The Welkin Writing Prize
Event WebsiteA free-to-enter writing competition open to all forms of narrative prose, be that flash fiction, short-short, vignette, haibun, hermit crab, prose poem or work that sits outside such labels. There is a whole universe (or welkin) of possibilities.
Prizes
1st prize (£250 + annual membership of Writers’ HQ worth £190)
2nd place (£120 + AdHoc Fiction book voucher worth £25)
3rd place (£60 + a copy of “Deflection” by Roberta Beary)
There are additional prizes of £25 for the best non-placed: (1) writer with a disability or chronic health condition, (2) LGBTQ+ writer, (3) working class writer, (4) writer whose first (or home) language isn’t English, (5) carer for an adult dependent, (6) new writer (for a writer with five or fewer publishing credits), (7) historical fiction, (8) humorous prose, (9) speculative fiction
Criteria
Entries must be no more than 400 words. Titles are not included in the word count.
Entries should be written in English. However, all variants and dialects of English are welcome.
The competition is for any form of narrative prose aimed at adults. Traditional poems, stories aimed at children, and essays are unlikely to be successful.
The competition doesn’t differentiate between fiction and non-fiction, and welcomes narrative prose in any form that meets the above criteria – flash fiction, short-short, vignette, haibun, hermit crab, prose poem etc.
The competition doesn’t have a theme. Entries can be on any subject and written in any style.
Entries must not have been previously published or accepted for publication, either online or in print, prior to the announcement of results. This includes blogs and personal websites.
