*EXTENDED DEADLINE* Winter Writing Competition

Welcome to CWS’ Winter Writing Competition! This is a loosely-themed competition (prompt below) to celebrate writing of all kinds—from prose to poetry to screenplays and more! Submissions open on 15 December 2025 09:00 and NOW CLOSE 02 FEBRUARY 2026 23:00, and results will be announced 02 March 2026, both online, by email, and via our Instagram! Depending on the number of submissions received, a ‘Top Ten’ shortlist may be curated, and from there a ‘Top Three’ will be selected by our judges.

Members can submit for FREE.

Prompt: What does the snow obscure?

Prizes:

1st place: £25 Waterstones Gift card

2nd place: £10 Waterstones Gift card

3rd place: Funky sticker set

Submission rules and guidelines:

1. All ENSA and CWS-specific rules and guidelines must be followed within submissions.This means no explicit sexual content is permitted, and Artificial Intelligence cannot be used at any point of the creative process.
2. All submissions must be a MAXIMUM of 1500 words. Scripts and screenplays, however, must be a maximum of eight pages. There is no minimum word or page count.
3. Submissions must be submitted before the deadline; any late submissions will not be accepted.
4. Entrants are limited to ONE submission. Any additional submissions by the same person will not be counted.
5. Submissions must be in PDF format.
6. Please add any trigger or content warnings to the top of your document, if necessary. Common content warnings include, but are not limited to: graphic violence, self-harm and mental health issues, blood, animal abuse, death, addiction, as well as many more.

Any submissions breaking one or more of these rules will be disqualified.

How to submit:

CWS members: Email your submission to napiercreativewritingsoc@gmail.com as a PDF and include your student ID somewhere alongside it.

Non-CWS members: Email your submission to napiercreativewritingsoc@gmail.com as a PDF and include evidence of your ticket pruchase, such as a screenshot or receipt.

Our lovely judges are:

Our very own, President of ENSA, Evan Eghan, Glasgow-based comic book writer, John Lees, and author and creative writing tutor, Stuart Johnstone!

Check our instagram for more updates on the competition. We can't wait to see your entries!