***STOP PRESS***
Hay Writers’ Circle
Frances Copping Prize for Fiction 2026
***Submissions Now OPEN!***
Submissions are now invited for our annual Fiction Competition, The Frances Copping Memorial Prize 2026, named in fond remembrance of our Lifetime President who sadly passed away in 2020.
The competition is open to everyone, members of Hay Writers’ Circle and non-members too. Pieces of 500-1250 words on any fiction theme are accepted. Closing date for entries is Tuesday 2nd November, 2026. Prizes are awarded for first, second and third place.
This year we are thrilled to announce that our judge this year is the wonderful Kathy Biggs.
“Kathy’s first novel, The Luck, was published by Honno Press in October 2022.
Her second novel, Scrap, was published by Honno Press in June 2023. It was Welsh Books Council book of the month in July ’23. It is currently being optioned for film.
Her third novel, Attention All Shipping, was published in hardback on May 8th 2025 by The Borough Press/Harper Collins and also in Germany by DTV Verlag. It was released in paperback on May 21st 2026.
She has recently finished a fourth novel and half way through a fifth novel.
In addition to writing:
Kathy has been married for over forty years and has two children – her son lives locally and works as a gardener. Her daughter lives in Yorkshire and is a nurse.
She is a keen, but often overwhelmed, gardener; loves river and sea swimming; Kathys play Samba with Llanwrtyd based Small Town Samba; Kathy and her husband have recently bought a Fiat Ducato van and have converted it into a camper van.
For full competition guidelines and the entry form can be found on the following download :
You can contact writers4haycomp@gmail.com if you have any questions or queries.
Click on the link below to download the entry form :
Hay Writers Circle:
Frances Copping Memorial Prize for Fiction, 2026
Our annual Hay Writers’ Circle Fiction Competition is officially accepting entries!
Anyone can enter this competition, and the theme is entirely open.
Please follow the guidelines below if you would like to enter.
You can contact writers4haycomp@gmail.com if you have any questions or queries.
Criteria
- The competition welcomes entries from writers across the globe writing in English, aged 18 years old and over at the time of the closing date.
- Entries must be entirely the work of the entrant. By submitting you are confirming that the work is your own. AI-generated or plagiarised work is prohibited. 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.
- Word count for this competition is 500 words minimum and 1,250 words maximum. The theme is entirely open. Title is not included in the word count.
- We will disqualify entries if they are named or over the word limit. If you forget to add the title or word count your entry will NOT be disqualified.
- Alterations cannot be made to poems once entered, so please ensure you send the correct version. You are advised to keep a copy of your work.
- The closing date for entries is 23.59 hours, 2nd November, 2026.
Any entries received after this date will not be considered.
Entries
- Please use a good-sized text (12pt preferred), clear typeface (e.g., Times New Roman, Arial, Courier, or Comic Sans), and double spacing, as a courtesy to our judge.
- 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.
- Please put the title and word count at the beginning of your entry. Please number your pages and secure them together if you are submitting a hard copy.
- We would prefer entries via email but will also accept hard copies.
- Via email: Send your entry to writers4haycomp@gmail.com as a word .doc, .docx, .rtf, or .pdf attachment, with a completed copy of the form overleaf attached. Please write ‘competition entry’ in the subject box.
- Via post: Send your printed entry to – The HWC Competition Secretary, 4 Cwrt-y-Camden, Brecon, Powys, LD3 7RR with a completed copy of the form overleaf attached.
Payment
- Entry fee is £5 for a single entry, £10 for a maximum of two entries.
- Please pay by BACS payment and ensure that your payment is received, with your name on the reference, before 2nd November, 2027. Cheques will not be accepted.
- The first prize is £50, second £20 and third prize £10.
- BACS payment can be made to: Hay and District Writers’ Circle, Natwest Bank,
Sort code 53-50-31, Account no 52557499. Please put your name as the reference
Results
- The results will be announced in late December, 2026. Results are final and correspondence will not be entered into over the results. All entrants will be informed of the results.
- No entrant may win more than one prize in any one competition. If the judge includes more than one anonymised entry by the same writer in the winners’ list, the lower-placed entry will be eliminated to allow the maximum number of writers to win prizes.
- At our discretion, the winning entry will be published on the Hay Writers’ Circle website with the winner’s consent. Publication may prevent eligibility for other competitions. All rights remain with the author.