Writing Bursary Competition – What Happens Now?

Our Writing Bursary Competition closed on Monday at 11.59pm.

Thank you to everyone who entered – we’re wishing you the best of luck!

What Happens Now?

Stories are now being shortlisted and considered by our judging panel.

When Will Winners Be Informed?

We’ll aim to contact winners around mid-February.

Will All Entrants Be Contacted?

Entries are being stored securely in our folders until the judges have made their final decision; all entrants will then be contacted in due course.

What Will Winners Be Offered?

One Overall Winner will win £10,000 to assist their writing endeavours. They’ll also be mentored throughout the year by a member of the ‘Friend’ Fiction Team. Their short story will be published in a future edition of the ‘Friend’.

There will be one winner from each of the three categories – Thriller, Romance, and Comedy (three prizes in total). Each Category Winner will receive a prize of £500.

We’re also offering six runners-up prizes; Romance Category Under-30 and Over-30; the Thriller Category Over-30 and Under-30; and the Comedy Category Over-30 and Under-30. Each Runner-Up will win £200.

How Will Winners Be Contacted?

If you’re a winner, you’ll be contacted by phone or email and we’ll let you know how to claim your prize, which is in cash and which will be transferred to your bank account.

If You Are Unsuccessful

We’ve had hundreds of entrants; if you don’t hear from us by the end of February, please don’t be downhearted.

We’ll be contacting some authors who didn’t win the competition to offer a contract and publication of their stories under our normal terms.

And we remain open to all previously-unpublished authors – stories can be submitted to friendfiction@dctmedia.co.uk .

Please read our refreshed guidelines before submitting, and read the magazine regularly to get a sense of the tone and language we’re looking for.