Creative writing competition: The Bridport Prize 2021

The highly prestigious international creative writing competition is in four categories.

• Poetry. The prizes are £5,000, £1,000 and £500. Ten highly commended poems will each win £100. The poetry judge is Raymond Antrobus. Winners will be published in an anthology and the top three will be entered into the Forward Prize for Poetry’s Best Single Poem competition. enter original, unpublished poems up to 42 lines. The entry fee is £10 per poem.

• Short story. The prizes are £5,00, £1,000 and £500. The short story judge is Robert McCrum. Ten highly commended short stories will each won £100 and the winning and shortlisted entries are entered into the £30,000 Sunday Times Audible competition for a single short story. Literary agency A.M. Heath reads all the shortlisted stories and considers representation. Winners will be published in an anthology. Enter original, unpublished short stories up to 5,000 words. The entry fee is £12 per story.

• Flash fiction. The prizes are £1,000, £500 and £250. The flash fiction judge of Robert McCrum. Three highly commended pieces will each win £100. The winners will be published in an anthology. Enter original, unpublished flash fiction up to 250 words. The entry fee is £9 per flash fiction.

• The Peggy Chapman-Andrews First Novel Award. There is a first prize of £1,500, a runner up prize of £750 and three highly commended prizes of £150. The novel judge is Victoria Hislop. The winner will be offered mentoring b the Literary Consultancy and a consultation with A.M. Heath and Tinder Press. Winning entries will be published in an anthology. Enter novel extracts between 5,000 and 8,000 words and a 300-word synopsis. Shortlisted writers will need to submit 30,000-word novel extracts. The entry fee is £20 per novel.

The closing date is 31 May.

For full details see the website.

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