New2theScene

Competitions

Members Competition

Opening

December 7, 2025

Closing

February 1, 2026

Entry fee

Topic

Write a short story set during the holiday season — as dark or heartwarming as you choose!

Word count

2000 words



First Prize

Publication, promotion and workshop.

The winning entrant will receive:

Their story published in an anthology
Their story published on the website
An 'Origins' blog, promoting themselves
A free place in one of our workshops (worth £30)
An invitation to contribute to our novella projects



First Prize

Publication, promotion and workshop.

The winning entrant will receive:

Their story published in an anthology
Their story published on the website
An 'Origins' blog, promoting themselves
A free place in one of our workshops (worth £30)
An invitation to contribute to our novella projects



Notable Mentions

Publication and workshop

Notable mentions will receive:

Publication in an anthology
A free place in one of our workshops (worth £30)
Improved chances of contributing to our novella projects

This competition is not yet open. Please check back soon.

How to enter

Carefully read the rules, entry requirements and eligibility before submission.
Check you’re sending the final, best version of your submission.
Follow the format requirements for the competition (found in ‘Rules of entry’).
Become a member — if you are not already.
Click on the submission button.
Upload your entry when prompted.
Good luck!

This competition is only open to members

No items found.

£3 / month

Membership



Entry to all competitions (Novel, Short Story, Flash Fiction, Poetry… 6 in total)



Entry to exclusive member’s competitions (only for members, with publication as a prize)



Feedback on submissions (a paragraph of constructive criticism from judges)



Access to members only content (e.g. novella project)



10% off books and workshops

As a member, you receive one free entry. Additional entries should be purchased in the usual manner.

This competition is now closed

Please ensure you read the rules carefully before entering the competition.

Entry implies acceptance of all rules, and failure to comply may result in disqualification.

Disqualification

We disqualify submissions if they are published elsewhere, over the word limit, or do not meet the criteria specified in the ‘eligibility’ section.

General

Submissions can be of any genre, in any style or form. Children, sci-fi, war, erotic: let your imagination free! You have to be a member, and can only enter one submission per competition. If you submit in error and want to withdraw or exchange your story, please email submissions@new2thescene.co.uk with ‘exchange’ or ‘withdraw’ as the subject. This must be done before the deadline. If you submit more than one story, only the first entry will be eligible.

Deadline

The deadline date for submissions is 23:59 (UK time) on the date stated in the details section on the website. Submissions after this time will not be accepted.

Submission

Word count: please do not exceed the stated limit of the competition. No minimum. Title not included in the word count.

Format

Add the word count to the top right of the first page. The title is not included in the word count but if you include a glossary of terms, this is included
Do not add a front cover or title pages
Use any font in 12pt
Double line spaced
Number the pages in the centre at the bottom of the page
Save the file as a Microsoft Word document –.doc or .docx
The file name should be the title of the novel followed by the entrant’s name e.g. Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
Accompanying emails and/or extra information will not be read

Eligibility

This is a competition for members only.

The competition is open to writers of any nationality, writing in English, aged 16 and over at the time of the closing date.

Submissions must be entirely your own work. Any evidence to the contrary will result in disqualification.

Submissions must not have been published, self-published, published on any website, blog or online forum.

If your submission has been longlisted or shortlisted in other competitions, provided it has not been published, it is eligible.

Simultaneous submissions are allowed but will become ineligible should they be published or scheduled for future publication prior to the date of prize giving.

You must inform us immediately should your submission be published elsewhere.

Judging

The judges’ decision is final, and no correspondence can be entered into. Judges will comment on individual submissions, and these notes will be emailed as a coherent paragraph of feedback with points to work on. Judging is fair and unbiased. If eligible (members only), feedback will be given upon conclusion of the competition — after the winner is announced. New2theScene reserves the right to change the panel of judges without notice.

Copyright

Worldwide copyright of each submission remains with the author, but New2theScene has unrestricted rights to publish the winning submission in an anthology, anywhere on its website, and on any relevant promotional material.

Results & prize

Winners will be notified by email within two weeks of the competition closure. Prizes and timelines for delivery will be emailed at the same time. If entrants have not had correspondence by this date, they have not been successful, or will be notified of a delay in judging.

New2theScene

Competitions

Members Competition

Opening

Closing

Entry fee

Topic

Word count

First Prize

First Prize

Notable Mentions

How to enter

FAQs

New2theScene Ltd.

Community

Content

Contact

New2theScene

Competitions

Members Competition

Opening

Closing

Entry fee

Topic

Word count

First Prize

First Prize

Notable Mentions

How to enter

Rules of entry

FAQs

New2theScene Ltd.

Community

Content

Contact