Our SHORT STORY judge, Robin Pridy, is a writer and editor based in Hastings and originally from Vancouver Island, Canada. She was the Writer-in-Residence for Historic England’s High Street Tales project for the Trinity Triangle area and is finishing her novel, Radiant Things. She writes and edits a wide variety of award-winning fiction and non-fiction for major publishers and offers workshops for aspiring and seasoned writers.

In her role as Hastings Book Festival short story judge, Robin says "Although I am an editor, I’m not looking for perfect grammar or spelling. I’m keen to see a well-considered observation or turn of phrase, a spark of life, or a unique outlook or style. The key is to have that initial creative impulse and idea, and to show the reader what your imagination can conjur and reveal."

Visit her website here: robinpridy.com

Our POETRY judge, John McCullough lives in Hove. His book of poems, Reckless Paper Birds (Penned in the Margins) won the 2020 Hawthornden Prize for Literature as well as being shortlisted for the Costa Poetry Award. John’s collections have been Books of the Year for publications including The Guardian, The Times, The Independent and The Telegraph and he also won the Polari First Book Prize. The poem ‘Flower of Sulphur’, from his fourth collection Panic Response (Penned in the Margins), was shortlisted for the 2021 Forward Prize for Best Single Poem. His fifth collection, Crowd Voltage was published in March 2026 by Bloodaxe.

In his role as Hastings Book Festival poetry judge, John says “I’m hoping to encounter poems that are original, surprising and carefully crafted. I like writing that’s both fresh and emotionally resonant, poems that find an unusual angle in order to stir feeling.”

Visit his website here: johnmccullough.co.uk

Our CREATIVE NON-FICTION judge Sam Davey is the founder of the Hastings Book Festival (previously 'Hastings Literary Festival'). She has served as Chair of the Hastings Writers' Group for several years and is now its Programme Secretary.

Sam is a prize-winning short story writer and the author of the novels Angels of Islington, The Chosen Queen and its sequel The Sisters and the Sword; the latter is set to be published in 2026. Sam has always loved the Arthurian stories, having first encountered the retellings as a young girl. She lives on the southeast coast of England with her husband. 

Sam created the Founder’s Prize for CREATIVE NON-FICTION as an opportunity for new and emerging local writers. Creative Non-Fiction explores real events and experiences in a way that is both informative and engaging, often using narrative techniques found in fiction – such as vivid descriptions, dialogue, character development, and narrative structure – but all the while maintaining factual accuracy. Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” is a fabulous example.

Visit her website here: SamDaveyRoughMagic.net