Young Northern Writers’ Awards
Our Young Writers’ Awards are presented as part of the Northern Writers’ Awards. They recognise and support young writers based in the North of England.
Young Northern Writers’ Awards
This award is open to young writers aged 11-18 in the North of England. Young writers can submit creative work in any form including prose, poetry, scriptwriting, blogging, songwriting and rap.
There are two age categories, 11-14 and 15-18. Entrants must be 18 years or under when the awards close. The winner in each category will receive prize money of £150. Up to two writers may also be highly commended across the age categories.
The Young Northern Writers’ Awards are open for entries until 5 February 2026.
Matthew Hale Award
The Matthew Hale Award is open to young writers who show promise but have had limited opportunities to pursue their talent. This could be due to a number of factors, including physical or mental ill-health, family circumstances, financial circumstances, lack of access to cultural opportunities or any other reasons.
This award is for a young person aged 11-18 based in the North of England. Entrants must be 18 years or under when the awards close. Young writers can submit creative work in any form including prose, poetry, scriptwriting, blogging, songwriting and rap.
There is one award winner each year. The award consists of a package of support created by New Writing North and is worth £500. The package will be tailored to the specific interests and needs of the winner, but could include anything from one-on-one mentoring with a professional writer, enrolment on a course, books, theatre tickets or a pass to a literature festival.
This award is judged by the family of Matthew Hale and New Writing North.
The Matthew Hale Award is open for entries until 5 February 2026.
Eva Ibbotson Award
The Eva Ibbotson Award is open to young writers aged 11-15 who are writing in English as a second language.
This award is for a young person aged 11-15 based in the North of England. Entrants must be 15 years or under when the awards close. Young writers can submit creative work in any form including prose, poetry, scriptwriting, blogging, songwriting and rap.
There is one award winner each year. The award consists of a package of support created by New Writing North and is worth £500. The package will be tailored to the specific interests and needs of the winner, but could include anything from one-on-one mentoring with a professional writer, enrolment on a course, books, theatre tickets or a pass to a literature festival. The prize also includes a collection of Pan Macmillan books to the value of £200 to the winning pupil’s school library and a set of Eva’s books to the winner (and any runners up).
This award is judged by the family of Eva Ibbotson and New Writing North.
The Eva Ibbotson Award is open for entries until 5 February 2026.
Applications for the awards are accepted in two ways:
Nomination from an adult working with the young person (for example, parents, teachers or other adults).
Application directly from the young person.
You can read more about the awards, including submissions guidelines and information on eligibility criteria here.
If you have any questions please contact the NWN Young Writers team on [email protected].
*Please note the North of England is defined as the areas covered by Arts Council England in Yorkshire, North East and North West. We regret we are unable to accept submissions from outside these areas due to conditions in our funding from Arts Council England.
2025 Winners
Sophi Su
Young Northern Writer Award
(11-14)
WinnerSophi Su is a creative, queer individual in high school, doing their GCSEs, who not only loves writing but also drawing, animating, and acting. Characters and stories are always present in their head; whether they are doodling an OC, animating, or writing a book, they always have ideas. They are very expressive and positive and enjoy performing unicorn dancing – a traditional Chinese dance similar to lion dancing – and doing kung fu. Their favourite genres are fantasy, sci-fi, and horror, although they are yet to read a horror story.
“I’m honestly so surprised: I have never read a horror book or really written much horror (although I have watched a few movies and series), so I did not expect my story to win. I cannot express how grateful and ecstatic I am to receive this award. I am delighted that the judges enjoyed my work and I will continue to write and explore the many genres out there.”
Charlie Jolley
Young Northern Writer Award
(15-18)
WinnerCharlie Jolley is a poet and music journalist from Sheffield whose work often explores subculture, and is firmly grounded in social realism. She was a winner of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award in both 2023 and 2024, a runner up in the New Poets Prize 2024, and highly commended in the Tower Poetry Competition 2025. She has performed at Off The Shelf Festival of Words, The Making Waves Arts Festival, and The Leadmill, and has been published by places such as Verve Poetry Press and The North. She is a member of The Writing Squad.
“Winning this award has made all those standstill hours staring at a blank page feel worthwhile, and it’s such an honour for my work to be recognised in this way.”
Vincent Phillips
Matthew Hale Award
WinnerVincent Phillips is a young writer from Newcastle, who aims to bring to light real-world issues through the lens of fiction, and includes speculative aspects to his work as a way of reflecting reality through the impossible. He writes short stories and novels, and hopes to get a book of his own writing published one day.
“The idea that someone has read my work and enjoyed it while not being related to me has given me the boost in confidence I needed to continue with my writing.”
Lani Lajani
Eva Ibbotson Award
WinnerLani Lajani is a writer who wrote about her journey to the UK. She also does ballet, which has taught her poise, and contemporary, which taught her how to dramatically collapse with flair – together, they made her unstoppable and slightly dramatic.
“I am so proud of myself and I didn’t even expect that I would win this competition. My family is really proud and happy about the effort that I have put into my work. And I want to say that you can do anything that you want to do in your life.”
Eeva Tudor
Young Northern Writer Award
(11-14)
Highly CommendedEeva Tudor is a secondary school pupil from Northumberland. She loves reading, writing, kickboxing and musical theatre. Her favourite genres of books are horror and fantasy. She is currently in the school choir and writes for the school newspaper. She also attends the Cramlington New Writing North Young Writers’ Group.
“I am so happy that my writing was highly commended and even more pleased that the judges have recognised my writing a second time.”
Maisie Mair
Young Northern Writer Award
(15-18)
Highly CommendedMaisie Mair is a poet and fiction writer and a member of Sheffield Young Writers. She was highly commended in Hive Young Writer’s Competition 2025. One of her favourite books is Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, because its extended metaphor, about the mad adventure of life, turns the mundane into the extraordinary, encouraging us to go on the journey no matter how daunting.
“I feel really privileged to have been highly commended for the pieces of work I entered into the competition and it has inspired me to continue with my writing.”
Haider Nazir
Matthew Hale Award
Highly CommendedHaider Nazir is a young writer from Sheffield and a member of Hive Young Writers Network. He is an alumnus of English teacher stars Ms Yassin and Ms Abdulla and sees writing as a positive mouthpiece for his emotions. The Kite Runner was the first book that helped him see what the power of words could achieve. His main aim as a writer is to intertwine culture, faith, ancestry, secrets, struggles, strengths, weaknesses together through words.
