Entries are now being accepted for the 2026 BBC National Short Story Awards with Cambridge University. The Award, now in its 21st year, is worth £15k.
The BBC National Short Story Award 2026
Entries are now being accepted for the 2026 BBC National Short Story Awards with Cambridge University. The Award, now in its 21st year, is worth £15,000 and will be given to one writer demonstrating exceptional skill and artistry in the short story form. The Award is for a single story of up to 8,000 words, written by an established author.
Entry Dates for the The BBC National Short Story Award 2026
Submissions for the BBC National Short Story Award 2026 with Cambridge University will be accepted from 9am (GMT) Wednesday 14th January 2026. The deadline for receipt of entries is 9am (GMT) Monday 16th March 2026.
How to Enter the BBC National Short Story Award 2026
Applicants are encouraged to make their submission using the online Entry Form as early as possible before the deadline.
Please note: entrants must have a prior record of publication – see full details below before applying.
Instructions for Entering
1. Read the Entry Terms and Conditions below thoroughly to check the author whose work is due to be submitted and their short story are eligible for the Award. Submission of an entry is taken as acceptance of all the Terms and Conditions.
2. Format the short story as per the following instructions:
- One entry per author
- Written in English
- A maximum of 8,000 words
- Typed
- Font: any font, 12pt, black
- Double spaced
- No page numbers
- Include a front page which details the Title of Story and the Word Count
- No author’s name included anywhere on the story (unless you are submitting a typeset file and it is unavoidable).
3. Save the short story as an Adobe PDF with the Title of Story in the file name. (N.B. if the short story has already been published you can submit a typeset PDF file, but you must remove the author name or title from any headers or footers). If your story has been typed into Microsoft Word you can save as a PDF by clicking File -> Save As, and then selecting .PDF from the dropdown menu underneath the file name field.
4. Complete the Entry Form online at https://www.bbc.co.uk/send/u223748296 including uploading your short story document.
Please note
Entries not submitted in accordance with the Entry Instructions and Entry Terms and
Conditions will not be eligible for consideration.
Entries submitted successfully online will receive an automated acknowledgement on-screen; entrants WILL NOT receive an automated email message.
Any queries about entering the Award should be emailed to bbcnssa@bbc.co.uk. The Award administrators will respond as soon as possible. Please note that for any email correspondence to bbcnssa@bbc.co.uk, an automated reply will only be sent to the first email.
Entry Terms and Conditions
Please read this document in full to ensure that the author whose work is due to be submitted and their short story are eligible for the Award. Other relevant information about the competition can be found on the official page.
The official information page.
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