Short Stories

Short story contests judge a single piece of fiction, not a manuscript, and that changes what you send. A story has to hold a reader from its first line, with no chapters to carry it and no room for a slow build. The contests gathered here range from flash fiction to a full-length story, and some ask for a group of stories rather than one.

If you write in short form, this is where the work gets read.

What are the best short story competitions?

The ones that match the length you write. The Oxford Flash Fiction Prize and Chalk Circle 1500 suit very short work, while the Bridport Prize and the CBC Short Story Prize take a full short story. The Drue Heinz Prize and the Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize are for a body of stories rather than a single piece.

What are some competitions for short story writing?

The Hemingway Short Story Competition and Writers of the Future both take a single story and are open to writers building a name. The Bridport Prize and the CBC Short Story Prize are the larger, better known entries in this group. Each one asks for a story that stands alone, so a chapter from a novel in progress will not fit.

Which publishers accept short stories?

That question belongs to the magazines and anthologies that print them, not to the contests here. The prizes on this tag are judged as competitions, and a win or a placement is what gets a story read. If you want a publisher, look at where the winning stories from the Bridport Prize and the CBC Short Story Prize have appeared.

How is a short story contest different from a novel contest?

A novel contest reads a manuscript; a short story contest reads one finished piece. The Drue Heinz Prize and the Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize still want a group of stories, but each one has to work alone. There is no room for a slow opening or a subplot that pays off later.

Short story contests ask for a single piece of fiction, not a manuscript, and the listings here reflect that. The Bridport Prize and the CBC Short Story Prize judge one story on its own, while the Oxford Flash Fiction Prize and Chalk Circle 1500 work at even shorter lengths, where every sentence has to earn its place. The Drue Heinz Prize and the Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize sit closer to a collected body of work, and the Hemingway Short Story Competition and Writers of the Future reward a story that stands alone without a novel behind it. What separates these from the Novels and Poetry tags is the unit of entry: a story that must hold a reader from first line to last, with no chapters to carry it and no line breaks to lean on.