Plenty - A seasonal celebration of local writing

As August turns to September, the growing season reaches its peak. The vagaries of the British climate allowing, this is a time of, well… plenty: our theme for our next online event that celebrates local writing.

As ever, we’ve picked a theme that encourages writers to draw on many possible interpretations: the joy of abundance at the height of summer, the sheer quantity of modern life and all its options and choices, the anticipation of the promised (the jam tomorrow will always be plentiful), the threat of feeling (or being) overwhelmed. ‘Plenty’ can be a triumph or a crisis: having plenty of things to be getting on with might be a blessing or a curse. And that’s before irony speaks up. (To quote The Rocky Horror Picture Show: ‘I ask for nothing’ begs the instant reply ‘And you shall receive it. In abundance.’ Plenty of nothing, after all, is a trillion times zilch.)

For writers, entries close on 3 August: please see the website for more details. For those who simply want to indulge in a cornucopia of words, book a ticket and be ready to pull up a seat.

What you need to know

• Submission is open to writers aged 14+ who live, work or study in Buckinghamshire (including Milton Keynes), Bedfordshire or Northamptonshire
• All entries must be written in English. Work should be original and not previously published. You may not use AI in any way in the creation of your submission(s).
• Entries must connect in some way to the theme, which you are free to interpret as creatively as you wish
• Flash fiction must be no more than 500 words. There is no minimum word limit. Any genre is acceptable, e.g. mystery, romance, science fiction, history. Each author can submit one entry.
• Creative non-fiction must be no more than 500 words. There is no minimum word limit. Each author can submit one entry.
• Poems must be no more than 40 lines (blank lines between stanzas do not count.)  Each author can submit up to three entries.
• Entries should be submitted in Microsoft Word, or as RTF or Plain Text files
• All work should be typed in Arial size 12 font and should include a word count
• Writers should not include their name on any part of the file as entries will be judged anonymously
• We aim to select the best submissions for their writers to read online on 26 August 2026, and to publish in a downloadable ebook (PDF format). Writers may be invited to participate in other MK Lit Fest events. Please be prepared to perform - or for your work to be read on your behalf if necessary.
• Please do not submit material that would not receive a cinematic rating of 15 or less (i.e. no 18 / R-rated submissions)
• Judges cannot correspond with entrants or give feedback on submissions

What you need to do

• All entries should be submitted via the submissions form with pieces uploaded as Word or PDF documents.

If you are unable to use Googleforms, please contact us for assistance with your submission.

Deadline for submissions:  3 August 2026

Selected readers will be notified by: 15 August 2026