To celebrate the upcoming Bracknell festival of reading, we're inviting adults and young adults to enter our short story writing competition.
The theme is:
Moments that matter: a Bracknell Forest story
Write a short story of up to 500 words inspired by a moment that changed something, meant something, or simply stayed with you.
Your story could be funny, mysterious, romantic, dramatic, magical, frightening or anything in between.
Take inspiration from the people, places and landscapes of Bracknell Forest, and let your imagination lead the way.
Prizes
One winner and 2 runners-up will be selected and will receive book vouchers:
- first prize: £50
- 2 runners up: £25 each
The Mayor of the Borough of Bracknell Forest, Councillor Peter Frewer will be a guest judge.
As well as the winners and runners-up, 10 shortlisted stories will be selected and displayed at Bracknell Library as part of the festival of reading.
How to enter
Entry is free. Submit your story of no more than 500 words by Sunday 25 October 2026.
To submit your story, email bracknell.library@bracknell-forest.gov.uk with the subject line “Short story competition”.
Winners and runners-up will be announced before Bracknell’s festival of reading. The prizes will be presented at Bracknell Library on Saturday 14 November.
Full terms and conditions of entry
Eligibility and entry
The following rules apply:
- the competition is open to residents of Bracknell Forest aged 16 years and above
- entrants must provide their full name, address, telephone number and email address with their entry
- only one entry per person is permitted - if more than one entry is submitted, only the entrant’s first submission will be considered
Entries
Entry rules include the following:
- entries may be typed or handwritten and must be submitted by email to bracknell.library@bracknell-forest.gov.uk in Microsoft Word or PDF format
- entries must be written in English
- stories must be the entrant’s original work and must be written solely by the entrant - collaborative entries are not permitted
- entries must be no more than 500 words
- entries must be received by 11:59pm on Sunday 25 October 2026
Judging and shortlisting
For judging and shortlisting:
- entries will be shortlisted by members of our book-loving library groups and library staff
- a guest judge will select the winners and runners-up from the shortlisted entries.
- entries will be judged on:
- creativity and originality
- plot and storytelling
- characters
- reader enjoyment
- the 10 shortlisted stories will be displayed at Bracknell Library
- shortlisted entrants will be notified by Monday 9 November
- unsuccessful entrants will not be contacted
Winners and prizes
For winners and prizes:
- the winner will receive a £50 book voucher, and 2 runners-up will receive a £25 book voucher each
- winners and runners-up will be announced on 13 November 2026 through social media
- winners will also be contacted directly by email
- prizes will be presented at Bracknell Library on Saturday 14 November 2026
- winners may be invited to have their photograph taken for promotional purposes
- photographs will only be taken and used with signed consent
Content, originality and use of AI
The rules about content, originality and use of AI include:
- entries must be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe the copyright or other rights of any third party
- entries containing material that is considered inappropriate, offensive or otherwise unsuitable may be rejected at the discretion of the promoter
- entrants must not use generative AI tools to create any part of their entry
- any entry found to have been created using generative AI will be disqualified
Promoter
The promoter is Bracknell Forest Library Service.
Promotion
By entering the competition, entrants agree that their story in its entirety may be used for competition-related publicity and promotion.
This includes:
- through display in Bracknell Library
- on Bracknell Forest Libraries’ social media
- on other promotional channels
Disclaimer
If, for any reason, this competition is not capable of running as planned, the promoter reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the competition. For example, this could be because of:
- infection by computer virus
- bugs
- tampering
- unauthorised intervention
- fraud
- technical failures
- any other causes beyond the control of the promoter which corrupt or affect the administration security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this competition
If an individual tampers with the entry process, the promoter reserves the right (in its sole discretion) to:
- disqualify that person
- take any action that may be available
- cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the competition
Data protection and consent
The data protection and consent terms and conditions include:
- personal information provided as part of an entry will be collected and used for the purposes of administering the competition, contacting entrants and providing competition-related communications
- by submitting an entry by email, entrants confirm that they have read and agree to the competition terms and consent to sharing data under terms of our library services privacy notice which states how personal data is collected, stored and used
- participation in the competition is voluntary
- entrants may request the removal of their personal information from the competition by emailing ls.management@bracknell-forest.gov.uk - once a valid request has been received, personal information will be removed in accordance with applicable data protection requirements
