Resources for Creative Writers

This page is a small gesture of gratitude to and solidarity with the wider writing community. It offers a selection of helpful links for poets and creative writers in roughly, very roughly, alphabetical order. Here you will find website that offer creative writing competition listings, submission opportunities, and resources to support your craft.

Part of the reason for creating this page is to say thank you to the kind-hearted curators who’ve shared news of our own poetry competitions.

Not all the sites listed here have shared our poetry competitions, but, because this page is also rooted in a deeper appreciation of the way creative writers help us make sense of the world, we've tried to include other sites that support the writing community.

Creative writers, you give shape to our human experience, find words for what’s often left unspoken, and add richness, insight, and beauty to our lives, and this page is here to support that vital contribution.

Please feel free to explore, share, and come back often—we'll update as we go along, so, if you'd like your site/page listed here, please drop us an email.

Writers' Resources

This is a nod to some of the wonderful websites that are supporting our creative writing community. If you think there is a page or organisation that should be listed here, please contact us and let us know.

Almond Press

Almond Press is an independent publisher of dystopian and apocalyptic short fiction, who bring together authors, readers, and independent publishers to find new talent while sharing and promoting great writing opportunities. They have a resources page, as well as listing creative writing contests. They can be found at: https://dystopianstories.com/

Christopher Fielden

A wonderful page for creative writers that was set up by award-winning writer and editor and Amazon best-selling author, Christopher Fielden. Chris runs his own competitions, as well as listing loads of other writing contests. He has a regular newsletter and runs courses on short story writing. He can be found at https://www.christopherfielden.com/

National Poetry Library

Housing the world’s largest public collection of modern poetry, the National Poetry Library is free to join and is London’s only space dedicated to poetry study. Since 1953 they have been nurturing generations of talented poets. They reside at the wonderful Southbank Centre in London. They have a great competition listing page and can be found at https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/national-poetry-library/

New Writers

This is another wonderful resource for creative writers. Not only do New Writers run their own creative writing competition, but they also have a list of other contests that writers can enter. They have a useful Resources page which covers things like best books for aspiring writers and revision and editing tips. They can be found at https://newwriters.org.uk/

Neon Magazine

Neon publishes creative work that is fantastic or surreal (science-fiction, horror and literary fiction). An independent literary magazine that is supported entirely by its readers: no ads, no sponsors or other funding.

Prize Magic

Lists 'the most worthwhile (and genuine) writing competitions currently available' - it's a good list, even though we're not included on it! Only joking - perhaps Michael will agree to list us one day! He can be found at https://www.prizemagic.co.uk/html/writing_comps.htm

Poetry Mama

A global platform for creative writers, they offer listings of writing contests, books reviews, as well as tips for writers. They can be found at https://poetrymama.com/

Writers and Artists

This long-established resource for creatives has a wealth of information for writers, from competitions, to information on literary agents and publishers. They can be found at https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/competitions

U3A

Formerly known as University of the Third Age, U3A has opened up its groups to younger people now. They have creative writing groups up and down the country, as well as poetry appreciation groups. For more information see https://www.u3a.org.uk/

Writing Competitions

This is a massive Facebook group that focuses on writing competitions - it's well worth a look at https://www.facebook.com/groups/writingcompetitions