ShortStoryComps

The Wells Festival of Literature's Short Competition

Fri, 25 Mar 2016 10:47:39 +0000

The Wells Festival of Literature's Short Competition
Closing date: 30th June 2016.
Prizes:£500, £200, £100 plus local author prize £100.
Entry fee: £5.
Looking for: A short story on any theme, between 1,000 and 2,000 words.
Email: Jennifer.smith850@tesco.net
See Website for more...

Eyelands 6th international short story contest

Wed, 23 Mar 2016 15:46:18 +0000

Eyelands 6th international short story contest
Closing date: 20th June, 2016.
Prizes: a week's holiday in Crete & publishing of all the short listed stories in a book.
Entry fee: €10 by PayPal.
Looking for: Short story/ theme: colours/ 2500 words.
Further info: Results announced by the end of September 2016.
Email: info@eyelands.gr
More details on Website...

Story Planner Monthly Story Plan Competition

Tue, 8 Mar 2016 09:38:24 +0000

Story Planner Monthly Story Plan Competition
Closing date: 15th of every month.
Prizes: Writing books and courses.
Entry fee: Free.
Looking for: Story plans and outlines using the plans at StoryPlanner.com
Further info: Judge: Joanne Bartley.
Email: competitions@storyplanner.com
See Website for more...

1000 word challenge

Mon, 7 Mar 2016 09:48:28 +0000

1000 word challenge
Closing date : 31st May 2016.
Prizes: 1st prize £100, 2nd prize £50, 3rd prize £25. Winners are also published on our website.
Entry fee: £5.
Looking for: Short stories of up to 1000 words on the theme 'lift'.
Email: contact@1000wordchallenge.com
See website for more...

Swansea Writers Horror Writing Competition 2016

Wed, 2 Mar 2016 16:04:11 +0000

Swansea Writers Horror Writing Competition 2016
Closing date: 20th May 2016.
Prizes: First Prize £150 ($200), Runner up £50 ($70). Publication a horror anthology.
Entry fee: £6 per story.
Looking for: Stories in the horror/psychological thriller genre. Length: 1,500 to 2,500 words. Winners notified 3 June 2016. Results posted on website 10th June 2016.
Further info: Judged by novelist Catrin Collier.
Email: swanseawriterscircle@gmail.com
Visit Website for more...

Fright Cards

Tue, 23 Feb 2016 17:34:53 +0000

Fright Cards
Closing date: on-going.
Prizes: Publication and 5 copies of postcard.
Entry fee: Free.
Looking for: Flash/Micro fiction, various word counts less than 200 words.
Further info: Get your work read by many by getting your story published on a quality finish postcard!
Email: horrorscribing@gmail.com
See Website for more...

The Castle to Cathedral to Cashmere Writing Competition

Mon, 22 Feb 2016 14:26:52 +0000

The Castle to Cathedral to Cashmere Writing Competition
Closing date: 31st May 2016.
Prizes: A prize of £350 is on offer for the best short story to promote Elgin's rich and compelling history and its place as a tourist destination, and the runner up prize is £150. The winning entries will be announced at the Spirit of Moray Book Festival in September 2016.
Entry fee: Entry is free.
Looking for: Previously unpublished short story of no more than 3,000 words set in Elgin and surrounding area during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Further info: Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Elgin.
See more on Website...

England's Future History

Thu, 18 Feb 2016 11:48:29 +0000

England's Future History
Closing date: There is currently no closing date.
Prizes: Accepted stories will be published online (see below).
Entry fee: None.
Looking for: Stories should be between 500 and 3,000 words. Further info: All stories should be set at some point in England's future (provide a date for the event your are submitting). Once a story is accepted it becomes part of the site's timeline and other writers should take note not to contradict any events on the timeline.
More details on Website...

SI Leeds Literary Prize

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 13:37:14 +0000

SI Leeds Literary Prize
Closing date: 30th April, 2016.
Prizes:The winning award is £2,000 and a free place on an Arvon creative writing course of their choice.
There is runner-up award of £750, and a third prize of £250. All three winners will receive a free place at a writer development event by TLC at the Free Word Centre.
Entry fee: £18.
Looking for: Unpublished novels and/or collections of short stories of any genre of no less than 30,000 words.
Further info: The Award is open to published and unpublished women writers, over the age of 18, of Black or Asian descent who are resident in the UK. Ethnicity will be self-defined by entrants.
See Website for more...

