All entries must be your own original work.
No AI or Large Language Model authored or assisted work will be accepted.
If your submission has previously been published, please let us know and ensure that you have retained or been granted the right to reproduce it with a new publisher.
You must be aged 16+ to submit an entry.
Submissions will only be accepted from residents of Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.
Each author may submit only one story, and entries must be no more than 500 words long (not counting the title) and no shorter than 400 words.
Entries must be prose. Poetry will not be considered for the competition.
Please bear in mind that we may choose not to perform anything with a 15+ rating, as there are likely to be children present at the Fast Foreword venues.
Copyright remains with the author at all times. Permission is granted by the author for QuirkHouse Theatre Company to read stories aloud in public venues during the festival, and for Foreword Festival to reproduce stories on their website.
The Foreword Festival has the option to reproduce the story within a printed anthology for sale at future events, but only on agreement by written contract between all parties.
The Foreword Festival and Fast Foreword are not-for-profit events. There is no fee to enter, and no payment to authors at this time.
Judges’ decisions are final, and Foreword Festival reserves the right to lightly edit selected stories for spelling and grammar only.