The Gillian Smith Travel Writing Prize 2026

We're pleased to announce we have collaborated on the launch of the Gillian Smith Travel Writing Prize, in honour of the late ArtsGroupie CIC Director and Co-Founder.

ArtsGroupie say...

Jill, as we knew her, was an avid traveller. Some of her favourite places to visit being Venice, and New York City.

To remember the life of our jet-setting friend, we're launching this annual non-fiction creative writing prize.

THE PRIZE:

- The first-place winner will receive a prize worth £500. This includes £300 cash, and a 1-2-1 mentoring session with Independent Publisher Fly on the Wall worth £200.

- Two runners-up will receive £50 book tokens each.

- Both the winner and runners-up will have their work read aloud at a final celebratory event, 28th April. Venue to be announced.

RULES:

- Entries must be non-fiction and therefore reflect real places.

- Entries must be a minimum of 500 words, and a maximum of 1000 words.

- Creative work must be human written. AI generated works will be automatically disqualified.

- All entries must be received by 31st March 2026.

TO ENTER:

Send 500-1000 creative words to artgroupie@outlook.com, which captures the essence of a place you have travelled to. This place can be national or abroad but should reflect a place that is not local to you.

Send to: artgroupie@outlook.com

WITH THANKS:

Prize funds were raised generously by family and friends of Jill in lieu of flowers at her memorial. We thank everyone who donated to ArtsGroupie, and the generosity of Jill's family for arranging it.