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Creative Writing Competitions

May Sun - Aug Sat
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Creative Writing has always played a big part in Hailsham Festival and once again we are running competitions for writers of short stories and poetry.  Join us in celebrating a legacy of creative expression from the past two decades by entering our 2026 Creative Writing Competition sponsored by BourneFree Magazine.  This year the subjects are:
 
 
SHORT STORY  – not exceeding 500 words.
Subject:  The Tree
16 and over   (Adult)
 
Subject :  The Party
 Up to16th birthday (Junior)
 
POETRY – not exceeding 30 lines
Subject:  Discovery
16 and over   (Adult)
 
Subject:   Dinosaur
 Up to16th birthday (Junior)
 

Assessment will be by 3 independent judges who will be unaware of the author of each piece. The rules of the competition are set out below.

Closing date – Thursday 30th July 2026

Competition Rules:

No AI generated work will be accepted, or any work that has previously been published.

Please ensure that you give your entry its own title, whilst still keeping to the themes set out above, so that we don’t get lots of entries with the same name.

All entries should be sent as a Word document by e-mail to Mel Martin at pmkmartin@aol.com with the subject showing as ‘Festival Competition’

For children’s entries, please supply name, first name and age of the child and contact details of parent, carer or guardian so that we can get in touch in the summer holidays if the child is selected.

Hard copies will be accepted if sent FAO Mel Martin C/O Gallery North, 70 High Street, Hailsham, BN27 1AX (or you can hand deliver during Gallery opening times (Thurs to Sat 10am – 4pm)

 

A prize-giving ceremony will take place on Tuesday, September 15th at 2.30pm at the Charles Hunt Centre, when the winners will be announced and all prizes, as well as the Pam Turner Cup, will once again be awarded”

 

As well as our Competitions we welcome the return of The Downland Poets for a relaxing afternoon listening to a selection of poetry produced by their members. This event usually includes an Open Mic, where, if time allows, any non-members of the group may read out anything they have written.

 

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