Competitions

Competitions are an integral part of the Wells Festival of Literature, with entries increasing every year, and submissions arriving from all over the world.

Our poetry competition has been running since the Festival began, and our short story competition since 1994. The entries they attract are mostly of an extremely high calibre. In 2016 we added a new category to the mix: Book for Children, and 2018 saw the launch of another new category: Young Poets.

2020 Competitions

Our International Competitions Winners have been announced.
The 1st prize in our Open Poetry Competition for 2020 was £1000 awarded to Maggie Wadey. Second and third prizes also increased: to £500 and £250 respectively.
Prize money in the Short Story and Book for Children categories was 1st £750, 2nd £300, 3rd £200 plus Local Prizes of £100 each for the Short Story, Open Poetry and Book for Children competitions.
For the Young Poets competition for 2020 the prize money was 1st £150, 2nd £75, 3rd £50. All three prize winners received a year’s subscription to the Poetry Society.

Poetry Reading and Prize Giving

The Poetry Reading for both the Young Poets and Open Poetry takes place immediately before the Prize Giving for all four categories. This special occasion is one of the highlights of the Festival when, for the first time, the winning writers are revealed and rewarded.