Short Story Competitions

arranged in date order

The Writing Forge Short Story Competition
The inaugural Writing Forge Short Story Competition is now open for entries.
Closing Date: 30th August 2010
Prizes: £700 first prize, £100 runner up, £50 third prize. Up to three entries per writer. £6 for one entry, £10 for two and £14 for three. The three winning entries will be published online by the Writing Forge. Entries will be judged by novelist and creative writing tutor, CJ Emerson. Length: up to 3000 words. Entries may be emailed to compaugust@writingforge.co.uk (Microsoft Word, Open Office or text files accepted) or posted to: August Competition, Writing Forge, The Grove, Redbrook, Monmouth NP25 4LX. Pay with a credit/debit card or PayPal on the web site, or send a cheque made payable to ‘Cherise Emerson’ to the address above. For full details visit the web site. writingforge.co.uk/ 

English Heritage Writing Competition
Closing date: 31st August 2010.
Prizes: See below.
Here's something different folks! If you want the challenge of writing a mini play/sketch, song or poem that will become part of the audio guide at an English Heritage historical site, then here's your chance.
This is what they say: "English Heritage have recently installed some new signs at Chiswick House in west London that show historical views of the gardens. This competition you to write a mini play or sketch based on these images.
There are 3 categories of entry: adults, Under 18s, and Chiswick residents, each with a choice of two images to base their sketch on. The sketch can take any form, be it mini play, song, poem, etc. provided it is no longer than 3 minutes when read aloud. Winners will have their entry professionally recorded as part of a new audio guide for visitors to Chiswick House alongside established playwrights who we plan to commission to write the rest of the sketches. They will also receive an English Heritage membership and hamper."
All the details and the images can be found at: english-heritage.org.uk/

Wells Festival Of Literature International Short Story and Poetry Competitions
Closing date: 31 Aug 2010.
Prizes: £500/£200/£100 in each category, plus local prizes. Fee: £4 in each category. Poems: 40 lines max. Story: 1800-2000 wds. Go to website for Entry Form and all other details. wlitf.co.uk/storyrules.htm

Tenby Arts Festival Writing Competition (Short Story and Poetry)
Closing Date: 31st August 2010.
Prizes: £150, £70, £30 each category. Fee: £4 per story/poem or 2 poems for £6, 3 poems for £8. Story: 1500 wds. Poem: 40 lines max. No information on website, so write to: Writing Competition, c/o The Swallows, Stammers Lane, Rushy Lake, Saundersfoot, SA69 9PB

Town & Village Short Story Competition
Close date is 31 August 2010
Prizes: £100, £30, £10 (plus publication for all winners). Fee: £4. The theme is "A Misunderstanding". Story: 1200 wds. See website for how to enter. mags4dorset.co.uk/

Leaf Books Postcard and Short Travel Writing Competition
Closing Date: 31st August 2010
Prizes: First prize: Winner receives £150 and a free copy of the Leaf Writers’ Magazine.
Further published entrants will receive a free copy of the Leaf Writers’ Magazine. To enter: £3 per entry, 4 entries for £10.
"Visiting new places can be very inspiring for writers. Leaf Books invites you to submit a short piece of Travel Writing (up to 300 words) or a postcard from an interesting destination (you don’t have to send us an actual postcard, but feel free to if you like – if you’re not using an actual postcard, your piece should be no longer than 300 words; if you are, you can write on both the back and front of the postcard). Your writing can be a journalistic piece, a diary entry or a piece of micro-fiction – as long as your piece evokes a clear sense of place then you’re welcome to use a form of your choice." leafbooks.co.uk/New/

Words with Jam First Annual Short Story Competition 2010
Closing Date: 31st August 2010, 12pm GMT
Prizes: 1st Prize - £300; 2nd Prize - £100; 3rd Prize - £50. Entry fee: £6 for one entry, £10 for two.
"Let's keep it simple, eh? We're looking for the best short story of up to 2,500 words. Please note that we are looking for the Best Short Story, not bribes. If you wish to send vast sums of money, tickets for sell-out concerts, rare signed first edtitions, feel free, but as the stories will be judged anonymously, it won't help you much." wordswithjam.co.uk/

