Mogford Prize

The Mogford Prize for Food & Drink Writing

Entries for the Mogford Prize 2018 will be accepted between 26th October 2017 & 3rd January 2018

Food and drink must be at the heart of the winning tale. Your short story could, for instance, be about crime or intrigue; about a chance meeting over a drink; a life-changing conversation over dinner; or perhaps the details of a relationship explored through food or drink.

We are looking for a short story that our hotel guests would enjoy reading while staying in one of our luxury hotels.

Entries, once accepted from 26th October 2017, will be submitted through an online form which will appear here on our website…

To purchase an entry click the add to cart button below and follow the checkout process.

£15.00Pay to Enter

The 2018 Competition Opens 26th October 2017, click here for the full Terms & Conditions >

Competition Rules

* Your short story should have a maximum of 2,500 words. There is no minimum and the title is not included in the word count.
* Entries for the 2018 Mogford Prize will be accepted from 26th October 2017.
* The Closing Date is 3rd January 2018 (12 noon, GMT).
* The Long List of 25 will be announced on this website by 21 February 2018.
* The 2018 Mogford Prize Party, when the winner will be announced, will be held on Wednesday 21st March 2018.

Click here for the full competition rules/terms & conditions…

2017 PRIZE WINNER

Nicky Winder was the fifth winner of the annual Mogford Prize for Food and Drink Writing. Her story ‘Bait’ was selected from more than 1,000 entries from across the globe, including stories from China, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, Macedonia, Croatia, Poland, South Africa, Argentina and Surinam. Jeremy Mogford, sponsor of the prize, presented Nicky with a cheque for £10,000 and an engraved award at the Mogford Prize party held at Quod Restaurant & Bar in Oxford.

Nicky has been an English teacher for over twenty-five years, and has also worked as a psychotherapist since 2013. She published a book of humorous letters, called The Xmas Files (2007), on behalf of a (decidedly unflattering) version of Father Christmas, and has also written and contributed to several student textbooks. She has just begun a PhD in poetry-writing at Essex University…

 

 

Nicky’s story is about a determined Madame de Roubigné, who makes plans to murder her twelve-year-old daughter by creating deliciously tempting treats to fill a picnic basket that her child then carries into the forest to meet her fate. It is a beautifully written fable with a twist in the tail.

The judges for the 2017 prize were Jeremy and Hilary Mogford, the celebrated author Philip Pullman, and the acclaimed cookery writer and television presenter Mary Berry. Besides Nicky Winder, the short list featured three other writers from the UK: Ian Shine, Claire Bullen, and Johnny Reed.

Nicky Winder’s winning story can be read online or enjoyed in an audio format produced by The Story Player read by the British voice-over artist Claire Ottewell.

READ ALL THE PREVIOUS WINNING STORIES >