ENTER THE PRIZE
The Nero New Writers Prize in association with Brunel University of London aims to discover emerging writing talent, recognising unpublished and aspiring writers and supporting them as they develop into the writing stars of the future.
Entrants are asked to submit a previously unpublished short story (a piece of fiction or narrative non-fiction) of max 5,000 words. It can be written for children or adult audiences and should be a self-contained piece of work.
A shortlist of five will be announced on 22nd October 2026, followed by an overall winner at an awards ceremony at Brunel on 18th November 2026.
In addition, the winner of a new award, the Brunel Prize – dedicated to students who are currently studying at, or have recently graduated from, Brunel University of London – will be announced alongside the Nero New Writers Prize shortlist in October. Both winners will be celebrated at the ceremony at Brunel on 18th November 2026.
The winner of the Nero New Writers Prize will receive a total cash prize of £3,000, presented at a ceremony at Brunel University of London on Wednesday 18th November. They will also receive a scholarship to study for an MA in Creative Writing at Brunel and an introductory meeting with a literary agent, facilitated by the university.
Four shortlisted authors will receive £1,000 each.
The winner of the Brunel Prize will receive a cash prize of £1,000, presented at the ceremony on Wednesday 18th November. They will also receive a scholarship to study for an MA in Creative Writing at Brunel.
This form is a two step process, please insert and submit all your details before uploading your submission.
Submissions for the Nero New Writers Prize and the Brunel Prize are now open and will close at 5pm BST on Friday 11th September. All entrants should use the same submissions form to enter their work.
Please carefully read the Terms and Conditions of entry before preparing your submission.
The personal data captured in this form will be used to enter a submission to the 2026 Nero New Writers Prize. We take data privacy seriously and handle all personal data securely and in accordance with our Privacy Policy, nerobookawards.com/gdpr. We will share this personal data with our partners who administer and promote the Nero New Writers Prize, namely The Booksellers Association and Riot Communications. We may also publish basic detail on shortlistees and winners on nerobookawards.com and on the Awards social channels (Instagram, X and Facebook). The personal data will be retained for one year from the completion of the 2026 Awards cycle. Authors should be made aware of this Data Protection Statement in advance of Award entry. I have read and understood the above Data Protection Statement.
Any questions? Email submissions@nerobookawards.com
— Please select from the dropdown —FictionChildren's FictionNarrative Non-Fiction
Author Name Although entries will be assessed anonymously, they must be submitted in the author’s own name. Author Email This email address will be sent a copy of the submission confirmation. Author Contact Telephone Number Author Postal Address Author’s Date of Birth: All entrants must be a minimum age of 18 years old on 1st August 2026. Eligible authors must be alive on 1st August 2026. Author’s Country of Birth: UK or Irish nationality is not a requirement of entry. Author’s City/town of residence: The Prize is open to submissions from writers who are citizens of, or living in, the UK and Ireland.
Title of Story: Word Count: Entries must not exceed the maximum word count of 5,000 words.
By submitting this form, you confirm that: Your entry is:
written by a single author.
original and entirely the author’s own work.
not previously published elsewhere in any form; in print or online or broadcast.
not written with the aid of any artificial intelligence.
not infringing the copyright or any other rights of any third party. It must not be libelous, unlawful or defamatory of any living person or corporate body. The author is entirely responsible for any potential copyright or other legal issues in their story.
Note: Translations of work already published in another language are not eligible.
By submitting this form, you confirm that:
I have not included any identifying details within my PDF submission. If I do, I will automatically be disqualified from the competition.
I have not had any other pieces of fiction or narrative non-fiction published elsewhere
If shortlisted, I will be contacted personally by email or by telephone using the details provided at the time of entry. If the Prize management team is unable to contact me despite making reasonable attempts to do so, they will be entitled to shortlist another entry.
If I am shortlisted, I will ensure my attendance at the Nero New Writers Prize ceremony in November 2026. I agree to be available to undertake a mutually acceptable programme of activities to promote the Nero New Writers Prize particularly immediately after the announcement of the winner has been made.
By submitting an entry, I agree to ensure that, in the event that any winning or shortlisted entry is subsequently published, including in any anthology publications, it will carry Nero New Writers Prize approved credits if requested to do so, provided that all materials bearing such approved credits, logos or trademarks are pre-approved by the Nero Book Awards management team. Such accreditation, if required, will be provided to the winning and shortlisted authors.
This year, there will be an additional award, the Brunel Prize – dedicated solely to students who are currently studying at or have graduated from Brunel in the last two years. The winner will receive a cash prize of £1,000, plus a scholarship to study for an MA in Creative Writing at Brunel.
If you are currently studying at, or have recently graduated from, Brunel University of London (since 24th July 2024), please tick the box below to be automatically entered into that award. All other entries will be entered into the Nero New Writers Prize.
I am entering the Brunel Prize. I confirm that I am an undergraduate student, or that I have graduated from Brunel since 24th July 2024.
** Please note that the submission process can be quite lengthy, depending on the speed of your connection.
After pressing “Submit Details”, please do not leave the page or close this browser window until you see confirmation of your submission.
If you experience any problems with the submission process, please contact submissions@nerobookawards.com
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