The Playwright's Prize

Besides the cash prize on offer, the Playwright's Prize is an amazing opportunity for writers of the stage to have their voices heard and to showcase the grass-roots talent among our community, as well as the broader talent from afar.

For those looking for a way to one day have their play produced for the stage, winning the Playwright's Prize is a great way of getting it the attention it deserves.

The winner of the Playwright's Prize will win a £100 cash prize.

The prizewinner and commended scripts will be determined by our judging panel and announced on 1 March 2027, with the award to be presented at the Festival’s Awards Ceremony at Chesham Town Hall in June.

The competition is open for entries from 1 October 2026 until 23:59 (UK time) on 31 December 2026.​

• The competition is open to entrants of any age worldwide.

• Entrants may submit a maximum of two scripts.

• Submissions must be written in English and must not exceed 20,000 words, excluding the title.​

• Please state your name, title of your work, and wordcount in the body of the email.

• Entries must be sent to cheshamliterary@gmail.com. Each script must be attached as a Word document (.doc or .docx), typed in a reasonably standard, readable script font (example here and further guidance here) and must include only the script, title and Transaction Number (see below).​ Do not include your name in the document itself, only in the body of the email.

• There is an entry fee of £15 per script, payable via PayPal at the link below. Once payment is made, PayPal will provide a Transaction Number. This Transaction Number is your entry number and must appear at the top of each script document. Entries without a valid Transaction Number may be disqualified and not entered into the competition.

• By entering this competition, you are confirming that you have read, understood and agreed to the rules.

• Each script must be the original work of the entrant and must not have been previously published in print or online, broadcast, performed publicly, or have won a prize in another competition.​ Submissions must not have been created in whole or in part by AI. 

• Simultaneous submissions are permitted, but entrants must notify the organisers immediately if a submitted script is accepted for publication or performance, or wins a prize elsewhere; such scripts will be withdrawn and entry fees cannot be refunded.

• The winner will be announced on the 1 March 2027 and the prize presented at the Chesham Literary Festival Award Ceremony in June. The winner and commended writers' names, scripts or extracts from their scripts may be published on the Chesham Literary Festival website and our social media channels.​

• Copyright in all scripts remains with the writer. By entering the competition, entrants grant Chesham Literary Festival a non‑exclusive, royalty‑free licence to publish and/or broadcast the winning and commended scripts, in part or in whole, in print and online, in connection with the competition and related publicity, in perpetuity, with full credit to the writer.​

• The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the outcome.​