Wilson's Tales of the Borders 100 words international competition opens

The contest was devised by members of the Wilson’s Tales of the Borders Project and runs annually. Submissions are open to everyone, with judges looking for a Tale ‘such as Wilson may have published’, but it may be contemporary so modern items can be mentioned.

John Mackay Wilson was editor of the Berwick Advertiser when he began publishing local stories in 1832 and by 1834, he published the first collection as Wilson’s Tales of the Borders, and of Scotland.

The venture’s phenomenal success was said to be a likely factor in his early death in 1835, but the weekly Tales were continued by his widow with new editors for a further five years.

The annual challenge has previously attracted entries from across the world – including Australia, the USA, Greece, South Africa and Iran.

In 2024, audio entries were introduced and new for 2025 is a category for local schools, in Northumberland and Berwickshire, enabling entries to be judged separately from those of established writers.

Project director Andrew Ayre said: “The volume and quality of entries is getting higher every year and after many years of providing local schools with an opportunity for young people to be published in our print volumes, we decided it was time to provide another local opportunity that is simple to enter and provides a creative challenge to young writers.”

An entry must be exactly 100 words in length and it can cover one or more of all manner of subjects, with this year’s deadline for submission being Tuesday, September 30.

The winner will be announced and the prize awarded at the JM Wilson Memorial Literary Dinner, this year being held in November, celebrating the anniversary of the first publication of Tales of the Borders.

Mr Ayre added: “Some entries are so richly layered that we now print an assortment of Tales on the dinner menu to let guests appreciate the richness of a a giant story all happening in the reader’s own head from a mere 100 words.”

For information about the entry format, and the competition’s terms and conditions, go to www.wilsonstales.co.uk/100-word-challenge/100-words-2025-rules-details