Earlyworks Press Short Story Competition
Closing date:  31st August 2010
Prizes: £100 1st prize. Publication for best entries.  Entry fee: £5 up to 4,000 words, £10 for 4. Maximum 8,000 words. Payment in pounds sterling POs or cheques, payable to Kay Green, or use the PayPal button on website. See website for full details.  earlyworkspress.co.uk/Competitions.htm 

Shortbread Stories Hometown Tales Story Competition
Closing date: 15th September 2010
Prize: A place on a five day creative writing course. The winner will get an accommodation-free stay at Finca El Tornero de Abajo in the Sierra de Aracena Natural Park in Huelva Province, Spain, the home of the Pilcher Foundation for Creative Writing.
This is what they say: "The old adage, 'Write what you know' is uttered in every classroom, in every lecture hall and  in every writing class daily. In fact it may be the best advice you’ll ever be given as a writer, and many authors take the saying to heart. Stephen King, Garrison Keillor, James Joyce. What do these authors have in common? They have all written about their home towns, whether it’s the fictional places of Castle Rock and Lake Wobegon or the very real city of Dublin. Forget about the bright lights of the big city, the castles of adventure, and the lions, witches and wardrobes, and head back home. Return to the place you grew up in for some inspiration. We want to read stories that are sparked both by humorous recollection and nostalgia, whether home is a little farm on the Scottish Isle of Skye, or an apartment in New York City." shortbreadstories.co.uk/competitions/ 

Dark Tales Quarterly Short Story Competition
Closing dates: 30th September 2010, 31st December 2010, 31st March 2011.
Prizes: 1st - £500; 2nd - £250; 3rd - £100. All stories published in Dark Tales magazine. Unpublished stories up to 5,000 words. Entry fee: £3, plus £3 for an optional tick-sheet critique. Subscribe for four issues of Dark Tales and enter for free.
http://www.darktales.co.uk

StoryFeedback.com Bi-monthly Short Story Competition
Closing dates: 31st August, 31st October, 31st December.
Prizes: 1st - £100; 2nd - £50; 3rd - £25. All stories published online for one month to get feedback from visitors, then optionally in a professionally illustrated anthology. Unpublished fiction up to 3,000 words. Entry fee: £3, plus £3 for an optional tick-sheet critique.

storyfeedback.com

Flash500 Quarterly Story Competition
Closing dates: 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December.
Prizes will be awarded as follows: First: £250 plus publication in Words with JAM; Second: £100; Third: £50; Highly commended: A copy of The Writer’s ABC Checklist.
Entry fee: £5 for one story, £8 for two stories. Optional critiques: £10 per story
Flash 500 is a quarterly open-themed competition. The results will be announced within six weeks of each closing date and the three winning entries each quarter will be published on the competition website. The judge changes each quarter, details on the judge’s page at: flash500.com

Earlyworks Press Fiction for Children or Teens Competition
Closing date 30th September 2010.
£100 Cash Advance & Royalty Contract Small Press Publication OR £350 Cash for the winner. Professional Critiques of Submissions, Advice on Synopses and Proposals, Author-Signed Books and Cut-Price Club Membership for the the top ten. Entry fee £14 per manuscript. To enter send up to 5000 words, including proposal and/or synopsis, in the same way that you would when approaching an agent or publisher.
earlyworkspress.co.uk/childrens_fiction

The Yellow Room Autumn Short Story Competition
Closing date: 30th September 2010.
Prizes: 1st Prize - £80; 2nd Prize - £45; 3rd Prize - £20. Entry Fee: £4 (or £10 for 3 stories). Stories up to 2,500 words. The winning story will be published in The Yellow Room Magazine.
http://www.theyellowroom-magazine.co.uk/Competitions.html

Leaf Books Micro-Fiction Competition
Closing date: 30th September 2010.
Prizes: First prize: Winner receives £150 and a free copy of the Leaf Writers’ Magazine and the anthology.
One runner up will receive a free copy of the magazine/anthology.
Further successful entrants published in the magazine will get a free copy, and commended
authors for the anthology will be able to pre-order the book at a reduced rate. To enter: £3 per entry, 4 entries for £10.
Submit a micro-fiction (max 300 words) on any subject imaginable. More details on the website.
leafbooks.co.uk/New/

