We are delighted to announce our two shortlists for the prestigious H G Wells Short Story Competition 2026 on the theme “The Cheat”.
The judges have selected the following stories for the 2026 shortlists (listed below in alphabetical order by surname only).
Shortlist for Junior Competition, The Margaret and Reg Turnill Prize of £1,000
| Sylvie Allen | AU | Flesh |
| Madeleine Friedlein | GB | The Cailleach |
| Sineth Hettiarachchi | GB | Strays |
| S M Tahosin | BD | The Book of Small Corrections |
| Emily Ward | US | The Eleventh Hour |
Shortlist for the Senior Competition, The Grand Prize of £500
| Geoffrey K. Graves | US | RIGGED |
| K. S. Dearsley | GB | A Fortuitous Conjunction of Spheres |
| Vicki Feltham | GB | The Mackintosh |
| Camille Goering | US | Alatheia |
| Clare Jeffery | GB | The Next Banksy |
| Nicole Lutwyche | AU | Bow Street Runner |
| Christopher Massey | GB | Dismissed |
| Emily Munro | GB | The Carbon Print |
| Charlie Swailes | GB | Three-Fifths |
| Micha Tait | GB | Pale Florence and the Freshwaters |
| David Tucker | GB | Roman Candle |
| Nicholas Tufnell | GB | Albert the Great |
Many congratulations to the shortlisted writers. We look forward to meeting many of you at the online Awards Ceremony on Sunday 15th November 2026. Further details will be emailed to shortlisted authors soon.