Tuesday 21st - Sunday 26th October 2025
Connecting authors and readers...by the sea!
Every year Frinton Literary Festival hosts its ‘Tendring Tales’ 1,000-words short story writing competition. In 2023, this was renamed the Frinton Literary Festival Robert Bucke Short Story Prize, in honour of our great friend and committee member.
Whatever the annual theme – these have included ghost stories and romance - we are looking for stories with a strong flavour of Tendring. We are blessed with a wonderful coastline, countryside and towns, as well as a rich history, interesting characters and coastal and rural industries.
The judges are writing industry professionals with connections to the area, and prizes are presented in partnership with Caxton Books.
2024 COMPETITION - WHAT IF?
Thank you to everyone who entered the 2024 Robert Bucke Short Story Prize. The judges were thrilled to see so many new names and the quality of writing made shortlisting incredibly challenging.
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We are pleased to present our winner, Clacton-based writer Daisy Jones, and her brilliant short story 'Orbit'. You can read her captivating tale, and those from our two runners up, A.M. Obst and Tony Oswick, here.
Nadine Wiltshire's short story 'The Visitor' was crowned the winner of the inaugural Frinton Literary Festival Robert Bucke Short Story Prize in 2023. Read her winning story, and the runners up stories from Anka Troitsky and Jonathan Palmer, below.
Listen to 'The Soul Carrier', the winning story from Frinton Literary Festival 2022.