The YCAA (Yeovil Community Arts Association) provides an opportunity for writers from around the world to enter our writing competition. The aims of the Yeovil Literary Prize are:

• to promote Creative Writing,
• to provide a genuine opportunity for aspiring writers, everywhere
• to support the YCAA in its future role by raising funds to support the arts

The Yeovil Literary Prize, started in 2002, has gained recognition as an established fixture in the international literary calendar. It fulfils its aims. The response to the Prize is magnificent, with quality writing being submitted from all corners of the globe. Many talented writers thrive on the opportunity to develop their craft through competition with other writers. We are proud to offer an award to novelists, as well as for writers of work that does not fit the usual writing categories with our ‘Writing Without Restriction’. We welcome short stories of every genre, and poetry. We have recently launched a new category for authors of Children’s and YA novels. If you are proud of something you have written, then enter it and see what happens next. Click on our SUCCESSES tab to see what happened to novels and inspired writers after entering the Yeovil Literary Prize.

The YCAA offers an additional award of £100 for the Western Gazette Best Local Writer, giving an added incentive for local writers who live within the distribution area of the Western Gazette to enter.

There are two ways to enter, pay by cheque using the postal system or online using PayPal, BACS or IBAN; its ease of use has been proven by new entrants. We look forward to receiving and reading your work when the contest opens on 1st January 2023.

All profits from this competition are used within the community to sponsor local young people who are studying the arts, to support various art projects, and to host cultural events. We reach out to all the arts and also host an annual YCAA Booker Debate in partnership with the Yeovil Waterstones store.

Locally, we sponsor children’s writing workshops and short story competitions; nurturing young writers has shown us the written word is thriving and has a rosy future.

We are a partner in the annual Yeovil Literary Festival. The tenth Yeovil Literary Festival will commence on 26th October and run until 30th October 2023. The YCAA has forged a strong bond with The Octagon Theatre and Westlands, where we host events. Full details of the YCAA activities are available on our website www.yeovilarts.co.uk where you can also access our link to the Octagon Theatre website.

The Yeovil Literary Prize is managed by a dedicated team of volunteers and all details of how to enter can be found on www.yeovilprize.co.uk

The writing competition runs from 1st January and closes on 31st May each year.

Send postal entries to:

YCAA, The Octagon Theatre, YEOVIL, BA20 1UX