Currently 4 active prizes and awards open to applicants in the UK, across AI, arts, film, journalism, research, tech and cross-disciplinary practice. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Almost every entry is funded; a few notable unpaid open calls and festival submissions are included as clearly flagged exceptions. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.
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BFI NETWORK's Early Development Fund supports writers at the very start of a debut long-form project: those who do not yet have a first draft of a script (or the equivalent format for immersive work). Stage one awards GBP 3,000 to 5,000 to produce an initial treatment setting out story, characters, themes and structure, plus related materials such as a mood board or other visual content. It covers long-form live-action, immersive and animation fiction. Projects supported at treatment stage and completed to schedule can apply for a second stage of funding to complete a first draft of the feature-length screenplay or immersive equivalent. ELIGIBILITY: writers based in England who have not yet written a feature film or immersive work that has been produced and secured UK distribution; apply with or without a producer. TIMELINE: opened 7 October 2026, closes 11 November 2026; decisions by 10 February 2027 (do not chase before then). APPLY online via the link in the funding guidelines; access support, easy read and BSL introductions are available.
A new co-commission from CoSTAR National Lab and Southbank Centre to take a creative technology idea that is ready to be completed, honed or technically advanced through focused R&D, then present it to audiences at Southbank Centre's Creative Intelligence festival in autumn 2027. They want original concepts where AI, immersive, real-time, virtual production or other emerging technology is integral rather than an add-on, across any artform (music, theatre, dance, literature, visual and live art, design, architecture, food, film, games), with cross-disciplinary work encouraged and touring potential valued. ELIGIBILITY: lead applicant must be a UK-registered, trading company or other eligible UK legal entity; consortia welcome, and artists, technologists, researchers and sole traders can take part as collaborators. Team and funded activity must be UK-based. Webinar Q&A on 16 November 2026, 14:00 GMT. DEADLINE: 17 December 2026, 14:00 GMT.
The Royal Institute of Philosophy's annual essay prize asks for an original philosophical essay on the 2026 topic, Humans and AI. Essays of up to 8,000 words, anonymised for review, are submitted by email. No eligibility restrictions are stated. Note: the Cambridge Core prize page still shows the older 2024 call at a different amount; the institute's own announcement is current. No application fee.
The Bradford Textile Society, which has run its design competition since 1893, awards a collective GBP 17,000 across textile categories in the 2027 cycle. CATEGORIES: weave, knit, print, embroidery, combined textile processes, mixed media and new technologies, the last being a natural home for e-textile and smart-textile work; a new Coldharbour Mill Award for Tartan is added for 2027. ELIGIBILITY: all UK-based students and independent designers are welcome to enter. KEY DATES: entries open 22 March 2027 and close at midnight on 7 May 2027; the entry portal is currently closed between cycles, but the deadline and categories are published now. No entry fee is stated on the competition page.