Winter-spring short story competition round-up

[UPDATED 6/12/18] The great thing about annual short story competitions is that they seem to loop back around in no time, so if you’ve had no luck one year you can soon try your hand again. Here’s a list of some interesting ones open for entries over the coming months. As ever, it isn’t a definitive compilation, just the ones that have caught my eye on the twittersphere. Good luck, fellow scribblers!

 

• InkTears Short Story Contest
• Closing date: November 30
• Prizes: 1st place £1,000, 2nd place £100, plus six highly commended stories will each win £25. If you’re an American citizen you’re in luck as there’s an extra prize of $250 awarded to the best entry from a US writer – this can be combined with any other prize except for the main winner’s prize. All eight stories will be published in the InkTears ezine and bios will be published on the website
• Word limit: 1,000-3,500 words
• Theme: none
• Entry fee: £7.50 per story, multiple stories permitted, open internationally

 

• The Book of Kells Creative Competition
• Closing date: November 30 (12 noon)
• Prizes: 1st place individual €800, an invitation to the awards ceremony in Trinity College Dublin and certificate of merit (or €400 and VIP tour of Trinity if you enter as part of a school or group); runner-up wins €400, invitation to the awards ceremony and certificate. There are also poetry and art categories
• Word limit: 3,500 words
• Theme: animals of the Book of Kells. Stories can be fiction or non-fiction
• Entry fee: free to enter, one entry only. I can’t see any restrictions in terms of who can enter

 

• The London Magazine Short Story Competitions 2018
• Closing date: November 30
• Prizes: 1st place £500, 2nd place £300, 3rd place £200. The winning story will be published in a future print edition of The London Magazine. The two runners-up will be published on the website. Prize winners will also be invited to a reception in London in early 2019
• Word limit: 2,500 words
• Theme: none
• Entry fee: £10 per story, student entry £5 per story (entrants must submit their stories using a valid university email address). Multiple entries allowed, open internationally

 

• Fish Publishing Short Story Prize
• Closing date: November 30
• Prizes: 1st place €3,000 plus a five-day short story workshop at the West Cork Literary Festival in Bantry, 2nd place €300 and a week’s stay at Anam Cara Writers’ Retreat on the Beara Peninsula, 3rd place €300. Seven honourable mentions will each receive €200. The top 10 stories will be published in the 2019 Fish Anthology
• Word limit: 5,000 words
• Theme: none
• Entry fee: €20 for first story, €10 for subsequent entries. Open internationally

 

• Doolin Short Story Competition 2019
• Closing date: December 1
• Prizes: 1st place €1,000, and an invitation to read at Doolin Writers’ Weekend (January 25-27) in Co Clare. Accommodation and meals will be provided on the Friday night of the festival. The runner-up will win a weekend pass to Doolin Writers’ Weekend and a voucher for two nights’ B&B with evening meal at Hotel Doolin
• Word limit: 1,000-3,000 words
• Theme: none 
• Entry fee: €10 per story, multiple entries permitted, open internationally

 

• The Magic Oxygen Literary Prize
• Closing date: December 31
• Prizes: 1st place £1,000, 2nd place £300, 3rd place £100, plus two Highly Commended stories will receive £50 each. For each entry received, a tree will be planted in Boré, Kenya. Additionally, the entry fees will also help fund the construction of a classroom in the same community via the newly formed charity The Word Forest Organisation
• Word limit: 4,000 words
• Theme: none
• Entry fee: £5 per story, multiple entries permitted. Open internationally

 

• The Seventh Annual Mogford Food & Drink Short Story Prize
• Closing date: January 7, 2019 (12 noon)
• Prizes: 1st place £10,000. Three runners-up will receive £250 each
• Word limit: 2,500 words
• Theme: a short story centred around food and/or drink in some way
• Entry fee: £10 per story. Open internationally

 

• Cúirt New Writing Prize
• Closing date: January 31, 2019 (at 5pm)
• Prize: €500 and the opportunity to read at the Cúirt/Over the Edge Showcase event during the Cúirt International Festival of Literature, Galway, April 8-14 
• Word limit: 2,000 words
• Theme: none
• Entry fee:  €10 per story. Open internationally

 

• Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook Short Story Competition
• Closing date: February 13, 2019
• Prize: a place on an Arvon  four- or six-day writing retreat at The Clockhouse in Shropshire. The winning story will be published on the W&A website
• Word limit: 2,000 words
• Theme: none 
• Entry fee: free to enter, just make sure you’re registered on the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook website. One entry only permitted, open internationally

 

• The Cambridge Short Story Prize 2018
• Closing date:  January 15, 2019
• Prizes: 1st place £1,000, 2nd place £300, 3rd place £200. (There is also a prize of £250 for one entry from Bangladesh). All winners and shortlisted stories will be published in an anthology
• Word limit: 2,000-3,000 words
• Entry fee: £8 per story, multiple entries permitted (free for residents of Bangladesh). Open internationally

 

• The Scottish Arts Club Short Story Competition 2019
• Closing date: February 28, 2019
• Prizes: 1st place £1,000; 2nd place £500; 3rd place £250. The winners will be published in an anthology, have a dedicated page on the website to promote their work and will receive one year’s free membership to the Scottish Arts Club; six finalists will receive signed copies of one of chief judge Alexander McCall Smith’s books
• Word limit: 2,000 words
• Theme: none
• Entry fee: £10 per story, multiple entries permitted. Open internationally

 

• Bath Short Story Award 2019 
• Closing date: April 15
• Prizes:  1st place £1,200, 2nd place £300, 3rd place £100, plus £100 for the Acorn Award (for an unpublished writer), and a £50 prize for the best local entry
• Word limit:  2,200 words
• Theme: none
• Entry fee: £8 per story, multiple entries permitted. Open internationally

 

• Bristol Short Story Prize 2019
• Closing date: May 1, 2019
• Prizes: 1st place £1,000, 2nd place £500, 3rd place £250. Prizes of £100 will be presented to 17 shortlisted writers. All 20 stories will be published in the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology Volume 12 and the contributors will receive two copies each
• Word limit: 4,000 words
• Theme: none
• Entry fee: £9 per story, multiple entries permitted. Open internationally

 

• The Bridport Prize 2019
• Closing date: May 31, 2019
• Prizes: 1st place £5,000, 2nd place £1,000, 3rd place £500. Ten commended stories will win £100 each
• Word limit: 5,000 words
• Theme: none
• Entry fee: £10 per story, multiple entries permitted. Open internationally

If there are other competitions you think would make good additions, do please drop me a line, either in the comments section below or on Twitter @wordherding.

 

Photo: StockSnap.io

 

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