Agatha Christie Festival Young People’s Mystery Short Story Writing Competition 2025 is now open for entries

Our Mystery Short Story Writing Competition is back!


We are inviting aspiring young writers aged between 8 and 18 years of age, who live or go to school or college in Devon or Torbay, to write a short story involving a mystery and enter it into our competition to discover the most talented mystery authors of the future. There are great prizes and recognition to be won.

It’s free to enter. There are two entry categories:

  • Category One for young people aged 8 to 13 years of age
  • Category Two for those aged 14-18 years of age.

Your challenge is to compose a short story of no more than 1,000 words involving a mystery of some kind and to submit your entry to us online. You can find more details of how to enter your story and the entry form: click here

Young writers are welcome to submit their stories individually or through school classwork.

The closing date for receipt of entries is Friday, 8th August 2025.

The First Placed Winner in either category will win an Apple iPad Mini™. There are exciting prizes to be won too for those placed second and third from HarperCollins UK and Laurence King Publishing.

Winners will receive their prizes at a ceremony in person during the Agatha Christie Festival which takes place at venues across the English Riviera 13th-21stSeptember 2025

For further information contact us at info@iacf-uk.org

Agatha Christie Festival is joining forces with Libraries Unlimited, Literature Works and Torre Abbey to bring you the competition.

Under the Patronage of the UK National Commission for UNESCO

Under the Patronage of the UK National Commission for UNESCO

Kindly Supported by:

English Riveria Bid Company

Rosalind Hicks Charitable Trust


Project Partners: