WWG Young Writers Competition 2026

Competition Dates

Entrants must submit their work by midnight 31st July 2026.

The shortlist will be published on our website on 1st September, notified by e-mail and invited to the Award Ceremony at the Old Court, Windsor, on Saturday 10^th October. Shortlisted entrants will receive three free tickets to the event.

How to Submit

It’s FREE to enter – just check out the rules and layout requirements below and send your submission to windsor.writers@gmail.com

Layout Requirements

1) In your submission e-mail the subject line must read [Story or Poem] – [Title] – [Entrant’s Name – first and family name] – Entrant’s School Year

e.g. Story – The Watcher – Sam Smith – Y6    

2) The submission must be a PDF file (not a scanned or photo pdf file – we need to be able to cut and paste into the AI checker to accept the submission)

3) The following information must be at the top of the pdf of your story or poem (it does not count towards the word or line limit but points will be deducted if this isn’t done)

• First and family name of entrant
• School Year
• Where you live, work or go to school/college in RBWM
• Contact email (for notification of results). If under 16, include your parent / guardian email address and their written approval e.g. ‘My child has my approval for submission, [parent/guardian name] [parent/guardian email address]’
• Story or Poem Title
• Word count (for story) or number of lines (for poem)

Competition Rules

1) You must be an individual (any group entry will be counted as an individual entry for prize giving purposes) and:

a. be in Year 6 or above, up to the age 18, on 31/08/2026

b. live, work or attend an educational establishment in RBWM

2) You must submit your entry by the submission date of midnight 31st July 2026

3) If you are under 16, you must have parent / guardian permission to enter (see layout requirements above).

a. By giving permission, your parent/guardian consents to the details you supply being shared with the panel of judges and competition administrators.

4) Family members of WWG judges are ineligible to enter the competition.

5) The work you submit must be:

a. Original and your own (we will use an AI checker and reject any submission with a score less than our threshold)

b. In English

c. Submitted according to the Layout Requirements

d. Fictional

e. Unpublished

f. Respectful of racial, religious and gender sensitivities

6) Each person may only submit one entry per category i.e. story and/or poem.

7) Submissions cannot be altered once submitted.

8) Submissions received after the closing date will not be considered.

9) Shortlisted entries will be invited to attend the Award Ceremony on Saturday 10th October 2026.

10) Shortlisted entrants grant WWG the right to list their achievement on the WWG website.

11) Prizes will be awarded only at the Award Ceremony.

12) Feedback on submissions may be requested after the Award Ceremony.

13) Entrants will maintain the copyright for their work and are free to publish their submission or enter it into other competitions after the Award Ceremony.

14) Data provided by entrants will only be used for the running of the competition and will be deleted three months after the Award Ceremony, except for competition results and winning entries / photos published on the WWG website.

15) The judges’ decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into in respect of the results.

Judging Criteria

Our competition judges will be looking out for the following:

• Pieces that follow the layout requirements and rules (see above)
• Grammar and spelling
• Use of language
• Writing techniques e.g. simile, tension, conflict, humour and description.
• Something special that makes your work stand out.

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