Writing prizes general guidelines 2023 to 2024

Entry for the 2024 to 2025 academic year is currently closed. We will open for submissions soon.

How to submit your entry

Please email your entry to the Writing Prizes address (writing.prizes@ed.ac.uk).

If you are entering more than one prize, you need to send a separate email for each submission.

Email the Writing Prizes address

What to include in your email

1. The subject line of your email should be the name of the prize, followed by the title of your work.

For example, if you’re submitting for the Grierson Verse Prize and your work is titled “The Wing of Azrael”, your subject line would be: Grierson Verse Prize - The Wing of Azrael

2. The body of your email should contain the following pieces of information:

  • Your name
  • The title of your work
  • The name of the prize
  • Your university email address (this is crucial if you are emailing from a non-university address)
  • For the Grierson Verse Prize, please include what verse form you have used.

The email should also contain one of the following sentences, which confirms you are eligible for the price:

  • Grierson Verse Prize: either “I am a matriculated student of the University of Edinburgh” or “I am a matriculated student of the University of Aberdeen”
  • Lewis Edwards Memorial Prize: “I am a matriculated undergraduate student of the University of Edinburgh”
  • Sloan Prize: either “I am a matriculated student of the University of Edinburgh” or “I am a graduate of the University of Edinburgh of less than three years’ standing”

Please do not include any other information in your email (ie your biography).

3. Your entry (the actual piece of prose or poetry) should be a document (pdf, doc, or docx.) attached to your email.

  • All entries are judged anonymously, so please check that your name isn't anywhere in this document. 
  • The document’s file name should be the prize name followed by the title of your piece, for example: Grierson Verse Prize-Wing of Azrael.
  • Please include a header on every page with the prize name, title, and page number, for example: Grierson Verse Prize-Wing of Azrael p. 1.
  • Font should be easy to read - try using Arial or Times New Roman, 12-point.
  • Prose should be double spaced. Poetry can be single spaced.
  • For the Grierson Verse Prize, please note what verse form was used above your poem.
  • For the Sloan Prize, please put your entry first followed by your statement about the dialect.

If you accidentally forget to attach your document, please send a new email with all of the required information included.

After you submit

You will receive an auto-reply from writing.prizes@ed.ac.uk to confirm your entry has been received. Please note that if you send more than one email (multiple entries or resubmission of an incorrect entry), you will only receive one auto-reply. 

If there’s anything technically wrong with your entry, ie the document won’t open or has been corrupted, or if you forgot to attach the document, we will email you to ask you to resubmit. (Please note: the resubmission must be received by the prize deadline.)

Shortlisted entrants and winners will be notified by email by Wednesday 3 April 2024. If you have not heard from us by the deadline, your submission was not shortlisted.

Good luck and thank you for entering!

Do you have a question?

If you need further advice or have any issues with your submission, please get in touch with Writer in Residence Michael Pedersen.

Email Michael Pedersen