Solstice Nature Prize 2025 – Rules of Entry

Entry to the 2025 Solstice Nature Prize for Young Writers implies your acceptance of all rules and guidelines listed below.

1. Submissions to the Solstice Nature Prize must be your own original work and must not have been published elsewhere either online or in print. Writing will be checked for plagiarism.
2. You can write about anything related to the theme of the natural world, your relationship to it, or the challenges it faces (however loosely.)
3. Deadline for Nature Prize entries is midnight on 31^st October 2025 (including entries postmarked 31^st October 2025.)
4. Entries should be A4, typed in a clear font such as Arial or Helvetica in minimum 12pt, in English.

5. Entries must be a maximum of 500 words for short stories and blogs,
   and 40 lines for poetry.

6. Only one entry per writer.
7. The Solstice Nature Prize competition is open to young writers living in the UK.
8. All entries are judged anonymously so the writer’s name must not appear on the work itself. Your details will appear on the entry form only. Postal Entries must be sent to: Solstice Prize for Young Writers, c/o Writing East Midlands, Writing East Midlands Unit 4, The Garage Studios, 41-43 St Mary’s Gate, Nottingham NG1 1PU
9. Postal entries must be accompanied by an entry form – available to download from the website or requested via email: progs@writingeastmidlands.co.uk
10. Please ensure you use the correct postage. Writing East Midlands is unable to collect submissions that do not have the correct postage, and these will be returned to the Post Office.
11. If you require acknowledgement of receipt of your postal entry, please enclose a stamped addressed postcard marked MY SOLSTICE ENTRY HAS ARRIVED!
12. Online entries will only be accepted through Google Forms
13. Schools may submit multiple entries by post to the address above or by email, via special arrangement with progs@writingeastmidlands.co.uk
14. Entries will not be returned so please keep your own copies. All submissions are shredded and recycled at competition closing.
15. No corrections can be made after submission.
16. Eligibility: The Solstice Nature Prize for Young Writers is open to writers between the ages of 7 and 25 years of age – this must be their age on 31^st October 2025.
17. Prizes of £100 (in Amazon Vouchers) will be awarded in four age categories: 7-11 and 12-14, 15-17 and 18-25 years. There will also be a goody bag prize for one winner in each category who is resident in the East Midlands.
18. Entries must be entirely the work of the entrant and must not have been previously published in print or online or have been placed in any other writing competition.
19. All work submitted must be original, entirely the author’s own work, and not infringe the copyright or any other rights of any third party and not be defamatory of any living person or corporate body.
20. Work must not be produced or edited by Chat GPT or any other AI creation tool.
21. We reserve the right to disqualify entries, cancel, or void entries immediately if they suspect fraud, misrepresentation, or any breach of the Terms and Conditions (T&Cs). Such actions often lead to the forfeiture of prizes and, in some cases, the banning of the user from future competitions without refund of entry.
22. Entries must be suitable for a general audience and will be published on www.writingeastmidlands.co.uk
23. Parental Consent. All entrants must have the consent of their parent, schoolteacher, or appropriate adult to enter their work. Appropriate adults must signal their consent on the entry form. Signatories will be required to re-confirm their consent before the winner announcements on 21^st December 2025.
24. The Solstice Nature Prize is not open to employees or trustees of Writing East Midlands or their direct family members.

22. Winners and Announcements: The winner/s will be announced on 21^st December when the anthology including their work will be published online.
23. No written feedback will be given on any of the entries other than the 1st Prize winner or any correspondence entered into regarding the outcome of the competition by the judges or Writing East Midlands.
24. By submitting an entry for the Award, the entrant hereby acknowledges and agrees that the winning Solstice Nature Prize entries:

May be reviewed on the Writing East Midlands website in text and/or audio.
May be written about in any Writing East Midlands promotional material and that of any sponsors of the Solstice Prize for Young Writers.

25. It goes without saying that if the winners go on to publish their work, we’ll all be delighted!
26. The Judging: All entries are guaranteed to be read twice by a dedicated team of readers.
    -The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
    -The judging will be fair, independent, and anonymous.
    -The head of this year’s judging panel is  bestselling and multi-award-winning author Gill Lewis.
    -The judges’ decision is final.
27. The Prizes: 1^st in each age category: £100 in vouchers for each winner.
28. The winning writers, including three regional winners and five highly commended pieces in each age category, will receive goody bags and have their work published on www.writingeastmidlands.co.uk
29. Non-cash prizes are not transferable and cannot be exchanged for cash.
30. Agreement: Entrants will be deemed to have accepted these guidelines without reservation and to have agreed to be bound by them when entering this competition. Entries which contravene these guidelines will be disqualified.