Deadline: April 30, 2026
Applications are open for the Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition 2026. The Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition is the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools, which has been proudly delivered by the Royal Commonwealth Society since 1883.
Each year, the theme is drawn from Commonwealth values and principles. It encourages young people to engage with pressing issues of the day, such as the environment, equality, and youth leadership, to foster an open-minded and empathetic worldview. This year’s inspiring theme is Common Ground: Better Together.
Under the long-time patronage of Queen Camilla, The Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition has reached over 200,000 young people, involved some 5,000 volunteer judges, and encouraged hundreds of schools to enter just in the past decade.
Benefits
- A winner will be selected from each region of the Commonwealth (The Americas, The Pacific, Asia, Africa and Europe), and from these five, one overall winner will be chosen. All regional winners will be invited to London for a week of cultural and educational activities, culminating in an award ceremony. If you are not selected as a winner, you will still be awarded a certificate, and you have the chance of winning one of the following: Gold Certificate, Silver Certificate or Bronze Certificate Certificate of Participation.
Eligibility
- You are eligible to enter the competition if you are 18 years or younger and are a national or resident of a Commonwealth country or territory. If you are 19 years old or older by 30 April 2026, they encourage you to enter the Commonwealth Short Story Prize – Commonwealth Short Story Prize – Commonwealth Foundation.
- The maximum word count is 1,000 words. Entrants should not feel any need to use up all available words. There is no minimum word count, and judges mark based on the quality of the writing, so longer entries will not automatically score higher than shorter entries.
- Wholly or partly AI generated work is not accepted in the Competition, and the RCS has complete discretion in making the decision about the use of AI to disqualify an entry or recommend that an entry is marked down.
Application
For more information, see FAQ and visit Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition.
