Words for a Greener World Short Story Competition Terms and Conditions
By entering the Words for a Greener World Short Story Competition you agree to accept all of the terms and conditions below.
All entry instructions form part of the terms and conditions of this competition. Entries that do not comply will be disqualified.
This competition is open to anyone aged 7 to 16 years living or studying anywhere in Essex on 12 December 2025. Proof of age, identity and eligibility may be requested.
The responsible adult submitting the story on behalf of the entrant will be asked to provide the entrant’s name, age and date of birth and ensure that they have parental permission to do so.
Entries must be a fictional story of no more than 500 words. The story must be about anything related to the theme of climate change (however loosely.) Entrants can choose the title of their story.
Only two entries maximum per school class. Participating schools to select the two class entries and submit via the online entry form.
Only one entry per writer and stories cannot have multiple authors. If more than one story is submitted for a writer, only the first story submitted will be considered.
Entries should be typed in a clear font such as Arial or Helvetica in minimum 12pt, in English.
To submit an entry go to the online form at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WFAGWcompetitionentry.
You will be asked to attach a document. These must be submitted as a pdf only. Please use the title of the story as the document name. The name of the story MUST correspond to the name of the document you upload or the entry may be disqualified.
The title of the story should be included at the start of the document. The word count of the story should be included at the end of the document.
All entries are judged anonymously so the author’s name must not appear on the document itself.
The winning story will be published so it is important that entrants do not include any personal details about themselves.
All work submitted must be original, entirely the author’s own work, and not infringe the copyright or any other rights of any third party and not be defamatory of any living person or corporate body. Entries must not have been previously published in print or online or have been placed in any other writing competition.
By submitting an entry, each entrant (or their parent/guardian on their behalf) grants to Essex Book Festival a perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to edit, publish, translate, modify, adapt, make available and distribute the entry in any media now known or hereafter invented.
Entries must be suitable for a general audience and winning entries will be published on www.essexbookfestival.org.uk by Monday 9 March 2026.
No corrections can be made after submission.
Entry opens on 26 September 2025 and closes 11.59pm on 16 January 2026 (original deadline 12 December 2025 has been extended to 16 January 2026). Entries received after the closing date will not be considered.
Responsibility will not be accepted for corrupted, illegible, incomplete, lost or damaged entries, whether due to system error or otherwise.
The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. The judging will be fair, independent, and anonymous. There will be a team of judges including Essex Book Festival Director, Ros Green.
Details on the prizes awarded to the winners and runners up can be found on our website at https://essexbookfestival.org.uk/words-for-a-greener-world/.
Events may occur which render the awarding of the prizes impossible due to reasons beyond the control of Essex Book Festival. Essex Book Festival may vary, amend or suspend any of the prizes.
The competition winners and runners up will be announced on 28 February 2026. The teacher, parent or guardian of the winner will have 14 working days to confirm acceptance of their prize.
The winners agree to Essex Book Festival’s use of their name, age and town of residence in publicity material in relation to the competition. Only the story title, entrant’s first name and age will be published with an entry.
Essex Book Festival will use any data submitted by entrants only for the purposes as set out in Essex Book Festival’s privacy policy which can be found at: https://essexbookfestival.org.uk/privacy-policy/.
The Words for a Greener World Short Story Competition is not open to employees or trustees of Essex Book Festival or their direct family members.
Essex Book Festival may disqualify any entrant whose entry does not comply with these terms and conditions (in Essex Book Festival’s sole opinion) or who, in Essex Book Festival’s sole determination, has acted in a manner that is fraudulent, dishonest or unjust to other entrants.
Essex Book Festival reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions or cancel this competition at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, or if circumstances arise outside of its control.
These terms and conditions are subject to English Law and the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
Entrants will be deemed to have accepted these guidelines without reservation and to have agreed to be bound by them when entering this competition.
Download a free digital story-writing resource pack at essexbookfestival.org.uk/words-for-a-greener-world-learning-resource-pack/.