YWSP News
YWSP winners of 2023 competition announced!
21st March, 2024
We’re thrilled to announce the fourteen winners of our 2023 competition! They are: 16-19 years category Winner: JUDITHA TRIUMPHANS by Elise Withey, Bathford, Somerset Runners up REMEMBER ME by Ide Crawford, Edinburgh MORA by Atlas Weyland Eden, Devon Highly Commended THE NEWSPAPERS TOLD OF HIS DEATH by Alexa Baumann, Southampton CORONATION DAY by Alexander Drysdale,… Read More »
The YWSP Shortlist has been announced!
20th February, 2024
We’re delighted to announce the stories shortlisted for this year’s YWSP. Keep an eye on our social media channels using #WalterScottPrize, for news of the category winners. Congratulations to this year’s shortlisted young writers! Shortlisted entries in the 16 to 19 age category THE NEWSPAPERS TOLD OF HIS DEATH by Alexa Baumann, Southampton FAMILY PORTRAIT by… Read More »
The ultimate guide to competitions for young writers 2023
3rd August, 2023
Getting words down onto the page isn’t the hard part for many keen young writers, but making the time to polish a story or poem can be hard. That’s especially true if you’re in school and juggling other demands like exams or extracurricular activities. But entering a writing competition is a motivation to do… Read More »
Read all the 2022 prizewinning stories
12th May, 2023
The winners of this year’s Young Walter Scott Prize have been announced, and we’re delighted to present their stories for you to read in full here, as well as a full Roll of Honour listing the winners, runners up and highly commended in the two age categories. Stand up and take a bow, 2022 winners!… Read More »
YWSP winners announced!
6th April, 2023
The two category winners for the Young Walter Scott Prize have been announced, alongside eight runners-up and highly commended young writers. The winner of the 11-15 years category is Ellie Karlin for her story Mrs Fujita’s Living Room, while Rosie Brooker, author of Forever England, won in the 16-19 years category. Both stories examine the effects of war,… Read More »
2022 YWSP now open for entries!
28th April, 2022
The Young Walter Scott Prize – now in its eighth year – has opened for entries for its 2022 award. This unique prize challenges young people to write a piece of short fiction – stories of between 800-2000 words – set in a time before they were born. Entries are judged in two age groups… Read More »
The ultimate guide to competitions for young writers 2022
6th April, 2022
Getting words down onto the page isn’t the hard part for many keen young writers, but making the time to polish a story or poem can be hard. That’s especially true if you’re in school and juggling other demands like exams or extracurricular activities. But entering a writing competition is a motivation to do the… Read More »
YWSP winners announced!
5th April, 2022
The winners of this year’s Young Walter Scott Prize have been announced! Taking the top spot in the 11-15 years category is Leo Wilson (left, above) from Oxfordshire for his story For the Love of the Sun, while Oliver Dhir (right, above) from Glasgow, author of A Lost Generation, has won the 16-19 years category. You can read these and the… Read More »
Meet the 2020 competition laureates
19th August, 2021
Having featured the category winners Atlas Weyland Eden and Madeleine Friedlein, we’re thrilled to publish here the stories of all those who were runners-up or highly commended in our 2020 competition. You can read the eight stories in full by clicking the links below, and listen to some of them reading their stories aloud. You… Read More »
Meet the 2020 competition winners – Madeleine Friedlein
18th August, 2021
Madeleine Friedlein won the 16-19 Years category of the 2020 Young Walter Scott Prize with her wonderful story Slaying Holofernes, which was inspired by the National Gallery’s exhibition of work by the artist Artemisia Gentileschi. She explains: ‘The title is taken from my favourite work of Artemisia Gentileschi, ‘Judith Slaying Holofernes’, completed following her rape by Agostino Tassi. The rage… Read More »