Ruby Anthology
July 6, 2026
Here I am reading an excerpt from my story ‘The Sutton Phenomenon’ at the launch of Sutton Writers fortieth anniversary anthology, available on Amazon.
Tag: short story
Competitions
June 21, 2026
I have updated my list of current writing competitions…
June 2026 Competitions
May 20, 2026
I have once again updated my list of writing competitions to include ones with deadlines next month. Good luck!
May 2026 Competitions
April 21, 2026
I have updated my list of writing competitions to include ones with deadlines next month. There are some interesting ones this time. Good luck!
April 2026 Competitions
March 18, 2026
I have updated my list of competitions… Rather slim pickings in April, but there are quite a few coming up in May. Surprisingly, there are no competitions for writing a good April Fool story. Someone should organise that.
March 2026 Competitions
February 20, 2026
I have updated my list of competitions…
February 2026 Competitions
January 20, 2026
I have now collected the competition details from previous months and put them all together on a new page, which I will update rather than making separate posts. February’s info is already there. You’ll see there’s also a direct link from the front page to the new one. I think this will make the list a little easier to find and consult. The idea is also that in due course there will be a full rolling twelve months on the page, which should make it easier to look at old details to get an idea of what’s probably coming up beyond next month.
I hope this is helpful. Feedback is welcome, (but don’t write to say you’d like all the competitions to be free, for I am powerless in that respect).
January 2026 Competitions
December 21, 2025
Here is another monthly round-up, covering competitions with deadlines in January.
As always, these are contests I may enter myself, so generally no poetry or flash and no competition that isn’t open to an elderly bloke in the UK. Prizes and entry fees vary a lot, so check the benefits to see whether they appeal to you. There is no point in entering a competition if you don’t even want the prize! In some cases the entry fee amounts to a large slice of the prize, though there may be other benefits such as publication, trophies, free books or courses, etc.
Merry Christmas!
| Contest | Word Count | Fee | Prize | Deadline | Details |
| Exeter Novel Prize | 10k + synopsis | £20.00 | £1,000.00 | 01/01/2026 | |
| Disquiet Literary Prize | 25 pages | $15 | Lisbon Program or $1,000 | 05/01/2026 | First prize is a week-long lit program in Lisbon, but you can opt for cash |
| Storybottle | 10,000 | $15 | $1,000 | 15/01/2026 | |
| Cai Emmons | 25,000 word min | $25 | $5,000 | 15/01/2026 | |
| Georgia Review | Less than 9,000 | $25 | $1,500 | 15/01/2026 | Winners of story and essay sections compete for the top prize. |
| The Page is Printed | 1 A4 page | £5 | £100 voucher | 19/01/2026 | |
| LISP | 3,000 | £14.50 | £100 | 26/01/2026 | You can enter later but it costs more |
| Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize | 3,000 | $25 | $1,000 | 30/01/2026 | |
| Parracombe | 2,026 | £5 | £150 | 31/01/2026 | |
| The Ghost Story flash | 1,000 | $15 | $1,000 | 31/01/2026 | |
| Bristol Short Story Prize | 4,000 | £14.00 | £1,000 | 31/01/2026 | |
| Askew’s Word on the Lake | 2000 | $15(Ca) | $200(Ca) | 31/01/2026 |
November 2025 Competitions
October 20, 2025
Here is another selection of writing competitions I might enter with deadlines in the coming month.
Presented once again in a handy tabular form!
As always these are just the competitions I might enter myself, so they don’t generally include flash fiction or poetry. I hope, though, that there’s something that interests you.
| Prize | Length | Fee | Prize | Deadline | Comments |
| Commonwealth Short Story Prize | 2-5k | Free | £2,500 region, £5,000 overall | 01/11/2025 | |
| Ascent Novel Prize | first 3000 words, pitch and synopsis | £29.00 | £1,000.00 | 01/11/2025 | Feedback for all entrants + online community |
| Scribble Short Story | 3,000 | £5.00 | £100.00 | 01/11/2025 | Theme ‘Accused’ |
| F(r)iction | 1,001 – 7.5k | $15 | $1,000 | 07/11/2025 | |
| Galley Beggar Press | 6,000 | £11.00 | £2,500.00 | 08/11/2025 | |
| Curious Curls | 10,000 | $2.00 | $250 | 15/11/2025 | Theme ‘Hole’ |
| NORward | 20p | $21 | $750 | 15/11/2025 | |
| Writer’s Digest short short | 1,500 | $30 | $3,000 | 17/11/2025 | |
| Narrative Magazine | 15,000 | $27 | $2,500 | 21/11/2025 | |
| Fish short story | 5,000 | £24.00 | £3,000.00 | 30/11/2025 | |
| PrairieFire | 5,000 | CA$34 | CA$1250 | 30/11/2025 | |
| Tadpole Press | 100 | $15 | $1,000 | 30/11/2025 | |
| Inkspot | 2,500/5,000 | £10/£15 | £1,000.00 | 30/11/2025 |
If you get anywhere with any of these, please do let me know.
October 2025 Competitions
September 17, 2025
The tabular format seemed to work last time, so I think I’ll stick with it (feedback always welcome, though).
As always these are just the competitions I might enter myself, so they don’t generally include flash fiction or poetry. That said, there’s a range of prizes here, some generous, others less so.
| Prize | Word count | Fee | Prize | Comments | Deadline |
| Calvino Prize | 25p | $25 | $2000 | In the spirit of Calvino but not pastiche | 01/10/2025 |
| Zoetrope All-Story | 5,000 | $30 | $1,000 | 01/10/2025 | |
| Jeffrey E. Smith (Missouri Review) | 8,500 | $25 | $5000 | 01/10/2025 | |
| Letter Review | 5,000 | Free ($5 for extra) | Share of $1000 | 01/10/2025 | |
| Dzanc Books | 40,000 | $25 | $2,500 +pub | Collections | 01/10/2025 |
| Spokane Prize (Willow Springs Books) | min 92 pages | $25 | $2000 | There are some other rules about lengths. | 02/10/2025 |
| What the Wild Carries | 5,000 | $20 | $2000 + pub | Various genres | 05/10/2025 |
| Moonlit Getaway | 2,500 | $CAD8 | $CAD250 | 12/10/2025 | |
| Caledonia Novel Award | 20p +200 syn | £28.00 | 1500 + framed award | You don’t have to be Scottish. | 15/10/2025 |
| The Raven (Pulp Lit) | 2,500 | $35 | publication + $300 | 15/10/2025 | |
| Tennessee Williams Festival | 7,000 | $25 | $1,500 + Festival invite | 15/10/2025 | |
| Eyelands | 250k | €40.00 | Translation into Greek, pub + ceramic | Unusual comp based in Greece | 20/10/2025 |
| Bedford | 3,000 | £8.50 | £2,000.00 | 31/10/2025 | |
| Southport Writers Circle | 2,000 | £3.00 | £200.00 | 31/10/2025 | |
| Ironclad | 6,000 | £9.00 | £100.00 | Theme: ‘Switch’ | 31/10/2025 |
| The Hope Prize | 5,000 | $30 | $10,000 + pub | Stories of ‘Hope, courage, and resilience’ | 31/10/2025 |
If you get anywhere with any of these, please do let me know.
Seen and Done 