The Bournemouth Writing Festival is joining forces with Arts University Bournemouth and Dithering Chaps (a Dorset-based indie publisher) to offer their 2025 competition for poems (up to thirty lines) and short stories (up to 3,000 words).

The overall winner will receive a cash prize of £500 (GBP), a one-hour online consultation with the competition judges and, for those able to attend the festival, the chance to perform their work with a live band. All short-listed writers will receive a copy of the winners’ anthology.

This year, there is no theme, so we invite you so send us your most competition-worthy poems and stories. The entry fee is £10 (GBP) for which you can send up to three poems or one short story per entry.

For more information, please visit the competition website.