“Short fiction seems more targeted – hand grenades of ideas, if you will. When they work, they hit, they explode, and you never forget them.” ― Paolo Bacigalupi

UPDATE: Our list of short story contests in 2020 can be found here.

Mogford Short Story Prize

is for work with food and drink at its heart. First prize is £10,000 (US$11,500) and stories may be up to 2500 words. The entry fee is £10. The closing deadline is 7 January.

Disquiet Prize

offers a grand prize of a full fellowship (airfare stipend, tuition, and housing included) to the 2019 Disquiet International Program in Lisbon, Portugal. Submissions may be up to 25 pages. The entry fee is $15. The closing deadline is 10 January.

Let Your Hair Down Speculative Writing Contest

is open to speculative fiction up to 1800 words, as well as to poetry and creative nonfiction. First prize is CA$1000 (US$730) and all entries will be considered for publication. The entry fee is $32.95 and includes a one-year subscription to EVENT magazine. The closing deadline is 20 January.

Kenyon Review’s Short Fiction Contest

is only open to writers who have not yet published a book. To enter writers must provide a story of up to 1200 words. The entry fee is US$24 and includes a one-year subscription to the Kenyon Review. The closing deadline is 31 January.

Masters Review Winter Short Story Award

is for new writers who have not published a novel or collection with a circulation over 5000 copies. First prize is US$3000. publication on The Masters Review site, and review from multiple agencies. The second and third place stories receive $300 and $200, respectively, publication, and agency review. The entry fee is $20. The closing deadline is 31 January.

Chicago Tribune’s Nelson Algren Award

has been held annually since 1981. The award carries a first prize of US$3500 and has five finalists ($750 each). Stories can be up to 8000 words and entrants must be a legal resident of the United States. There is no entry fee. The closing deadline is 31 January.

Iowa Review Awards

is open to short fiction of up to 25 pages (double spaced), as well as poetry and nonfiction. First prize is $1500 and all entries will be considered for publication. The judges for the 2019 Awards are Rebecca Makkai (fiction), Kiki Petrosino (poetry) and Roxane Gay (nonfiction). The entry fee is $20. The closing deadline is 31 January.

Newcastle Short Story Award

is open to Australian writers aged over 18. Stories may be up to 2000 words and the winner will receive AUD$3000. The entry fee is $16.50. The closing deadline is 4 February.

Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook Short Story Competition

offers the winner a place on an Arvon residential writing course of their choice (valued at £1000) and publication on writersandartists.co.uk. Stories must be under 2000 words and can be on any theme. There is no entry fee. The closing deadline is 13 February.

The Sunday Times Short Story Award

is the world’s richest short story competition, with the winner receiving £30,000 (US$38,000). The 2018 award attracted over 1100 entries from countries. There is no entry fee. The closing deadline is 15 February.

Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize

will be awarded for an original work of short fiction under 2000 words. The first prize winner will receive €1000 (US$1100), a week’s residency at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation in Italy and a consultation with a US literary agent from Foundry Literary. The entry fee is €20. The closing deadline is 14 February has been extended until 28 February.

Howard Frank Mosher Short Fiction Prize

is run by Vermont-based journal Hunger Mountain. The winner receives US$1000 and publication. Stories may be up to 10,000 words in length and all entries will be considered for publication. The entry fee is $20. The closing deadline is 1 March.

White Review’s Short Story Prize

awards £2500 to the best piece of short fiction by a writer resident in Britain and Ireland who has yet to secure a publishing deal. Entries must be 2000 words minimum, 7000 words maximum. The entry fee is £15 and free entry is offered to writers who are on a low-income. The closing deadline is 4 March.

BBC National Short Story Award

is open to British nationals and UK residents who have a prior record of publication in creative writing in the United Kingdom. First prize is £15,000 and entries may be up to 8000 words. Entries can be either unpublished or first published after 1 January 2018. There is no entry fee. The closing deadline is 11 March.

Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction

is offered each year by Colorado State University’s Center for Literary Publishing. The winner receives a US$2000 honorarium and the story is published in the fall/winter issue of Colorado Review. There are no theme restrictions, but stories must be at least 10 pages (or 2500 words) but no more than 50 pages (12,500 words). The entry fee is $17. The closing deadline is 14 March.

Bath Short Story Award

is open to stories up to 2200 words in length. First Prize is £1200 (US$1500) and stories may be in any genre. This year the shortlist judge is literary agent Samuel Hodder from Blake Friedmann Literary Agency. The entry fee is £8. The deadline for entries is 15 April.

