*STOP PRESS*

Submissions are now invited for our annual Non-Fiction Competition, The Richard Booth Prize 2023, named after one of Hay-on-Wye’s most notable residents and it’s self proclaimed ‘King of Hay’. Richard was always a great supporter of books, Hay-on-Wye and of course, local writers.

Sadly, Richard passed away in 2019, but his name lives on everywhere in Hay, including this writing prize which he so graciously sponsored during his lifetime and we honour in his memory.

This year we are excited to confirm that the judge for our Non-Fiction Competition is Tom Bullough.

Tom Bullough grew up on a hill farm in Radnorshire. A novelist turned nonfiction writer, his latest, bestselling book, Sarn Helen, “is a joy” (Simon Jenkins, TLS) – at once a survey of early Welsh history and a call for immediate action on the climate and ecological emergency.

Tom’s previous publication was the acclaimed novel, Addlands. Horatio Clare wrote, “This is the book we have been waiting for from Tom Bullough, a complete work of art, astonishingly beautiful, deeply moving and gripping from first to last… the story of how the land made us all, and how the last century has changed us. Zola would have saluted it, and pressed copies on his friends”.

He is also author of 3 more novels, “Konstantin“, “The Claude Glass” and “A“.

Among his many other jobs, Tom has contributed to several titles in the Rough Guides series, and has held fellowships at Swansea University and USW, where he earned a PhD in Creative Writing. He lives near Brecon with his children and a dog.

*NON-FICTION COMPETITION – FIRST PRIZE £100*

First prize of £100 with additional cash prizes for 2nd and 3rd placed pieces.

Without further delay, here are the Non Fiction Competition details :

This is an open competition meaning – ANYONE CAN ENTER

The closing date for entries is midnight Tuesday 11th July 2023. Any entries received after this date will not be considered. The results will be announced mid September.

Criteria
• Entries must be entirely the work of the entrant and by submitting you are confirming that the work is your own. Any evidence to the contrary will result in immediate disqualification.
• Entries must not have been published, self-published, published on any website, blog, social media, or online forum, broadcast nor winning or placed (as in 2nd, 3rd, runner up etc.) in any other competition.
• If your entry has been long-listed or shortlisted in other competitions and provided it has not won a prize or been published, it is eligible.
• Simultaneous submissions are allowed but will become ineligible should they win a prize elsewhere or be published prior to the date of prize giving. Entry fees will not be refunded. You must inform us immediately should your entry be published or win a prize elsewhere.
• Entries submitted posthumously are not eligible.
• Entries must be a minimum of 500 words and a maximum of 1250 words. The theme is entirely open. Title is not included in the line count.
• We will disqualify entries if they are named or over the line limit. If you forget to add the title or line count your entry will NOT be disqualified.


Entries
• Please use a good-sized text (12pt preferred), and clear typeface (e.g., Times New Roman, Arial, Courier, or Comic Sans) as a courtesy to our judge, with single spacing between lines and double spacing between paragraphs.
• All entries are judged anonymously. Your name or any contact details must NOT appear on your entry. Please put your name, title, and contact details on the booking form only. Please do not include your name in the file name.

The results are final and correspondence will not be entered into over the results. All entrants will be informed of the results.  

At our discretion, the winning entry will be published on the Hay Writers Circle website. Publication may prevent eligibility for future competitions. All rights remain with the author.  

The entry form and full competition details can be downloaded here –

Time get get writing! Good luck!