HG Wells Short Story Competition 2021/ How To Submit (£1,500 + Publication)

The HG Wells Short Story Competition was Founded by the world-renowned BBC Aeronautics Correspondent Reg Turnill and his wife, Margaret, to celebrate the life and works of HG Wells and encourage creative writing, especially among the young.

The annual HG Wells Short Story Competition offers a £500 Senior and £1,000 Junior prize  and free publication of all shortlisted entries in a quality, professionally published paperback anthology (and Kindle version).

 

Submission Guidelines for the HG Wells Short Story Competition

• This year’s theme is “Mask”.
• Entries must be in English.
• The length is 1,500 to 5,000 words.
• Double quotation marks should be used for speech and single quotation marks for other appropriate purposes.
• Each page should be numbered.
•  All text 12 point, Verdana (for judging – it’s easier to read);
• 1.5 lines spacing;
• Single space left after full stops, colons, etc.;
• Titles: centre, bold;
• First paragraph and after each break – no indentation;
• Entry to the competition are to be made here alone, with entrants submitting their story (as a PDF or document).
• There is a template available below to make ensure your story is formatted correctly.
• You do not have to use it, but if it helps, please do so. However, whether you use the template or not, the pages should be numbered but the entrant’s name should not appear on any page except on the entry form.
• Please ensure you DO NOT have your name or address ANYWHERE in your uploaded document: all entries are judged “blind” and including your name or address will invalidate your entry.
• To be safe, do not even use your own name as a character name.
• The closing date is Monday 12th July 2021 and entries will be accepted up to midnight on that date.
• There are no entry fees for those aged 21 years and under on 12th July 2021.
• Over 21s must pay an entry fee of £10 or £5 for those with student id. Details for payment are shown on the entry form.
• Each story must be submitted on a separate entry form and accompanied by a fee where appropriate.
• Proof of age and / or student id may be required for any entry entered in the Under 22 or at the reduced student price.
• This proof may be requested by email after the close of entries and prior to the publication of a short list.
• All submissions must be made online, with all required fields completed.
• All submissions should be the writer’s original work.
• Copyright remains with the author.
• The story may not be published elsewhere.
• The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence can be entered into.
• Entry implies permission for your story to be published in the annual HG Wells Short Story Competition Anthology, and used for Competition publicity purposes.

Contacting You

• By entering the competition and providing your details, you are consenting to the organizers contacting you by email, post or phone about the 2021 competition and related events.
• They may do so to give more information, update you on shortlisted entries, let you know about available training courses, invite you to the November awards ceremony or even let you know if you have been shortlisted.
• They will ONLY contact you about the H G Wells Short Story Competition in future years if you specifically agree to them doing so by giving us your consent to do so when entering.
• They will not share the contact details of entrants with any other organisation without the consent of the entrant.

 

 

 

Provisional Shortlisting and Award Dates

Tuesday 21st September 2021 : Shortlists announced.
Sunday 21st November 2021 : Awards Ceremony.
The shortlists will be announced online via this website.

Please note that although shortlisted authors will be invited to the awards ceremony, the competition organisers will not and cannot pay any travel fees or sponsor visas to attend the event.

Hints and Tips

As one of the aims of the competition is to promote literacy, the judges will include in their criteria the following:

• Accurate use of spelling, grammar and punctuation;
• Use of imagination;
• Originality of thought and interpretation of theme;
• Entertaining content that is thought provoking, intriguing, moving and, above all, enjoyable.

You can use the HG Wells Short Story Competition Word Document Template that is designed to ensure you follow the below rules, but whether you use it or not we ask:

 

Link here for Other competitions you might be interested in. Good Luck!