Craft Short Fiction Prize

is open to stories up to 5000 words. Three stories will be selected published in CRAFT, accompanied by an introduction from judge Elizabeth McCracken and a craft essay from each author. The author of the prize-winning story will receive US$2000; the two runners-up will receive $500 and $300, respectively. Entries close on 30 April.

Tom Howard/John H. Reid Short Story Contest

is open to original short stories and essays on any theme. The winner in each category receives US$2000 and there are 10 minor prizes of $100 each. Entries should be maximum of 6000 words. The entry fee is $20. The closing deadline is 30 April.

David Nathan Meyerson Prize for Fiction

is only open to writers who have not yet published a book of fiction, either a novel or collection of stories. The winner receives US$1000 and publication in Southwest Review. Stories can be up to 8000 words in length and all entries will be considered for publication. The entry fee is $25. The deadline for entries is 1 May.

Bristol Short Story Prize

is open to stories up to 4000 words and has a first prize of £1000. Entries can be on any theme or subject and are welcome in any style including graphic, verse or genre-based (crime, science fiction, fantasy, historical, romance, children’s etc). Twenty stories will be shortlisted and published in the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology. The entry fee is £9. The closing deadline is 1 May.

Curt Johnson Prose Award

is run by December magazine, a magazine whose many accomplishments include being the first to publish the work of Raymond Carver. The Award is open to stories up to 8000 words in length, with the winner receiving $1500 and publication in the magazine. The closing deadline is 1 May.

RTÉ Radio 1 Francis MacManus Short Story Competition

is open to writers who are Irish or reside in Ireland. Three winning entries will receive €3000, €2000 and €1000 each. The winning and shortlisted stories will be produced and broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 in a season of new writing, read by leading actors. There is no entry fee. The closing deadline is 10 May.

Ploughshares Emerging Writer’s Contest

is open to writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry who have yet to publish a book. The winner in each genre will be awarded US$2000. Entry is free for current subscribers to Ploughshares or non-subscribers receive a one-year subscription to the magazine with their $24 entry fee. The closing deadline is 15 May.

Raymond Carver Short Story Contest

is open to writers from around the world and offers $2500 across five prizes. Entries open on 1 April and close on 15 May.

Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition

is dedicated to recognising and supporting the work of emerging writers whose fiction has not yet achieved success. To be eligible writers must not have had their fiction published in a nationally distributed magazine/journal with a circulation of 5000 or more. Entries must be less than 3500 words. The winner receives US$1500 and publication. The entry fee is $15 before 1 May and $20 before 15 May.

Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize

is being run for the first time in 2019. The prize is open to all UK residents for original short stories between 1000 and 5000 words. Longlisted stories will be judged by Zoe Gilbert, Kit Caless and Emma Paterson and be published in an anthology. The overall winner receives £1000. The entry fee is £8. The closing deadline is 25 May.

Tillie Olsen Short Story Award

is run The Tishman Review. The contest is open to stories up to 5000 words and first prize is US$500. The entry fee is $15 and all entrants receive a one-year digital subscription to the magazine. Entries open on 1 April and close on 30 May.

Bridport Prize for Short Stories

is open to work in any fictional genre and on any subject up to 5000 words. Open internationally, the winner receives £5000 (US$6300) and there are prizes for second, third and highly commended. The entry fee is £10. The closing deadline is 31 May.

Literary Taxidermy Short Story Competition

invites writers worldwide to provide an original story of up to 2500 words in any genre. The catch: they provide your opening and closing lines chosen from a classic work of literature. The entry fee is US$10. The closing deadline is 4 June.

V.S. Pritchett Memorial Prize

is the Royal Society of Literature’s annual prize for the best unpublished short story of the year. The winner receives £1000 (US$1260) plus publication in Prospect Magazine and the RSL Review. Entrants must be resident in the UK, Republic of Ireland or the Commonwealth. Stories should be between 2000 and 4000 words. The entry fee is £7.50. The closing deadline is 28 June.

The Moth International Short Prize Story

is open to previously unpublished works of fiction up to 5000 words. The winner will receive €3000 and prizes for second and third place are also offered. Entries close on 30 June.

Brighton Prize

is a short fiction contest open to writers worldwide. Entries must be between 1000 and 2000 words, with the winner to receive £1000 (US$1250). There are also two runners-up prizes and all winning and placed stories will be published in an anthology. The entry fee is £8. The closing deadline is 1 July.

Seán Ó Faoláin International Short Story Competition

is an annual short story competition open to writers from around the world. First prize is €2000 (US$2250), publication in the literary journal Southword, and a week-long residency at Anam Cara Writer’s and Artist’s Retreat. The entry fee is €15. The closing deadline is 31 July.

