Writing Prizes

This prize, which is worth £900, is awarded to a matriculated student of the University of Aberdeen or the University of Edinburgh. The prize money will be awarded in full to the winner, unless there are co-winners, in which case it will be split evenly.

It is given for a poem or series of poems, using any recognised verse form other than free verse, totalling no more than 80 lines on a given theme. When submitting your entry, please note which form you used in your email and in the document above your poem.

The theme for 2026 is "Fracture & Repair", and any valid interpretation of the theme is acceptable.

This prize was established in memory of Lewis Edwards, who died while a student of English Literature at the University of Edinburgh. It is open to any matriculated undergraduate student of the University.

The award, which is worth £1,400, is offered for a composition in English verse (including free verse) or prose (fiction). Poetry submissions must be no more than 80 lines, and prose (fiction) submissions must be no longer than 2,000 words. Please feel free to not use the maximum word capacity.

The prize money will be awarded in full to the winner, unless there are co-winners, in which case it will be split evenly.

This prize, which is worth £1,500, is awarded annually for a prose or verse composition in Lowland Scots vernacular to a matriculated student of the University of Edinburgh, or to a graduate of the University of Edinburgh of less than three years’ standing. The prize money will be awarded in full to the winner, unless there are co-winners, in which case it will be split evenly

Poetry submissions must be no more than 80 lines, and prose (fiction) submissions must be no longer than 2,000 words. Please feel free to not use the maximum word capacity.

You should include a statement about the particular dialect chosen as accuracy plays a big part in determining the award (along with the literary and imaginative interest of the composition).