First Story recently challenged best-selling and prize-winning authors, including Michael Morpurgo, Neil Gaiman, Elif Shafak, our Ambassador, Tracy Chevalier and many others, to pen original six-word …
Competitions
Eco-poetry competition winners 2023
This year's eco-poetry competition saw thought-provoking entries from students in First Story partner schools across England. Young writers' concern about the environment was highlighted in their …
100 Word Story Competition Winners 2023
Over 550 students at First Story partner schools entered this year's 100 Word Story Competition and took on the challenge of writing a captivating story in only 100 words. Competition sponsors Vintage …
Eco-poetry Competition now open for 2023
Could your students write a winning poem about the natural world? Our Eco-poetry Competition is now open to all students at First Story partner schools. Your Writer-in-Residence can help shortlist …
Six Word Story 2022 winner, national finalists and special mentions announced
Our first competition of the academic year, the Six Word Story competition is a challenge in concise storytelling. Inspired by Ernest Hemingway's famous six word story "For sale: baby shoes, never …
100 Word Story Competition now open for 2023
Could your students write a captivating story in just 100 words? Judged by literary experts at Vintage, our 100 Word Story Competition is now open to all students at First Story partner …
Eco-poetry competition winners 2022
The environment is a frequent focus in the creative writing produced by First Story participants. Every year the contents of our published anthologies demonstrate how much young people care about the …
100 Word Story Competition Winners 2022
The entries for this year's 100-Word Story Competition were as vibrant and thought provoking as ever. We were completely blown away by the creativity and craft of the young writers who took …
Six Word Story 2021 shortlist and winners announced
The 2021/22 academic year got off with a bang thanks to our annual Six Word Story Competition. Inspired by Ernest Hemingway's six word story, we challenge our young writers to entice us in just six …
Celebrating our very first set of ecopoetry competition winners!
What a year it’s been! A year more turbulent than ever with the effects of a global pandemic creating an acute social, political and economic crisis more pressing than any other in living memory for …
100-Word Story Competition winners 2021 – What a year!
It’s almost unimaginable to think back to last year’s 100-Word Story Competition, the deadline for which closed just before the first ever lockdown. How things have changed since! How our stories have …
Six Word Story 2020 shortlist and winners announced
This year’s Six Word Story Competition is a real reflection of life during the pandemic. Some of the stories are funny and whacky; some of the stories (in fact, maybe most) are quite dark – perhaps …
Announcing the 100-Word Story Competition 2019/20 winners
It’s been another brilliant year for our 100-Word Story competition. Our fabulous judges over at Vintage books have picked their top three favourite entries from those submitted from across the …
Regional Writing Stars – Autumn term
This autumn, First Story ran a fun new bi-annual competition called Regional Writing Stars. This competition is designed to highlight regional voices and provides us – the team at First Story, across …
Watch: Six Word Story 2019 finalists showcase
In December, we piloted an exciting new platform to showcase and celebrate the shortlisted young writers in our annual Six Word Story competition. For the first time, 12 finalists saw their …
BBC Young Writers’ Award 2020 Launches
It’s that time of year once more: the BBC Young Writers’ Award is now open! We're encouraging young writers, aged 13–18, from across the country to submit your best short stories (up to 1,000 words) …
Six Word Story 2019 shortlist and winner announced
It's been another great year for our Six Word Story competition. With the sheer variety and ingenuity on offer, shortlisting this year was tough. Somehow we settled on our top 12, before handing over …
#Merky Books Collaboration
Curated by Stormzy, #Merky Books is a home for a new generation of voices. An imprint of Penguin Random House UK, #Merky is dedicated to publishing the best new fiction, non-fiction and poetry. It …
100-Word Story 2018 Winners
Now in its fifth year, our 100-Word Story competition is open to all First Story students, aged 11-18. Entries can be prose or poetry and can be on any theme. Judged by Vintage, the competition gives …
100-Word Story 2017 Winners
First Story and Vintage are delighted to announce the winner of the 2017-18 First Story 100-Word Story Competition. Armed with only 100 words, First Story students have come up with some stunning …
First Story has partnered with the BBC
The BBC recently announced First Story and the University of Cambridge as the new partners for its short story awards, in a three-year collaboration starting in 2018. First Story will support the …
The winner of our Letters Live Six-Word Story Competition
A big thank you to all those who entered the Six-Word Story Competition that First Story ran at Letters Live – there was a delightful array of funny, moving and clever entries that we hugely enjoyed …
Our 100-Word Story Competition Winners are in The Bookseller
The winners of this year's First Story’s 100-Word Story Competition, judged by Vintage Books, have been featured in The Bookseller. This is just one more way to give them a huge …
100-Word Story 2015 Winners
The judges at Vintage Publishing were hugely impressed with the inventiveness and creativity of all entries, and after a long deliberation process we are excited to announce the overall winner and the …
