Perfectly Formed is our first short story competition, in association with Pan Macmillan and the Arvon Foundation.Want to have your work read by thousands of book lovers and get professional guidance for your writing career? Then enter Perfectly Formed, our first short story competition, in association with Pan Macmillan and the Arvon Foundation.

The competition

Books Quarterly is proud to announce the launch of the inaugural Waterstone’s Books Quarterly short story competition, Perfectly Formed: the search for the best unpublished writer in the country who can create a story that is small but... perfectly formed.

We’re looking for the best short story of 2,000 words or less. All our readers are eligible, as long as you’re over 16 and haven’t had fiction professionally published before. Your short story can be about any subject and in any fiction genre, be it drama, comedy, crime, historical or modern – just make it punchy, original and imaginative.

The prize will be judged by: Waterstone’s booksellers; the Books Quarterly and Waterstones.com teams; Arvon Centre Director Claire Berliner; Editorial Director Will Atkins of Pan Macmillan and its top Macmillan New Writing discoveries, James McCreet, Ann Weisgarber and Brian McGilloway:

How to enter

To submit your entry to Perfectly Formed, click below and attach the document of your original story of 2,000 words or less (please read the terms and conditions for details of format, entry requirements and deadlines). Remember to include your name, address and telephone number with your entry.

The winner will see their work published in the October issue of Books Quarterly to our readership of more than a quarter of a million, and online at www.macmillannewwriting.com, www.arvonfoundation.org, Wbqonline.com and Waterstones.com. But that’s just the start. The winner will be invited to attend an exclusive publisher’s lunch with Will Atkins, Editorial Director at Pan Macmillan, and author James McCreet to gain feedback and ideas on where to take their writing career in the future. And just to top things off, they will receive £200-worth of quality reading from Pan Macmillan of their choice.

Further details here.

London Comedy Writers does not endorse any of the competitions or opportunities listed on this site and cannot be held responsible for their administration. We provide these links in good faith. You must make your own judgment and do your own research before entering any competition or partaking in any opportunity. If you have had a bad experience with any of these competitions or events listed on the website, please contact us so it can be removed.