The Cheshire Prize for Literature 2025/26 is open to enter in three age categories. There is no theme - entrants can write about anything that inspires them. Free to enter.
This year’s competition is open for entries in the following three age categories:
Primary (4-11): poetry or short story category
Secondary (11-18): poetry or short story category
Over 18: poetry, short story, flash fiction, children’s literature, scriptwriting
You can enter two entries per person, but they must be in different categories.
Who Can Enter?
You must be the author of the submitted entry and must have been born, live or have lived, study or have studied, work or have worked, in the historical or modern county of Cheshire. For the purposes of the Competition, Cheshire is deemed to include the Wirral, as well as Warrington and Halton.
Please read the full
terms and conditions for full details of the competition and to see the criteria for each category.
Find out more about the Prize in general
here
Deadline: 31st January 2026