Can you transport a reader into the past? Can you tell a story which will grip the reader while immersing them in another time? Do you want the voices and the stories of the past to find a new audience in the modern world?

If your answer to any of the above is yes, then you could win £500, publication and the chance to learn from top industry professionals.

This competition is for unpublished short stories of up to 3500 words and held to celebrate the works of Dorothy Dunnett and the enduring appeal of Historical Fiction. Choose your theme, your genre and your period and bring the past alive. The only condition is that your story is set at least 35 years in the past.

The winning story will be published in Whispering Gallery and on www.historiamag.com. The writer will receive  £500 and be offered mentoring sessions from author and agent.

Two further highly commended writers will also be offered mentoring.

All six shortlisted writers will have their stories published as an ebook / print on demand edition by the HWA and Dorothy Dunnett Society via Amazon.

Each shortlisted author will receive two print copies and a £25 author payment.

Shortlisted authors will be invited to the HWA Crown Award Ceremony in November 2023.

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.