International Competitions

2026 Winners

Congratulations to all this year’s winners. We received so many outstanding entries from talented writers that our judges faced a tough choice in choosing the finalists. Click on each of the categories below to read the winning entries.

Open
Poetry

1st Laura Strickland
2nd Caroline Good
3rd Peter Marshall
Local Prize Lucy Manners
Highly Commended:
Elaine Desmond
Kristina Diprose


Short
Story

1st Andrei Romanov
2nd Hannah Binney
3rd Jacqueline Peta Haskell
Local Prize Marie Day





Book for
Children

1st Ruth Stevenson
2nd James Dron
3rd Andrew Miller and
Sarah Forde Owur
Local Prize Francisca Staines
Highly Commended:
Essie Brammer, Joel Lockie, Misia Butler, Souzan Alcorn

Young
Poets

1st Silas Mitchell
2nd Esme Coulter
3rd Tshago Moloto






Poetry Reading and Prize Giving 2026 Galleries

You can now also follow our new Competitions Instagram account: wellsfestivalcompetitions

Competition Archive

  • 2025 Short Story Results

    Congratulations to Myra Scott for her winning entry Along Came a Spider in the Short Story Competition. Our thanks go to the shortlist team and to Judith Heneghan, our 2025 Short Story Judge. Without our judges we wouldn’t be able to run the competitions. The winning entries can be downloaded and enjoyed from the table…

  • 2025 Book for Children Results

    Congratulations to Mel Darbon for her winning entry Owl in the Attic in the Book for Children Competition. Our thanks go to the shortlist team and to Fleur Hitchcock, our 2025 Short Story Judge. Without our judges we wouldn’t be able to run the competitions.

  • 2025 Young Poets Results

    Congratulations to Benjamin Foxcroft for his winning entry, A Field Guide to Focus, in this year’s Young Poets Competition. A Field Guide to Focus my body’s a room with every light on.a radio tuned to all stations at once.i’m trying to sit stillbut my thoughts spin chairs. in year seven, i learnedhow to pretend i…

  • 2025 Open Poetry Results

    Congratulations to Sharon Black for her winning entry Dinger, Short for Schrödinger in the Open Poetry Competition. Dinger, Short for Schrödinger My cat is an oracle, a quiet master of the lounge.He insinuates great wisdom in his black velvet peacoat,white silk cravat grazing the floor. All four legsare tucked underneath so he occupies the ruglike…