Scroll down for information on the live event
Thank you to everyone who entered the competition – the standard was incredibly high. Congratulations to the 10 shorlisted entrants, the 20 longlisted entrants, and to the highly commended entries.
To read all the Longlisted entries, click HERE.
Shortlist
The 1o shortlisted entries are:
A Negative Image by Alison Deering
All for Her by Kaitlyn Young
East by Elodie A Roy
He Doesn’t Have a Grave by Kate Venables
ShutEye by Jayne West
Squirrel and the Squid by Estelle Hargreaves
Strawberry Picking by Elizabeth Barratt-Golding
The Cancelling by Gemma Wilson
The Funeral Procession by Pauline Braisher
The Valley by Sue Wright
Longlist
To read all the Longlisted entries, click HERE.
The 20 longlisted entries are:
A Father’s Son by Terry Lowell
A Negative Image by Alison Deering
All for Her by Kaitlyn Young
Dull Gary by Robin Tones
East by Elodie A Roy
EveryBodies by Dawn Hemming
He Doesn’t Have a Grave by Kate Venables
Killing Two Birds with One Stone by Amanda Barton
Not a Child by Jane Mooney
ShutEye by Jayne West
Sixteen by Lauren Foster
Squirrel and the Squid by Estelle Hargreaves
Strawberry Picking by Elizabeth Barratt-Golding
The Black Soap by Ella Ononugbo
The Cancelling by Gemma Wilson
The Funeral Procession by Pauline Braisher
The Inside-Out World by Tim Taylor
The Stumpery Project by Jo Regan
The Valley by Sue Wright
Travelling Spectrums by Neil Clarkson
Highly commended
Dark Secrets Dangerous Lies by Sheila Frampton
Have I Forgiven You by David John Ward
In Pursuit of Justice by Virginia Crow
Mill Town Meltdown by Lloyd Rivett
Mr Spoon by Irish Hable
The Society of Time Travelling Artists Against Evil by Daniel Joseph Day
Vertigo by Laura Christine Price
About the Competition and Event
At HuddLitFest, we love to champion new and developing writers. To celebrate our 20th anniversary, we are inviting writers aged 16+ to submit an extract of up to 500 words from an unpublished novel, short story or non-fiction work they have written.
From these, members of our Festival team will select a long list of 20, followed by a shortlist of 10 entries. The longlisted entrants will have their work published on our website and will be allocated free entry to the event. Additionally, the 10 shortlisted finalists will be invited to read their work on the night. The judges on the night – including novelist Simon Crump – will then choose a winner, who will receive a £50 book voucher and two runners-up, who will each receive a £10 book voucher.
The competition is free to enter and the rules are listed below.
Important dates:
Sunday 29 March (midnight) – deadline for entries
Thursday 2 April – longlisted entrants notified by email and longlist announced
Tuesday 14 April – shortlist of 10 finalists notified by email and shortlist announced
Thursday 7 May – Launch at Amped
Please note: this competition is for prose only, any poetry sent in will not be entered into the competition. Poets can take part in our Open Mic events or apply for a place at our Poetry Slam.
Access: if you have specific access needs or seating preferences, please contact our Admin team at info@huddlitfest.org.uk with your request.
Rules:
- All submissions must be original work by the entrant, without using AI and which has not been published elsewhere and does not infringe on third-party intellectual property or privacy rights.
- Entries must be no more than 500 words. Any words over this amount will not be counted when judging your work.
- Each individual may only enter one piece of writing.
- Entries should be submitted in a 12-point font, double-spaced lines, and ideally sent as a Word doc attachment by email to: info@huddlitfest.org.uk using the email subject line: 20/20 Competition. The body of your email must include your name and contact phone number. You can also add up to 50 words of biographical details. Entries will be judged anonymously to create the longlist, so your name should not appear anywhere on the Word doc, just the title of your piece. If you do not have access to Word, you can add your entry to the body of your email and it will be passed on to the judges anonymously.
- Your other work can have previously been published or self-published, but your competition entry must be unpublished. You may submit work that you have submitted elsewhere as long as it has not been published by Thursday 7 May
- The competition is open to anyone over 16 based in the UK. Ideally you will be available to travel to Huddersfield on Thursday 7 May to perform your work in person on the evening if you are shortlisted. However, we can accept pre-recorded films of you reading your entry, which we will show on a screen on the night, if you are unable to travel due to access issues, neurodiverse conditions or other reasonable circumstances
- Entrants must not be team members or Steering Committee members of Huddersfield Literature Festival, or their immediate family members
- The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence can be entered into.
- The competition is free to enter but if you are able to help towards Festival funds, you can donate £5 or an amount of your choosing through our fundraising page using this link: https://localgiving.org/charity/HLF
- Copyright of your work remains with you but the Festival reserves the right to publish your competition extract on the HuddLitFest website and social media.
Thursday 7 May
6pm-7.30pm
Amped, 29 Zetland St, Huddersfield HD1 2RD
£3, free for 20 shortlisted entrants, free for University of Huddersfield staff and students & for essential carers accompanying a ticket holder
Age guidance: 16+
Access Guide: https://www.accessable.co.uk/huddersfield-literature-festival/access-guides/amped
Access: if you have specific access needs or seating preferences, please contact our Admin team at info@huddlitfest.org.uk with your request.
Concession & Carers: For further information on concession and essential carer tickets, please visit our FAQ’s page.
Eventbrite note: When purchasing tickets please download the Eventbrite ‘app’ or ‘create an Eventbrite account’. This will facilitate quicker access to your tickets.
