Sykes Prize 2026 - Brothers

We are delighted to announce the winners of the Robinson College Sykes Prize 2026. As was the case in previous years, the entries were of an extremely high standard, all displaying different imaginative and formal qualities. Once again, we warmly congratulate the winners of this year's prize on the originality of their achievements. The winners are listed below, along with links to their entries, and below that list is the original prompt for this year's award. The judges would like to offer thanks again to Keith Sykes for his generous support of the initiative.

First place: Niko Kristic (The God Parasite)

Second place: Jay Palombella (The Air is Thick and Trembling) 

Third place: Helena de Brett (Uniforme), James Amamize (Mariano's claim), Louis Cameron (A Difficult Thing)
 

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Giuseppe Ungaretti (1888-1970) was an Italian modernist, poet, journalist, essayist and critic. He was born in Egypt, educated in French at Alexandria’s Swiss School, and fought in the first World War, serving in the trenches in Northern Italy. The poem “Fratelli” (“Brothers”) is the prompt for the 2026 Sykes competition.

The Robinson College Sykes Prize is encouraging responses to Ungaretti’s text. Submissions can be in any written form that you choose (though not exceeding 2,000 words): stories, poems, film scripts, and graphic novels are all admissible.