• Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • TV, Film and Theatre
    • One From The Vaults
  • New books
  • Columns
    • Doctor Darwin’s Writing Tips
    • Watching History
    • Desert Island Books
  • Advertising
  • About
  • Contact
  • Historia in your inbox

Historia Magazine

The magazine of the Historical Writers Association

  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • TV, Film and Theatre
    • One From The Vaults
  • New books
  • Columns
    • Doctor Darwin’s Writing Tips
    • Watching History
    • Desert Island Books
  • Advertising
  • About
  • Contact
  • Historia in your inbox

Short Story Competition 2018 Opens for Entries.

24 January 2018 By Editor

Prizes: £500, publication in the Whispering Gallery and on www.historiamag.com, mentoring session from author and agent, tickets to receive your award at the HWA Crowns Ceremony in London (November 2018).

Two Highly Commended entries will also receive mentoring and invitations to the award ceremony in London.

Can you transport a reader into the past? Can you tell a story which will grip the reader while immersing them in another time? Do you want the voices and the stories of the past to find a new audience in the modern world?

If your answer to any of the above is yes, then you could win £500, publication and the chance to learn from top industry professionals, as well as receiving your prize at a ceremony full of the stars of Historical Writing in London.

We are celebrating Historical Fiction and the works of Dorothy Dunnett with a competition, now in it second year, for unpublished short stories of up to 3500 words. Choose your theme, your genre and your period and bring the past alive. The only condition is that your story is set at least 35 years in the past.

We are looking for great story-telling, fresh voices, new perspectives and real ambition in these stories which is why we’ve set a generous word limit.

We’ve kept the entry fee as low as possible, because we what to hear from as many writers as we can. The past is full of rich inspiration for fiction writers, so please, let us hear from you. Bring us your stories and bring the past alive.

Entering our competition is simple. Visit the Historical Writers’ Association website to pay your entry fee of £5 and submit your entry. Deadline 31 August 2018.

historicalwriters.org/dorothydunnett

All enquiries to admin@historicalwriters.org.

Read the winning entry from the 2017 competition, A Poppy Against the Sky, by Annie Whitehead.

Share this article:Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on google
Google
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on email
Email

Filed Under: Features, News Tagged With: 2018, Dorothy Dunnett, historical fiction, HWA Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition, short stories, writing competition

Search

What’s new in historia

Sign up for our monthly email newsletter:

Follow us on social media:

Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook

New books by HWA members

The Show Woman by Emma Cowing

7 May 2026

Rage of Swords by David Gilman

7 May 2026

The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

7 May 2026

See more new releases

Showcase

Editor’s picks

Joanna Plantagenet, the lionhearted woman

20 March 2025

The Hundred Years’ War – a novel approach

1 February 2024

Homes for heroes: the council house revolution

20 April 2023

Popular topics

14th century 16th century 17th century 18th century 19th century 20th century 1920s 1930s Ancient Rome Anglo-Saxons author interview awards biography book review Catherine Hokin ebook France historical crime historical fiction historical mystery historical thriller history HWA HWA Crown Awards India London Matthew Harffy medieval new release paperback research review Scotland Second World War short stories spies the writing life Tudors Vikings women's history writer's life writing writing advice writing tips WWII

The Historical Writers’ Association

Historia Magazine is published by the Historical Writers’ Association. We are authors, publishers and agents of historical writing, both fiction and non-fiction. For information about membership and profiles of our member authors, please visit our website.

Read more about Historia or find out about advertising and promotional opportunities.

ISSN 2515-2254

Recent Additions

  • Lionessheart by Catherine Hanley
  • The Show Woman by Emma Cowing
  • Rage of Swords by David Gilman

Search Historia

Contact us

If you would like to contact the editor of Historia, please email editor@historiamag.com

Copyright © 2014–2026 The Historical Writers Association