Enter the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival’s 2025 writing competition with new writing inspired by mental health and our theme of ‘Comfort & Disturb’.

The writing competition is one of SMHAF’s most enduring successes, providing an opportunity for first-time writers to be published alongside established names.

The awards ceremony helps us to discover what our festival is really about, as people from across Scotland and further afield take inspiration from our theme in poignant, powerful, personal and often ingenious and surprising ways.

WRITING PROGRAMME IN ABERDEEN

This year’s awards event will take place in Aberdeen during SMHAF 2025, with shortlisted writers invited to read from their work on the night.

The Aberdeen event is the second of our writing awards events to tour to new locations in Scotland, following a fantastic evening last year at V&A Dundee. As always, the competition is open to everyone but this year we particularly encourage entries from people based in Aberdeen and the surrounding area.

We are also delighted to announce that our writing competition and programme is presented in partnership with WayWORD at the University of Aberdeen.

COMPETITION DETAILS

The theme for 2025 is ‘Comfort & Disturb’. This can be interpreted in any way you choose – the limit is your imagination. For this year’s competition, there are three categories:

- FICTION: Short fiction pieces, including short stories, between 500 and 2000 words.
- POETRY: Poems, up to 40 lines.
- CREATIVE NONFICTION: Creative writing with a factual basis, between 500 and 2000 words. Examples can include letters, diary entries, autobiographical writing, personal essays, and creative journalism.

The shortlisted writers and a winner in each category will be selected by a jury of writers and mental health professionals. They will be invited to read their entry at the awards ceremony in Aberdeen during the festival. The shortlisted and winning pieces of writing will also be published in an illustrated print and digital book.

HOW TO ENTER

The closing date for the competition is 11.59pm on Monday 4 August. We cannot accept any entries received after this date.

The competition is free to enter and open to all. Entrants can be based anywhere in Scotland, the UK, or internationally. Entries must be your own original work. They must not have previously been published either in print or online, and must not have been submitted to the writing competition in previous years.

Location: All Scotland

For further information, please contact smhaf@mentalhealth.org.uk or visit https://www.mhfestival.com/2025/05/smhaf-2025-writing-competition-now-open/

The deadline is Monday 04 August 2025 at 23:55.