For schools and teachers

Bring the prize to your classroom.

The Muzayrah Short Story Prize is free to enter in 2026, judged by experienced Cambridge teachers, and built to strengthen exactly the narrative writing skills students need for O Level, IGCSE and beyond. Everything on this page is free for schools.

Put up the poster

Print our poster for your classroom or noticeboard, or share it on your school's WhatsApp group.

Teach the lesson

Our ready-made 40-minute lesson on writing openings uses the games on this website. No preparation needed.

Students enter

Each student types and submits their own story through the website. No parent details are needed to enter; we ask for a parent's permission only if an under-18 writer is shortlisted.

Celebrate

Every entrant can download a certificate. Shortlisted writers and winners are published here and in the anthology.

Teacher packPrize poster

A4 poster with the prizes, rules and how to enter.

Download PDF ↓

Teacher packLesson: The Hook

A 40-minute lesson plan with objectives, timings, differentiation and cut-out story dice cards.

Download PDF ↓

ToolkitWorksheets

Phrase banks, vocabulary and phrasal verb worksheets with answer keys.

Open the toolkit →

Free LibraryClassic stories

Poe, Wilde, Dickens and Conan Doyle, with discussion questions and writing tasks.

Open the library →

School Champion certificate. Teachers who encourage their students to enter can ask for a School Champion certificate: message us on Instagram at @muzayrah_publications with your name, your school and how many of your students entered.

The Muzayrah weekly

A writing lesson in your inbox every Saturday.

One short, free lesson a week on openings, description, grammar, dialogue and more, plus competition news. Unsubscribe any time. Under 13? Ask a parent before signing up.