Eligibility:

Any resident of the Nordic Region* that does not use English as their native language can enter the awards.

The Nordic Region consists of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland, as well as the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland.

The Awards:

The Nordic English Writing Awards (NEWA) will reward writers in the genre of the Short Story. There is a category especially for students (who may be asked to prove they are in full-time education at the time of entry).

Format:

The word limit for submitted stories is 2,000 maximum (Title does not count). There is no minimum word count.
Entrants must add a word count to first page. The title is not included in the word count.
Do NOT add cover or separate title page.
The name of the writer should NOT appear anywhere on the document. The judging is completely blind, so as to be fair to all entrants. Including any identifiers on the entered story will result in disqualification with no refund.
Use a clear (easy to read) font, 12pt, black.
Number the pages at the bottom of the page
Save the file as a PDF document. Maximum allowed file size is 2Mb
The file name should be the title of the story – for example MyStory.pdf but DO NOT include your name in the filename.

Fees:

The entry fee is €20 (€10 student rate) per short story. There is no limit to the number of submissions. Payment is via PayPal or by debit or credit card.

Writers can enter as often as they wish but a separate entry must be completed and paid for.

Judging:

The judges’ decision is final and, due to the volume of entries received, no individual correspondence can be entered into. Judges are unable to comment on individual entries. Judging is fair, blind and unbiased. NEWA reserves the right to change the panel of judges without notice.

Copyright:

Worldwide copyright of each entry remains with the author but NEWA has rights to publish the winning short stories on its website or in a physical anthology.

Results and Awards:

The winners will be announced before the end of the year.

Prizes:

The prizes for the Nordic English Writing Awards (NEWA) are as follows:

1st place Winning Short Story - €250 cash prize (non-student category only).

The Winner will also receive a custom designed NEWA laurel and certificate.

1st place Winner of the Student Short Story will receive Mentoring from Award Winning Writer, NEWA Co-founder and Judge, Fergal O'Byrne. This mentoring will be four online one hour meetings with the winner, to develop the winning story. The Student Winner will also receive a custom designed laurel and certificate.

Each short-listed entry will receive a custom designed laurel.

Please Note: There is no cash prize in the Student Category.

Receipts:

Emailed entries will receive a confirmation as proof of entry. Please check your spam folder as emails can land there.

The Rules:

The genres of writing accepted is Short Story only.
Any resident of the Nordic Region that does not use English as their native language can enter the awards (proof may be requested if Shortlisted), aged 16 and over at the time of the closing date.
All entries must be written in English. Entries must be entirely your own work. Any evidence to the contrary will result in immediate disqualification.
Applicants may enter both prizes but must apply separately and pay the fee each time. There is no limit on the number of entries so long as the fee is paid with each one.
Submissions must be standalone and cannot be extracts from a larger piece.
A maximum of 2,000 words per Short Story entry. No minimum. Title not included in the word count.
Stories must not have been published, self-published or accepted for publication in print or online, or have won or been placed in another competition at any time.
Submissions will be judged anonymously, so please ensure that your name does not appear anywhere on your work. The inclusion of any identifying items (Name, Email, Phone number) will immediately disqualify the entry and no refund will be provided.
Due to the volume of applications the judges decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into following the results.

Key dates:

Submissions CLOSED until further notice.

Please follow us on Social Media to stay up to date with latest news.

* Please note: we reserve the right to change any aspect of our prizes at any point during the submission or judging process or to not award a prize, if we choose.

Nordic English Writing Awards: Rules and Eligibility Criteria