Founded in 2013, the Creative Future Writers’ Award is the UK’s only national writing competition and high profile awards ceremony for under-represented writers. They showcase talented writers who lack opportunities due to mental health issues, disability, identity or other social circumstance. Prizes are awarded for both poetry and short fiction, including cash & professional writing development opportunities. Winners are selected by a panel of industry experts. Alongside the competition, they hold a high profile awards ceremony–in 2018 this was held at the Southbank Centre in London as part of London Literature Festival.

This year’s theme is ‘Home.’ Your work should respond to the theme, implicitly or explicitly. However we are seeking the highest quality writing foremost.

Eligibility

• This competition is for under-represented writers in the UK only. They identify these as: those who find it difficult to access the literary world either because of mental health issues, disability, health or social circumstance.
• All competition entrants will have to state how they are under-represented on the competition entry form before being accepted as a valid competition entrant. This is a funder’s requirement.
• Entrants must be 18 years of age or over.
• You can submit ONE piece of writing in each category (poetry or fiction) or ONE piece of writing in one category, up to and not exceeding the word limits per category:
  • Poetry: maximum 300 words
  • Fiction: maximum 2,000 words
• The competition is ONLY open to writers who have not previously published a book/stand-alone publication via an established press/publisher (excluding self-published or as part of an anthology).
• Please DO NOT put your name on your work. Judging is anonymous.
• Winning pieces will be published in their anthology and therefore must not have been published previously in magazines, anthologies or online where there is an external selection process (e.g. except on your own blog, website or social media).

Deadline

Sunday 2 June 2019 at 11:59pm.

Finalists will be notified by 31 July 2019 and no earlier. Judges’ decisions are final.

https://literary.creativefuture.org.uk/creative-future-writers-award-how-to-apply/