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.
Poetry Reading and Prize Giving 2026 Galleries
You can now also follow our new Competitions Instagram account: wellsfestivalcompetitions
Competition Archive
-
2019 Competitions: Winners
Congratulations to all the winners, and we would also like to thank everyone who entered. Open Poetry Competition The 2019 Open Poetry judge was Simon Armitage, current Poet Laureate! Simon also writes extensively for television, theatre and radio. A former probation officer, he is Professor of Poetry at the University of Leeds and was also…
-
2018 Competitions: Winners
Congratulations to all the winners, and we would also like to thank everyone who entered. Poetry Competition The 2018 Poetry competition was judged by Terry Gifford Poetry Winners – 2018 Winners Short Story Competition The 2018 Short Story competition was judged by Helen Stevenson Short Story – 2018 Winners Book for Children Competition The 2018…
-
2016 Competitions: Winners
Congratulations to all the winners, and we would also like to thank everyone who entered. Poetry Competition The 2016 Poetry competition was judged by Greta Stoddart and the Hilly Cansdale local poetry prize was sponsored by Jorgen and Mary Nielsen Poetry – 2016 Winners Short Story Competition The 2016 Short Story competition was judged by…
-
2017 Competitions: Winners
Congratulations to all the winners, and we would also like to thank everyone who entered. Poetry Competition The 2017 Poetry competition was judged by Maria McCann Poetry Winners – 2017 Winners Short Story Competition The 2017 Short Story competition was judged by Gillian Clarke Short Story – 2017 Winners Book for Children Competition The 2017…