You’ll hear a selection of supershort stories read out by our finalists and discover who has won this year’s competition. The festival’s annual creative writing contest invites budding authors to produce their own super short stories of exactly 50 words – no more, no less – on a given theme or genre.

This year’s theme of “Hobbies” is inspired by the National Year of Reading 2026 “Go All In” campaign, a scheme designed to help more people across the UK rediscover the joy of reading.