F(r)iction’s Fiction Contest

is part of a suite of contests run the imprint of the Brink Literacy Project. The organisers encourage submissions that push boundaries and take risks in genre, plot, and style. Entries should be between 1000 and 7500 words. The judge is novelist Melanie Finn and the winner will receive $1000 and publication. The entry fee is $15. Entries close on 31 July.

Indiana Review’s Half-K Prize

offers a first prize of US$1000 and publication. Writers can submit up to three pieces of writing up to 500 words each and there are no genre or form restrictions. The entry fee is $20 and includes a one-year subscription to Indiana Review. Entries are open on 1 July and close on 15 August.

Masters Review Summer Short Story Award

is for new writers who have not published a novel or collection with a circulation over 5000 copies. First prize is US$3000. publication on The Masters Review site, and review from multiple agencies. The second and third place stories receive $300 and $200, respectively, publication, and agency review. The entry fee is $20. The closing deadline is 31 August.

Manchester Fiction Prize

is a major international literary competition open to anyone aged 16 or over. The winner receives a cash prize of £10,000 (US$11,500). Stories can be up to 2500 words in length. The entry fee is £17.50. Entries close on 20 September.

Wollongong Writers Festival Short Story Prize

is accepting short stories from writers around the world related to the theme ‘All Lit Up’. The winner will receive AUD$1000 (US$675) and publication in Mascara Literary Review. The entry fee is AUD$15. Entries close on 1 October.

Zoetrope All-Story’s Annual Fiction Contest

has the aim of seeking out and encouraging talented writers, with the winning and runners-up’s work being forwarded to leading literary agents. A first prize of US$1000 is also offered. Entries close on 8 October.

Arkansas International Emerging Writer’s Prize

is open to works of fiction up to 7500 words in length. All entrants must not have yet published a full-length book, and have no book forthcoming before 20 May 2020. The entry free is $20. Entries close on 19 October.

Larry Brown Short Story Award

is run by literary magazine Pithead Chapel. The contest is open to stories up to 4000 words and the judge for 2019 is novelist Leesa Cross-Smith. The entry fee is US$10. Entries open on 1 August and close on 31 October.

John Steinbeck Short Story Award

is one of three prizes offered by Reed Magazine. This award is for a work of fiction up to 5000 words. The winner receives a cash prize of US$1000 and all entries are considered for publication. Entries open on 1 June and close 1 November.

Commonwealth Short Story Prize

is open to citizens of the 53 Commonwealth countries, the prize covers the five Commonwealth regions: Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, Caribbean and Pacific. One winner will be selected from each region, with one regional winner to be selected as the overall winner. The overall winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize will receive £5000 (US$6500) and the remaining four regional winners receive £2500. Entries close on 1 November.

Chris O’Malley Prize in Fiction

is offered annually by The Madison Review. The winning story will be awarded US$1000 and publication. Entries may be up to 30 pages. The entry fee is $10. Entries open on 1 October and close on 1 December.

The Sunday Times Short Story Prize

is the world’s richest short story competition, with the winner receiving £30,000 (approx US$39,000). There are also runners-up prizes of £1000, plus a £1000 fee for inclusion in an Audible anthology of the shortlisted entries. There is no entry fee. Entries open on 20 October and close on 13 December.

Ruth Rendell Short Story Competition

is open to short fiction in any genre up to 1000 words. The competition is run by InterAct Stroke Support, a charity dedicated to supporting stroke recovery by using professional actors to deliver reading material specially selected to suit the needs of stroke patients. The winner, to be choosen by Margaret Drabble, will receive £1000 and will be asked to write a further four stories for the charity. The entry fee is £15. Entries open on 1 August and close on 22 December.

Magic Oxygen Literary Competition

is open to short stories up to 4000 words. First prize is £1000 (US$1150) and the contest organisers will be planting a tree in Kenya for each entry received (when the contest closes they will email the GPS coordinates of your tree to you). The entry fee is £5. Entries are expected to open on 1 October and close on 31 December.

Bayou Magazine’s James Knudsen Prize for Fiction

is open to unpublished pieces up to 7500 words in length including novel excerpts if the submission stands alone as a complete short story. The winner receives US$1000 and all submissions will be considered for publication. The entry fee is $20 and each entrant receives a copy of the contest issue. Entries open on 1 October and close on 31 December.

Boulevard’s Short Fiction Contest for Emerging Writers

is open writers who have not yet published a book of fiction, poetry or creative non-fiction with a nationally distributed press. Stories may be up to 8000 words and must be previously unpublished. The winner will receive US$1500 and have his or her story published in the magazine. Entries close on 31 December.

For updates and news about short story contests throughout the year follow Aerogramme Writers’ Studio on Facebook and Twitter.