Winter Tales is Northern Broadsides and Arvon’s annual writing competition and podcast celebrating short stories inspired by the season.
Since 2020, Northern Broadsides has produced an annual winter podcast; a combination of new writing and classic stories, presented by some familiar voices. Now, Winter Tales is run as a competition for writers across the North of England with prizes for winners and runners-up.
Winter Tales highlights Northern Broadsides’ and Arvon’s shared commitment to nurturing emerging writers and sharing stories that reflect the voices of the North.
“Winter is my favourite time of the year and I wanted to write a little about how it makes me feel. I was extremely surprised to win but absolutely thrilled. It is a wonderful feeling to have something you have created recognised by others.”
Winter Tales (2025)
The Royal by Christina Lewis
Read by Julie Hesmondhalgh
Runners-up:
Sunny Inside by Ruth Bushi
A Recipe of Enchiladas by Ruby Martin
Winter Tales (2024)
City Winter by Ellen McKeag
Read by Neil Grainger
Runners-up:
Nutkin by Denise Eaton
The Sentinel by Gill Petrucci
Winter Tales (2023)
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore
Read by Andrew Whitehead
Spirit of Christmas
Written and read by Jeanette Winterson
Reginald on Christmas Presents by Saki
Read by Samuel Barnett
The Feast of Nemesis by Saki
Read by Samuel Barnett
It’s a Wonderful Life
Written and read by Clare Shaw
Christmas with Kylie Always
Read by Mina Anwar
A Night Before Christmas by Anjum Malik
Read by Hana Gillani
Dancing Dan’s Christmas Gift by Damon Runyon
Read by Jamie Parker
Winter Tales (2022)
The White Hart
Written and read by Simon Armitage
The Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter
Read by Jess Baglow
The Woodwind Fairy by Annie Chadwick
Read by Jo Patmore
Pomegranate Frost by Megan Hyland
Read by Lisa Allen
A British Pakistani Christmas by Saima Mir
Read by Mina Anwar
The Fir Tree by Hans Christian Andersen
Read by Andrew Whitehead
The Greatest Story Ever Told by Kamal Kaan
Read by Arian Nik
An Extract from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
Read by Sophia Hatfield
Miracle on Morley Crescent by Sadhana Narayanan
Read by Devashrie De Silva
The Tales of Christmas (2021)
A Christmas Story of Murmured Voices in Shakespearean Sonnets
Written and read by Ian McMillan
A Beard and a Suit by Max Bownas
Read by David Crellin
The Story of the Goblins Who Stole A Sexton by Charles Dickens
Read by Nancy Brabin-Platt
Merry Christmas by Stephen Leacock
Read by Matt Pettifor
A Walk Down The Snow Valley
Written and read by Hina Gillani
Past Version Of Myself At Christmas Dinner
Written and by Felix Mufti-Wright
Jimmy Scarecrow’s Christmas by Mary Freeman
Read by Alyce Liburd
The Set of Poe by George Ade
Read by Alyce Liburd
The Twelve Tales of Christmas (2020)
Bertie’s Christmas Eve by Saki
Read by Samuel Barnett
The Thieves Who Couldn’t Stop Sneezing by Thomas Hardy
Read by Dominic Weatherill
Christmas Storms and Sunshine by Elizabeth Gaskell
Read by Lesley Sharp
A Christmas Dinner by Charles Dickens
Read by Andrew Whitehead
Green Triangles
Written and read by Yasmeen Khan
The Autobiography of a Dollar Bill by Lelia Plummer
Read by Tyrone Huggins
The Diary of Anne Lister by Anne Lister
Read by Paula Lane
Ten Men by Benjamin Myers
Read by Neil Grainger
The Stranger at the Door
Written and read by Debs Newbold
Sorrel and Black Cake (The Letter)
Written and read by Khadijah Ibrahiim
Madame Martel’s Christmas Eve by Kate Chopin
Read by Flo Wilson
Down Pens by Saki
Read by Samuel Barnett
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Read by Gerard McDermott