The Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize (£1,250)

The Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize is held in association with the telegraph and endowed by Benjamin Franklin House chairman John Studzinski, a leading executive and philanthropist.

Each year, a question or a quote exploring Franklin’s relevance in our time is open to interpretation in 1,000-1,500 words. This competition is for young writers, aged 18-25 with the first prize of £750 and a second prize of £500. Winning entries will be published on our website.

Quote for 2020 Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize

“Glass, China, and reputation are easily crack’d, and never well mended” Richard’s Almannack, 1750.

Deadline for submission

October 31, 2020

Who is eligible for the Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize?

• Entrants must be UK residents
• Entrants must be 18-25 years of age
• No entry fee

Submission Guidelines for the Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize

• Submission should be based on the above quote with a word count of 1,000-1,500 words.
• Entrants may submit only one entry; fiction or non fiction
• Each entrant is asked to provide their name, postal address, email and phone number
• Entrants are also asked to provide their age and place of study or a biographical note explaining their current activities if they are not currently in education
• Entries should be submitted by mail to education@benjaminfranklinhouse.org

Judges for the Benjamin Franklin House Literary Prize

 

• Dr. Márcia Balisciano, Director of Benjamin Franklin House
• Lord Guy Black, Executive Director of the Telegraph Media Group
• Nigel Newton, founder and chief executive of Bloomsbury Publishing
• Wendy Moore, English journalist, author, and historian
• Dr. Huw David, Director of Development at the Rothermere American Institute, University of Oxford
• Rory Sutherland, Board Member of Benjamin Franklin House

2019 first place winner was Alys Keys, who is a business journalist and aspiring writer. You can read her entry here.

Robert Walmsley won second place, a solicitor in training with a strong interest in history and non-fiction writing. You can also read his entry here

To understand the concept of working with theme, you can click here

Good Luck!