YOU FOUND US!

If you are aged between 11 and 19 and interested in history and writing, then you’ve come to the right place! We are the UK’s only creative writing prize specifically for budding historical fiction writers.

You could win a £500 travel grant, tickets to one of the UK’s best book festivals, and the chance to see your own work in print in a special anthology. Stories must be between 800 and 2,000 words, and set in a time before you were born.

This year’s competition is now closed for submissions, but we’re about to open again for 2026!

KEY DATES

31 October 2025: Closing date for entries

16 February 2026: 2025 shortlist announced on website

19 March 2026: 2025 category winners and runners-up announced

19 March 2026: The 2026 YWSP opens for entries

11 June 2026: 2025 Winners presented at the Borders Book Festival