Bury Lit Fest
Creative Writing Competition 2025

Rules of the Competition

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Entry

• Creative writing entries must not exceed 800 words.  Please show word count.

• The title of the story & entrants' name must appear as a header on the first page and all pages should be numbered. Entrants names will be removed and a random code applied for identification before entries are submitted to judges.

• Entrants to the competition must be resident in East Anglia (Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex), UK. 

• Entries must be in English and must be double spaced where appropriate.

• Entry to the competition is free for those under 18.

• Entry to the competition for those over the age of 18 is £7.50 payable on entry. All monies collected from competition fees will be used directly to fund our programme of live events for schools and free tickets for children for all of our live events during Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival 2025.

• All entries must be submitted via the BLF website https://www.burylitfest.co.uk with the online entry form and fee (if applicable) paid at the time of application.

• Entries will be judged on the creativity of the writing not on the standard of grammar or accuracy of spelling. Judges will not be looking for a perfectly polished piece but for something that shows imagination and writing skill.

• Entries must be received by midnight on 30th June 2025. Any entries received outside these specified times and dates, and any entries that do not meet the requirements of the competition rules and will not be eligible for entry to the competition.

• An entrant may only submit one entry. Further entries will be disqualified.

• By submitting their work entrants undertake and warrant that their entry will consist of their own original work and will not infringe the intellectual property rights of anyone or use AI. If a third party’s material is used – such as lyrics of a song – the entrant will secure the necessary permission and will provide it on request. The entrant further warrants that the work will not contain any material which is defamatory, private or confidential or which is unlawful in any way. Any entry in breach of this clause will be disqualified by the Judges.

• Entries will not be accepted via agents, third parties or in bulk - except in the case of schools by pre-arrangement. Teachers/schools please email burylitfest1@gmail.com for more information.

• Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival is not responsible for contacting or responding to entrants who provide unclear or incomplete information or for entries that are lost, misdirected, delayed or destroyed.

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Rights & Data

• Though copyright in the stories will remain with their authors, the Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival (“BLF”) reserves the right to use all or any part of the stories for publicity purposes and authors must agree to their stories being published in the Bury Free Press and/or any other newspaper or magazine nominated by BLF.

• The names and email addresses of entrants will be collected by Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival and will be used in accordance with GDPR rules. Information will not be shared with anyone outside of the organisation.

• By ticking the 'I want to subscribe to the BLF Newsletter' you are agreeing to be added to the Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival mailing list to receive timely emails with updates on the activities of the BLF.

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Judging and Prizes

• The Judges’ decision is final.

• There will be one winner and one runner-up in each age category.

• All prizes are for the prize-winners use only and are non-transferable to another individual or year and cannot be exchanged for their monetary value.

• The Children's category winning prizes of author events at the winners school will only be available on 8th/9th or 10th October 2025 at a school within a 15th mile radius or Bury St Edmunds, or at an agreed location within Bury St Edmunds- time and details TBMA with the school and are non-transferable to another date and cannot be exchanged for their monetary value.

• Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival is not able to provide transport for any event that does not take place on school grounds.

• The Adult's category & Young Person U18 prize for the Creative Writing Workshop will take place on Saturday 11th October 2025 in Bury St Edmunds at a venue TBA and cannot be exchanges for their monetary value.

• No cash alternative or other alternatives to any prize will be provided.

• Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival reserve the right to not select any winner if a suitable entry that meets all the criteria set out above cannot be found.

• Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival reserves the right to cancel the competition and to alter the details of the Prizes or judging panels without notice.

By entering the competition, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Rules of The Competition, the Code of Conduct of Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival and Terms and Conditions of this website.

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Any disputes or claims (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of these Rules of the Competition shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of England, whose courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction.

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This competition is being organised by Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival CIO 1209140, 15 Northgate Avenue Bury St Edmunds IP32 6BB0.

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