As part of the celebrations around The People’s Friend’s 155th anniversary, it has launched a short story competition with a £10,000 writing bursary for the best unpublished author.

The People’s Friend is the largest publisher of magazine fiction in the UK, commissioning over 900 short stories every year, including many first-time authors.

Since it began in 1869, The People’s Friend has always been an advocate for reading and champions the benefits reading can have on our wellbeing and mental health. To mark its commitment, it has launched this short story competition with the aim of uncovering the best new writing talent across the UK.

Stuart Johnstone, editor of The People’s Friend says: “We know how tough it is for writers to get their break, especially with so many cuts to arts funding in recent years. So, to help celebrate our 155th anniversary, we would like to give one new writer a helping hand by paying them a bursary of £10,000 to help fund their writing journey, as well as being published in the Friend.”

Writers are invited to submit short stories of 2,000 words by no later than Monday 5 February at 23.59pm under one of three genres: thriller, comedy or romance.

Each genre will have an under 30 age group and over 30 age group subcategory. Entrants can submit one short story per genre category (romance, thriller and comedy), totalling a maximum of 3 entries.

Entries should be typed and emailed as a Word document to 155@thepeoplesfriend.co.uk and include a synopsis (100 words), the short story and a personal bio on the author. Please add your name, the age category you are entering and the genre (romance, thriller or comedy) on the cover page of your story.

Winners will be announced at the end of February in a new edition of The People’s Friend.

For the full terms and conditions and FAQs click here.

Enter The People’s Friend short story competition and be in the chance of winning a £10,000 writing bursary