We are delighted to announce that the SMHAFF Writing Competition is now open for 2016, the very special 10th year of the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival!

The competition allows people to enter work into categories including poems, short stories, diary/blog entries, letters and newspaper articles.

This year’s competition theme is ‘Time’, we are interested in your interpretation of this theme and encourage innovative and diverse perspectives – the limit is your imagination! Winning and highly commended entries in each category will be honoured at an awards ceremony during the Festival in October. Full details of this event will be announced with the launch of the Festival programme in September.

Speaking about the continued collaboration with the Festival, Alison Cairns, Chief Executive of Bipolar Scotland said:

“Bipolar Scotland is pleased to be working with SMHAFF once again as we launch the 2016 writing competition for the 10th year of the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival. The quality of writing over the last two years has been excellent and we can’t wait to see what comes in for 2016. What does time mean to you? We encourage everyone to put their creativity to work and see what they can come up with.”

Last year’s wonderful shortlisted entries can be viewed in an e-book here.

Entries must be received no later than 5pm on Friday 5th August 2016.

Guidelines and entry form are available here.

Please make sure to read the guidelines carefully before submitting your work.