The Bridport Prize 2021

Distill, build, end well

Gail Honeyman was shortlisted in our competition and went on to write Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, winning the Costa debut novel award. All the winning and highly commended pieces are entered into the Sunday Times Audible competition, top prize £30,000. UK based writers are entered into the BBC short story competition. That’s not all, literary agent A.M. Heath reads all the shortlist and considers representation. Long story short? You are 5,000 words away from success.

First prize: £5,000

One of the largest short story prizes, the winning story features in our anthology, so you will see your words in print, maybe for the first time. That’s not all. It opens up further opportunities where your story needs to have been published. You will be invited to our awards celebration and get insightful feedback from the judges and our professional partners. Finally, we will champion you not only as our winner but always as part of the Bridport Prize family.

Second prize: £1,000

Your story features in the Bridport Prize anthology, so you will see your words on the page forever more. It also means you are officially published and can pursue other opportunities. We hope you’ll join us for the awards celebration and recognition of your success.



Third prize: £500

Your short story is included in our anthology where you’ll see your words finally within the pages of a book. Being published now gives you access to other opportunities. Join our awards celebration and breathe in how your hard work is out there for all to see.


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