The Solstice Writing Prize is a national, annual writing competition for young writers, which invites young people to take a closer look at the natural world, explore their relationship with it, or examine the challenges it faces, and write short stories, poems, and thought-provoking blogs in response.

In 2024, the organizer seeking entries about any aspect of nature and offer prizes for winners in four age groups: 7-11, 12-14, 15-17 and 18-25 years. There’s also a prize in each age group for young writers who live in the East Midlands.

The competition is open to UK residents (including all pupils at school in the UK).

Entries must relate (as loosely as you like) to nature, the environment, or issues related to climate change. Writing must be 500 words (for short stories and blogs) or 40 lines (for poems).

Prizes::

• First-place winners in each age category will receive £100 and have their work published in the 2024 Solstice Anthology.
• Five Highly Commended runners up per age category will receive goody bags and also have their work published in the online anthology.
• There are also regional prizes for the best pieces in each age group for young writers living in the East Midlands.

We are keen to encourage quality, so suggest writers to check their stories before submitting using Prowritingaid. They have free and paid versions and are the best writing software we know to help improve grammar, readability and check for repetition, ‘sticky’ sentences and suggest alternatives.