or on the story document.
  14. The Judges for the competition will be the NewWriters.org.uk editors. The decision of the judges is final, and no correspondence will be entered into. Any questions or correspondence relating to the competition should be directed to david@newwriters.org.uk, whether before or after the competition deadline.
  15. Entries must be typed in a legible font, ideally one of the more common ones, with a font size of 12pt or 14 pt.
  16. Authors retain full copyright of any submitted story. If your entry makes it into the top three and hence wins a prize, it is assumed that you grant a non-exclusive license to NewWriters.org.uk to publish your work online on our website and in a future anthology. If your entry wins the additional Historic Houses prize, it is assumed that you grant a non-exclusive license to Historic Houses to publish your work in their magazine.
  17. Winners and authors who have made the shortlist will be notified by email no later than Wednesday 17th December 2025. The public announcement of winners, shortlisted and longlisted entries will also be made no later than this date.
  18. Titles and author names (or specified pen name/alias) of the winners, shortlisted and longlisted entries will be published on the website, along with the three winning entries themselves.
  19. Payment to prize winners will be made by bank transfer (for UK residents) or PayPal payment, to be arranged with the winners, within one week of the announcement of winners (subject to the organisers receiving the relevant information from the winning authors).
  20. If you would like to use a pen name rather than your real name (i.e. if your story is eligible to be published on our website or in the anthology), please add your chosen pen name to the appropriate box on the entry form. Please also add your real name in the appropriate box.
  21. Low Income Entries: A limited number of free entries are available to writers from low-income households (less than £20k per year) and/or in receipt of the following benefits (or equivalent): Job Seeker’s Allowance, Working Tax Credit, Universal Credit, Disability Living Allowance, Carer’s Allowance.
  22. If you would like to apply for a free entry, please email david@newwriters.org.uk before midday (UK time) on 23rd October 2025. Please use ‘Low-Income Entry’ as the subject of the email. We will not ask for proof or additional or personal information about your financial situation.

Please be aware that failure to follow the submission instructions or the terms and conditions will result in your entry being disqualified and no refund will be issued, so please take care. And good luck!