Creative Writing Competition 2026
Announcing the sixth annual Kellogg College Creative Writing Competition, in association with the Kellogg College Centre for Creative Writing.
All students, alumni, Fellows, Common Room Members, and staff of Kellogg College are invited to submit an original piece of creative writing for a competition designed to inspire and celebrate new, emerging and experienced writers.
The theme of the competition is Pathways, a topic that reflects the many creative and personal journeys that writing makes possible. As Oxford University’s Master of Studies in Creative Writing marks its 20th anniversary, the theme resonates with the programme’s role in opening new pathways for writers – into craft, confidence, collaboration, and publication. Over two decades, the course has brought together writers from diverse backgrounds, each following their own creative route while contributing to a shared literary community. Pathways therefore celebrates both the individual journeys of writers and the collective path the programme has created within the University of Oxford’s writing culture.
Members of the Kellogg community are warmly encouraged to take part in the competition, whether or not you are part of the Master of Studies in Creative Writing. Writing is for everyone, and this is a chance to explore an idea, a memory, or an imagined world in your own words. Kellogg brings together people from many disciplines and backgrounds, each with their own experiences and perspectives, and the competition offers a space to share those voices creatively. Whether you write often or are trying it for the first time, we hope many members of the College will take the opportunity to join in and contribute to this celebration of storytelling.
The competition opens for submissions on Wednesday 1 April 2026.
Submission Guidelines:
Writers can interpret the theme, Pathways, in any way they like. Submissions can be in any form or genre, including poetry, fiction, flash fiction, drama and non-fiction, but they must be written in response to the set topic and must be entire pieces in themselves (and not a section of a longer piece). Poems must be 40 lines or fewer, prose must be 500 words or fewer, and dramatic pieces should last for no more than 2 minutes.
Entries must be submitted to events@kellogg.ox.ac.uk by 12 noon, on Wednesday 22 May 2026.
Timelines
- Submissions open from 1 April 2026
- Submissions close at 12 noon, 22 May 2026 (end of Week 4)
- Short-list of 10 to be announced on 12 June
- Celebratory event for finalists on 25 June, 5pm
About the Judges
We have an excellent panel of judges for our competition, and we are particularly delighted that Sharath Jeevan, Kellogg alumnus of the first MSt in Creative Writing cohort, will be joining us as our Special Guest Judge. Find out more about each of them below.
Dr Clare Morgan
Fellow of Kellogg College and Director of the Kellogg College Centre for Creative Writing and the MSt in Creative Writing
Clare is a novelist and short story writer, her most recent collection of stories is Scar Tissue (Seren, 2022). Her work on poetry and business is internationally recognized and has been featured in FastCompany and the Wall Street Journal. Her book What Poetry Brings to Business was published by University of Michigan Press, and she is a frequent keynote speak on the subject. She is currently working on a memoir-based exploration of poetry, place and time.
Frank Egerton
Member of Common Room at Kellogg College, in association with the Centre for Creative Writing
Frank is a novelist and has reviewed fiction for various newspapers including the Times and TLS. He is a departmental tutor is Creative Writing for Oxford Lifelong Learning and has taught on the MSt in Creative Writing and the Undergraduate Diploma in Creative Writing. He has recently completed a work of non-fiction entitled Trust: A family story, and is a former chair of Writers in Oxford and editor the Oxford Writer. He also works for the Bodleian Libraries.
Sharath Jeevan OBE
Author and Kellogg alumnus of the first MSt in Creative Writing cohort
Sharath has written two non-fiction books on legacy, and is now working on a debut novel, Inheritable. He is a leading cross-generational author, speaker and comedian, who founded The Generational Salon (to explore cross-generational themes in literature and the arts) and the Generational Success Lab at Oxford’s Said Business School. His comedy show “Meek Inheritance” is premiering at Panmure House (the home of Adam Smith) at the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe.
