Exeter Writers have been running a short story competition since 2009 and this year the top prize is an enticing £700. There are also cash prizes for second place (£350), third place (£250) and an extra prize for the best entry from a writer living in Devon (£100).

The maximum word count is 3,000 words, not including the title, and there is no minimum word count.

Stories must have neither been previously published nor won a prize in any other competition.

Winning entries will also be published on the Exeter Writers website.

We are keen to encourage quality submissions, 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.