The Queen's Commonwealth Writing Competition

## About the opportunity The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition (QCEC) has been delivered by the Royal Commonwealth Society since 1883 and is one of the oldest and most prestigious youth writing competitions in the world. In 2026 it was reimagined as The Queen's Commonwealth Writing Competition (QCWC), with a single age category (18 and under), a unified 1,000-word maximum, and expanded prompt areas including sport, storytelling, sustainability, shared identity and the power of community.

## What it offers The competition is completely free to enter. Participants receive a Certificate of Participation, and exceptional entries are eligible for Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards. Top winners are invited to a prestigious ceremony in London hosted by the Royal Commonwealth Society (the competition runs under royal patronage). Winning and shortlisted work is celebrated across the Society's platforms, offering young writers significant recognition and a springboard for their writing.

## Eligibility - 18 or under on 30 April of the competition year - National or resident of a Commonwealth country or territory — Uganda is a Commonwealth member, so Ugandan students and young writers are eligible - Original written piece under 1,000 words on one of the official questions - Entrants aged 19 or over are instead directed to the Commonwealth Short Story Prize

## How to apply The competition opens annually. For 2026, the deadline was 30 April 2026 and entries were submitted through the official QCWC entry form using the published questions. The next annual edition is expected to open in 2027 — check the official QCWC page and the Royal Commonwealth Society's newsletter for dates.