V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize

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 Full details 

A £1,000 Prize for the best unpublished short story of the year. We are grateful to ALCS for their support of the Prize.

The 2026 Prize

The RSL V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize seeks to find the best unpublished short story of the year.

The 2026 V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize is now open for entries and will close on Thursday 28 August at 5pm. This year’s judges are Kirsty Gunn, Anjali Joseph, and Tom Vowler. 

Please ensure you have read and understood the V.S. Pritchett Prize Eligibility and Guidelines prior to entering.

Submit Your Entry

Entries for low-income writers

The RSL is committed to increasing accessibility and supporting writers of all incomes. As such, we are offering 50 free entries to low-income writers based in the UK.

To apply for a free entry to this year’s prize please e-mail cai.watson-oshea@rsliterature.org using the subject ‘Free VSP Entry Application’ and in the body of the email include your name, postcode and one line on why you are eligible for a free entry, such as being in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance, Disability Benefit, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Housing Benefit, or a full-time student or carer. All details will be kept in the strictest confidence and have no bearing on your Prize entry.

Applicants have until 5pm on Friday 01 August to apply for a free entry. However, we recommend applying earlier as these entries are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. You will be informed by email as to whether you have been accepted and then given instructions on how to enter. Please do not send your story to us prior to this. Successful applicants will have until 5pm on Thursday 28 August (the same as the general entry deadline) to submit their story to the competition.

Please note, if successful you can only submit one free entry into the competition. Additional stories will need to submitted via the general submission form (£8.00 per entry).

If you are unable to complete the online entry form for other reasons, please contact Cai Watson O’Shea, Digital Officer: cai.watson-oshea@rsliterature.org

History

This Prize for the best unpublished short story of the year was founded by the RSL at the beginning of the new millennium to commemorate the centenary of an author widely regarded as the finest English short-story writer of the 20th century, and to preserve a tradition encompassing Pritchett’s warmth of feeling and mastery of narrative.

 

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