Welcome

Thanks for stopping by.

The Bridport Prize is one of the most  prestigious awards in the literary world, so you’re in good company.

Whether you’re writing poetry, a short story, flash fiction, novel or a memoir, we can’t wait to read your words.

Let's begin...

Memoir. A moment of truth

Reveal the untold story about a slice of your life
£1,500 first prize

Memoir Award

Poetry is soul music

Write 42 incredible lines about absolutely anything
£5,000 first prize

Let's begin...

Short stories that linger

5,000 impossible to forget words
£5,000 first prize

Let's begin...

Fiction in a flash

250 words that tell a story in seconds
£1,000 first prize

Let's begin...

Your novel idea

Book your place on the bestsellers list
£1,500 first prize

Let's begin...
All categories Enter Now

For writers everywhere

We are committed to discovering new writers in poetry, short story, flash fiction, the novel and memoir. Our alumni reads like a Who’s Who of the literary world: Kate Atkinson MBE, Gail Honeyman and Kit de Waal. Judges have included Roger McGough, Monica Ali and Zoe Heller. Our patron is Kit de Waal. We are a route to being published so send us your words and it could be your name up here next year.

 

Poetry, short story, flash, novel?

The 2026 competition is now closed.

For a full list of key dates, please head to the Writer’s Room.

For inspiration, read previous winners in our latest anthologies available from our online shop.

 

Memoir Competition

Our 2026 Memoir Competition will open on 15th June and close on 30th September.

For a full list of key dates, please head to the Writer’s Room.

Good luck!

 

Background Elements

Meet the Judges

Sarah Moss

Memoir Judge

Sarah Moss is an award-winning novelist and memoirist, author of Ghost Wall, Summerwater, Ripeness and My Good Bright Wolf. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, she lives in Dublin.

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Anthony Anaxagorou

Poetry Judge

Anthony Anaxagorou FRSL is a British-born Cypriot poet. His poetry collections have won numerous awards. He is also an artistic director, editor-in-chief, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. 

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Manuel Muñoz

Short Story Judge

Manuel Muñoz is the award-winning author of four books, including The Consequences, a story collection published by The Indigo Press in 2022. 

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Tania Hershman

Flash Fiction Judge

Tania Hershman is a queer writer of odd things, the author of three collections of short stories and flash fiction, four books of poetry and two hybrid books.

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Jennie Godfrey

Novel Judge

Jennie Godfrey was raised in West Yorkshire in a mill-working family, and her debut novel, The List of Suspicious Things, was inspired by her childhood there in the 1970s. Jennie gave up her corporate career in 2020, to become a writer and part-time bookseller.

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I have enormously fond memories of the Bridport Prize. It gave me one of the first affirmations that I could write. The story I wrote for the competition was the first time I felt I found that elusive thing – my ‘voice’. Without the Bridport Prize I would probably not have found my agent and quite possibly wouldn’t have written Behind the Scenes at the Museum so I have a lot to be thankful to it for.

Kate Atkinson, Novelist
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AI statement

Entries must be entirely original work, written solely by the submitter. Work must not be produced or edited by ChatGPT or any other AI creation tool.