2026 has been another successful year for the Calibre Audio Inclusive Voices Short Story Competition.
This year we teamed up with EmpathyLab to explore what it means to understand and share another person’s feelings. Over 400 people entered the competition with short stories and poems inspired by the theme of empathy.
The competition featured a panel of judges including award-winning authors, accessibility advocates and members of the Calibre Audio team.
We’re delighted to announce this year’s winners and celebrate the creativity and talent behind every entry.
The winners are:
Under 11s category
1st place: 'Lost and Found' by Ashby Edwards
2nd place: 'Reading Beauty' by Cressida Wainwright
3rd place: 'The Boy in the Wheelchair' by Amrit Sandhu
Highly Commended in the under 11s category
'In the Eyes of the Stray' by Jarwish Jegan
'Lyla the Girl with the Unique Heart' by Leah Payne
'My Journey Through Fear to Safety' by Aroush Abid
12-17 category
1st place: 'Hello, You Must be Different' by Kirstin Thomson
2nd place: 'Back to the Truth' by Siddhi Garg
3rd place: 'My Laminated Mind' by Daisy Allen
Highly Commended in 12-17 category
'The Stop' by Gayatri Nandan
'The Price of Survival' by Samniyojita Shyangdan
18-25 category
1st place: 'Tuesday is My Blueberry Muffin Day' by Sofia Stevens
2nd place: 'Look Down' by Nurulhuda Gumay Riswandi
3rd place: 'Questions Asked Kindly' by Manon Roberts
Highly Commended in 18-25 category
'Hers' by Anya Johnstone
26+ category
1st place: 'The Bus Home' by Bimal Devkota
2nd place: 'The Day the Hero Returned' by Stevie Leslie
3rd place: 'We’ve Done Our Best' by Claire Maley
Highly Commended in 26+ category
'Right at Home' by Catherine Robinson
'Hunters' audio entry by Emma Wainwright
Thank you to our fantastic judging panel and to everyone who entered Inclusive Voices 2026.
Thank you also to our generous supporters who donated prizes, Voxblock, NosyCrow and xigxag.