Literary Prize 2026 Shortlist Announcement
Each year a question or quote exploring Benjamin Franklin’s relevance in our time is open for interpretation in 1000-1500 words. The competition is open exclusively for young writers, aged 18-25, with a first prize of £750, and a second prize of £500.
The Franklin quote for 2026 – America’s Semiquincentennial Year (250 Years since the Declaration of Independence);
“A republic, if you can keep it.”
—Benjamin Franklin’s response to Elizabeth Willing Powel’s question: “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” – Monday, September 17, 1787
We received entries from young writers across the UK and are delighted to announce that the following people have been shortlisted for this year’s prizes. In alphabetical order they are;
Phoebe Allen
Phoebe (19) is a cyber security student from Stafford studying at Aston University. Her hobbies include creative writing and journalism.
Rosa Chalfen
Rosa (24) is a writer from London. She has a BA in English Literature from the University of Oxford and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. She works in the heritage sector and has collaborated with organisations such as English Heritage and the NPG.
Martha Evans
Martha (20) is a Philosophy, Politics and Economics student at King’s College London, where her main academic interests are industrial economics and energy policy. She also works part-time as a sales assistant for Diptyque Paris and as a waitress to support her studies.
Reuven Furney
Lucy Singer
Lucy (21) is a Modern Languages and Cultures student at the University of Sheffield, and originally from Manchester. She studies Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, as well as their related cultures, literature and history. Outside of her studies, she has committed herself to playwriting over the last two and a half years, and is currently exploring non-fiction writing as well.
Franklin Vaci
Franklin (24) is a philosophy graduate living in London and writing on Substack at Preparing for the Worst. He is also a tailor.
The winner and runner-up for the 2026 competition will be announced on February 2nd with judges selecting winning entries from the shortlist above. To read any of the shortlisted entries, please click on a writer’s name to see their work.
We would like to congratulate all of our shortlisted writers for their stand-out submissions. They will each receive an invite to an evening celebrating their work hosted at Benjamin Franklin House where they will be able to meet the judges for this year’s competition. The judges were:
- Lord Guy Black – Executive Director of the Telegraph Media Group
- Wendy Moore – English journalist, author, and historian
- Dr. Huw David – Development Director at Wolfson College, University of Oxford
- Rory Sutherland – Vice Chairman of Ogilvy Group and Board Member of Benjamin Franklin House
- Henry Wilkinson – Head of Education at Benjamin Franklin House
