The Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition is the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools, which has been proudly delivered by the Royal Commonwealth Society since 1883.
Each year, the theme is drawn from Commonwealth values and principles. It encourages young people to engage with pressing issues of the day, such as the environment, equality, and youth leadership, to foster an open-minded and empathetic worldview.

ELIGIBILITY:

You are eligible to enter the competition if you are 18 years or younger and are a national or resident of a Commonwealth country or territory. If you are 19 years old or older by 30 April 2026, we encourage you to enter the Commonwealth Short Story Prize – Commonwealth Short Story Prize – Commonwealth Foundation

The maximum word count is 1,000 words. Entrants should not feel any need to use up all available words. There is no minimum word count, and our judges mark based on the quality of the writing, so longer entries will not automatically score higher than shorter entries.

Wholly or partly AI generated work is not accepted in the Competition and the RCS has complete discretion in making the decision about the use of AI to disqualify an entry or recommend that an entry is marked down.

Entrants to the competition will have their certificates sent to their nominated email address at the end of the judging process in the later part of 2026

BENEFIT:

A winner will be selected from each region of the Commonwealth (the Americas, the Pacific, Asia, Africa, and Europe), and from these five, one overall winner will be chosen. All regional winners will be invited to London for a week of cultural and educational activities, culminating in an award ceremony. If you are not selected as a winner, you will still be awarded a certificate, and you have the chance of winning one of the below options. Gold Certificate Silver Certificate Bronze Certificate Certificate of Participation Local RCS branches often hold local and regional ceremonies or offer prizes, so if you were made aware of the competition by your local RCS branch, please contact them after the competition closes on 30 April 2026 to inquire about any activities they might have planned.