Arlington Arts Centre is turning 20!
To celebrate two decades of creativity and our place as one of Newbury’s leading arts centres, we’re launching a special Creative Writing Competition, with the winning entry from each category to be published in the Newbury Weekly News.
Past and Present
We’re embracing our success so far and looking forward to future plans, so we’ve chosen the theme of Past and Present as your starting point. You can write about anything you like using this theme as a prompt; we can’t wait to see what you come up with!
We’re proud to be inclusive here at Arlington Arts Centre so we’ve decided on a range of age groups to be judged separately so writers young and not-so-young can all join the fun:
12 and under: Young Creators
13–19: Rising Voices
20-49: The Next Chapter
50+:Seasoned Storytellers
Your mission: create something brilliant in 500 words or less.
The competition launches on 23 May with a closing date of midnight on 31 August 2026. All entrants will be invited to our grand awards ceremony on 4 November where the winners of each category will be announced and their story read out by local creatives.
Prizes:
- Each category will be shortlisted, with a winning entry picked for each category.
- The winning entry from each category will be published in The Newbury Weekly News, with accompanying photograph of the winning entrant. All shortlisted entrants’ names to be listed in the publication. Subject to available space this publication may be in print, online or both.
- The winning entry and all shortlisted entries from each category will be read out at the awards evening on 4 November 2026 (date may be subject to change)
- All winning entries will receive 1 free ticket to a future show at Arlington Arts Centre of their choice.*
*The venue will give a choice from selected shows only.
Would you like to get involved behind the scenes? Please email boxoffice@arlingtonarts.co.uk if you would like to be considered for our judging panel, as a speaker for the awards evening, or perhaps a sponsor or exhibitor (particularly if you are a local author who would like to showcase your work at the awards evening).
Help us celebrate 20 years of songs, stories and our community by adding a brand-new story of your own.