The Longworth Editors Short Story Competition
Closing date: 30th September 2010.
Prizes: The winner will receive £250 and the two runners up will each get £100. The entrance fee is £10.
The stories should be loosely based on the theme of ‘Loss’ and can be no longer than 3,000 words. Please send your submission by email to competitions@longwortheditors.com, with ‘loss’ as the subject heading. Payment can be made online at the website or request details to send a cheque. longwortheditors.com/ 

Whitechapel Short Story Competition
Closing date: 2nd October 2010
Prizes: First - £100 plus publication in the Whitechapel Journal and full publicity on the society's website. Fee: £5, £7.50 two entries, £10.00 three or more entries
Unpublished stories up to 3,000 words beginning with the sentence: "Everyone called it the double event. Two women on the same night, less than an hour apart, and less than half a mile apart. Things were definitely getting out of control...." (Authors who have had books published on Jack the Ripper are excluded from entry.)
whitechapelsociety.com/

2010 H.E. BATES SHORT STORY COMPETITION
The Northampton Writers say "Write us a short story on the subject of your choice".
Closing date for entries Monday 4th October 2010.
Prizes: 1st Prize £150; 2nd Prize £100; 3rd Prize £50
2000 words maximum. Entry fee £4 for each story - or £1 for each story by an Under 18 writer. northamptonwriters.org.uk

Sefton Writing Competition
Closing date: 22nd October 2010
Prizes: £250 and four runners up of £50 each.
Entries may include short texts, stories, essays, dialogues, mini-dramas, monologues and lyrics, none of which must exceed 500 words. seftonarts.co.uk/

FlashStories.net Quarterly Short Story Competition
Closing dates: 31st October 2010, 31st January 2011, 30th April 2011.
Prizes: 1st - £500; 2nd - £250; 3rd - £100. All stories published online. Unpublished fiction in any genre up to 500 words. Entry fee: £5 for one story, £7 for two stories, £3 per entry for three or more stories. flashstories.net

Brighton Community of Writers Short Story Competition
Closing date: 1st November 2010.
Prizes: £100, £50 and £25. There will also be the opportunity for the stories to be published on their website as well as being read out through Coastway radio, which provides music and entertainment to a network of Brighton hospitals. Entry fee: £4. The theme is open for a story of up to 3,000 words. brightoncow.co.uk

The New Writer Prose and Poetry Prizes
Closing date: 30th November 2010
Prizes: Short Story - £300, £200, £100; Serial/Novellas - £300.
This is what they say: "What we are looking for is bold, incisive material in any genre just as long as it reflects writing today. The prizes will be presented as well as publication for the prize-winning writers in The New Writer 'Special Collection'".
Short stories up to 4,000 words and novellas/serials up to 20,000 words on any subject or theme, in any genre (not children's). Previously published material is not eligible for entry. Entry fees £5 per short story. £15 per Serial/Novella.
thenewwriter.com/ 

The Willesden Herald Short Story Competition
Closing date: 17th December 2010
Prizes: Prizes: WH Mug and £300; 2x£150; plus publication for runners up. Fee: £3.
Stories: 7,500 wds. Judge: Maggie Gee. willesdenherald.com/competition 

Onward Short Story and Poetry Competition
Closing date: 28th February 2011
Prizes of £50, £30 and £20 with free anthology. Entry fee of £3 is required for each entry or £5 for 2 entries. Entries must not exceed 1200 words or 40 lines for poetry.
The purpose of the competition is to raise funds to save and restore the Theatre Royal Hyde Cheshire,(http://www.theatreroyalhyde.co.uk) but should this fail the proceeds will be used to fund other heritage/theatre charities. onwardwriting.co.uk/

Bristol Short Story Prize
(Note: These details were obtained from a reliable source, but the competition is not yet featured on the Bristol Short Story Prize website. Keep checking the site for when it is posted.)
Closing date: 31st March 2011
Prizes: £500 plus £150 Waterstones gift card; £350 plus £100 Waterstones gift card; £200 plus £100 Waterstones gift card; 17x£50. Fee: £7.
Story: 3000 words max. bristolprize.co.uk/

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