The Julia & Martin Wilson Short Story Prize 2026
Broadway Arts Festival launched a short story prize in order to encourage creativity during the lockdown. The prize is generously sponsored and judged by festival Benefactors Julia & Martin Wilson who read every entry received, from across the world. The competition now takes place every other year.
Entries need to be a maximum of 2,000 words with no theme to adhere to.
Prizes:
- Main prize (adults): £800
- Ages 11-16yrs: £100
- Age 10 and under: £100
The deadline for entries is 6pm on 27th March 2026.
Please Note:
- Do not enter any previously submitted entries as they will not qualify for consideration.
- Entries will be assessed using a plagiarism and AI checker
- For those age 16 and under, a maximum of 2 stories per entrant permitted.
Winners will be announced towards the second week of May. Winning stories will be published on the festival website for all to read & enjoy.
There is a fee of £12 per entry for the main prize of £800 for adults, but the competition is free to enter for those age 16 and under.
Adult entrants: please use spellcheck, grammar-check tools and proofread before submitting
Parents of u16 entrants: you are discouraged from influencing or perfecting your child’s entry. Enthusiasm and originality is encouraged.
Entry checklist:
- Include the story title, your name and the word count in the heading of the attached story file
- Under 16’s – please also include your age in the headin
- Submit your story as a word doc (.docx, .doc, ) using the filename ’StoryTitle-Name’