The Ann & Dan Very Short Story Contest II

Fri, 5 Feb 2016 08:55:50 +0000

The Ann & Dan Very Short Story Contest II
Closing date: 1st March, 2016.
Prizes: 1st - $25; 2nd - $15; 3rd - $10.
Entry fee: Free entry.
Looking for: Original fiction, 200-1000 words.
Further info: Read entry requirements and last year's winners on the blog!
Email: annanddantour@gmail.com
More details on Website...

Limnisa Short Story Competition 2016

Wed, 3 Feb 2016 14:23:25 +0000

Limnisa Short Story Competition 2016
Closing date: April 15th, 2016.
Prizes: One week writing holiday in Greece. Full board, single accommodation.
Entry fee: Like and share our page on facebook or other social media.
Looking for: 3000 words maximum. We welcome stories on any subject coming from any genre, but what we are looking out for is writing with spark and conviction.
Further info: Read the winning stories of last year.
Email: entries@limnisa.com
More info on Website...

Shooter Literary Magazine 2016 Short Story Competition

Wed, 3 Feb 2016 14:21:54 +0000

Shooter Literary Magazine 2016 Short Story Competition
Closing date: 1st May 2016.
Prizes: £150, £50, print & online publication, plus free e-copy of summer issue for all entrants.
Entry fee: £7.
Looking for: Stories of any theme or genre up to 5,000 words.
Email: competition.shooterlitmag@gmail.com
See Website for more...

The Henshaw Competition

Tue, 26 Jan 2016 14:46:40 +0000

The Henshaw Competition
Closing Date: 31st March 2016.
Prizes: 1st £100, 2nd £50, 3rd £25. Prize winners published on the Henshawpress web site and optionally in our next anthology.
Entry Fee: £5 by PayPal or by cheque to G. Jennings. Optional Critiques a further £5.
Entry Requirements: A short story on any theme up to 2000 words.
Results announced by the end of April 2016
See Website for more..

The LitRejections Short Story Prize

Tue, 26 Jan 2016 10:09:27 +0000

The LitRejections Short Story Prize
Closing date: 4th April 2016.
Prizes: 1st Prize $250 and Story Published on www.litrejections.com; 2nd Prize: $150; 3rd Prize: $100. The winning story will be published on our website for 1 year, allowing the numerous worldwide agents who visit our site, to read your winning story.
Entry fee: $15 (early bird until March 1st 2016) thereafter $25.
Looking for: "We are accepting entries across all genres, and thoroughly encourage those writing in any genre to make submission. Variety is something we enjoy and a great story is a great story."
Further info: Your story must have a central theme about rejection. Max Word Length: 2000 One Entry Per Writer.
Visit Website for more...

MJMeads.com UK Short Story Competition

Mon, 25 Jan 2016 12:32:24 +0000

MJMeads.com UK Short Story Competition
Closing date: 31st March 2016.
Prizes: £30 Amazon books for the winner, £10 each for runners up.
Entry fee: £0.
Looking for: Theme: 'New Beginnings', 1500-2500 words.
Further info: Previously unpublished stories.
More on Website...

Annual Arkbound Competition

Tue, 19 Jan 2016 12:22:49 +0000

Annual Arkbound Competition
Closing date: 5th September 2016.
Prizes: 1st - £100 plus featuring in Boundless magazine; 2nd - £50 and possible featuring (space permitting); 3rd - £25; 3 runners up of £5.
Each winner also gets embossed certificate.
Entry fee: £2.50 (but for some it will be free).
Looking for: For this entry we invite people to write a short story about something that has inspired them, or will inspire other people. What is inspiration? What sort of things do we expect it to lead on to? You will be the judge of this. We are looking for a piece that stands out, that grabs the reader's attention, even if perhaps it may be unconventional. Wordcount 500-2000 words. Because the theme for this category is so broad, word count is also more flexible.
Further info: We sponsor writers from disadvantaged backgrounds (quite a broad term) so for these the entry fee does not apply.
Email for entries: competitions@arkbound.com
Click link for Website...

Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award

Tue, 19 Jan 2016 12:21:47 +0000

Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award
Closing date: 31st March 2016.
Prizes: $200, $100, & $50, plus potential publication in Bethlehem Writers Group's next print anthology or online magazine.
Entry fee: $10.
Looking for: Children's stories. We're looking for stories that will appeal to children from pre-school through middle school. Length: under 2,000 words.
See Website for more...

Chipping Norton Literary Festival Short Story Competition

Thu, 14 Jan 2016 16:12:32 +0000

Chipping Norton Literary Festival Short Story Competition
Closing date: 15th March 2016.
Prizes: £500, £100, £50, Top 10 to be featured on pennyshorts.com.
Entry fee: £5.
Looking for: Short stories, max 3,000 words, any genre.
Further info: Judge: Tessa Hadley.
Email: editor@pennyshorts.com
See Website for details on how to enter

Lancashire Authors Association Flash Fiction Open Competition

Wed, 13 Jan 2016 09:17:46 +0000

Lancashire Authors Association Flash Fiction Open Competition
Closing date: 31st October 2016.
Prize £100
Entry fee is £3 non-members and £2 members.
Looking for: The competition is for a short story in exactly 100 words (excluding the title) on any theme or subject.
Further info: Entry is open to anyone over 16 years of age. Entries may be submitted by e-mail or post.
Details, rules and entry form can be downloaded from the website:

Fabula Press Short Story Contest

Fri, 18 Dec 2015 11:59:22 +0000

Fabula Press Short Story Contest
Closing date: 31st March 2016. (Opens 1st Jan)
Prizes: The contest carries the following prizes: First Prize: US$250; Second Prize: US$150; Third Prize: US$100. All longlisted entries (top 10-15) get published in an anthology, and non-prize winning published entries will be paid US$50 each. Also, at the sponsors' discretion additional prizes may be declared for 'Editors' Pick' category (in the last edition of the contest four such prizes of US$50 each were declared).
Entry fee: US$10.
Looking for: Short Stories, word count: Minimum 1500, maximum 7000. At the editors' discretion some latitude may be allowed on both minimum and maximum word counts for stories of exceptional merit.
Further info: Theme: None. There is no restriction on genre either, and we are happy to read historical fiction, mystery/suspense, and horror. However, for consistency of presentation we cannot accept children's stories, fantasy, young adult or chick lit; likewise hardcore science fiction is not something we are looking for, but are open to science based / alternative history based literary works. In case of doubt, it is best to query the editorial team.
Detailed guidelines are available on website...

Erewash Writers New Writer Competition 2016

Mon, 14 Dec 2015 14:52:19 +0000

Erewash Writers New Writer Competition 2016
Closing date: Thursday 30th June 2016.
Entry fee: £3 per entry, £2.50 multiples.
Prizes: Free critique for all entrants, £40, free comp entry and online publication.
Looking for: Entries from worldwide welcome. Short stories from new writers only. Max 3,000 words.
Email: erewashwriterscomps@hotmail.co.uk or contact us via postal address on website.
Visit Website for further information...

Erewash Writers Open Short Story Competition 2016

Mon, 14 Dec 2015 14:50:25 +0000

Erewash Writers Open Short Story Competition 2016
Closing date: Thursday 29th September 2016.
Entry fee: £3 per entry, £2.50 multiples.
Prizes: £100 first, £50 second, £25 third, £15 fourth, two 'Highly Commended' receive comp free entry, donation to charity. On line publication first four placings.
Looking for: Entries from worldwide welcome. Short stories, max 2,000 words. Critique service available £3 basic, £10 detailed.
Email: erewashwriterscomps@hotmail.co.uk or contact us via postal address on website
See Website for more...

2016 Bristol Short Story Prize

Fri, 13 Nov 2015 13:23:27 +0000

2016 Bristol Short Story Prize
Closing date: 30th April 2016.
Prizes: 1st £1000; 2nd £700; 3rd £400. 17 further prizes of £100 will be presented to the writers whose stories appear on the shortlist. All 20 shortlisted writers will have their stories published in the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology Volume 9. The 20 shortlisted writers will be invited to an awards ceremony in Bristol in October 2016 when the winners will be announced and the anthology launched.
Entry fee: £8 per story.
Looking for: Stories on any theme or subject and entry can be made online via the website or by post.
Further info: Entries must be previously unpublished with a maximum length of 4,000 words (There is no minimum). UK and non-UK based, over 16 years of age.
Full details and rules on website...