Lichfield Institute promotes independent study and funds independent writing.

Open to the general public. Each submission in this event will receive important literary feedback from a group of distinguished judges. Honorable mentions will be awarded stipends and considered for representation by literary agencies in San Francisco and New York.

Winners & Finalists will also receive:

• Their name & the title of their work broadcast to over 21,000 Lichfield subscribers.
• A copy of two Lichfield Press books:
  • How to Build Your Creative Career.
  • Master the Art of Novel Writing

Categories:

• SHORT STORY – 5000 words or fewer
• ESSAY – 2000 words or fewer
• POEM – ​500 words or fewer

All categories and genres are accepted. Essays should cover general topics (culture, society, art, politics, education) without delving into technical or specialized subjects.

Entries must be unpublished at the time of submission (self-publishing is ok). There are no formatting restrictions. All submissions are read blindly. Entrants retain all rights to their submissions.

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.