Inclusive Voices

Our short story competition is back for the National Year of Reading, celebrating creativity, accessibility and diverse storytelling.

This year, we've teamed up with EmpathyLab to inspire the theme. We're looking for stories or poems that are empathy-led, exploring what it means to understand and share another person's feelings.

Entries are closed for the 2026 competition. Winners will be announced by the end of October.

Age categories

• Under 11 years old

• 12 to 17 years

• 18 to 25 years

• 26 and over

Prizes

There will prizes for the top three places in each age category. See the Terms and Conditions for full details.

We are thrilled to offer some of these prizes courtesy of our generous partners.

Judges

Calibre Audio’s panel of judges include award-winning authors, accessibility advocates and Calibre Audio staff.

The judges will assess entries based on originality, creativity, use of theme and authentic representation.

Judging takes place in September to October 2026 and winners will be announced by the end of October.

Partners

Our partners have made our short story competition possible through their fantastic contributions. Find out more about them via the link below.