Can You Submit the Same Story to Multiple Contests?
Quick answer: Usually yes: most contests allow simultaneous submissions unless their rules say otherwise. What to check, what to withdraw, and where writers get burned.
Usually, yes. Most writing contests allow you to enter the same story elsewhere at the same time, a practice called simultaneous submission, unless their rules explicitly forbid it. The two conditions that matter: the story must still be unpublished if the contests require unpublished work, and you must withdraw it promptly from the others if it wins somewhere and the winner takes publication or exclusive rights.
The permission lives in each contest's rules, not in any general convention, so the real answer is always read the page. Writers get into trouble not by entering widely, which is sensible strategy, but by ignoring the three clauses that govern what happens when a story succeeds in two places at once.
What simultaneous submission actually means
A simultaneous submission is one story sitting in more than one queue at the same time. Contests and magazines each set their own policy. Many welcome it because they know writers cannot wait six months per market for a story with a shelf life. Some forbid it because their judging is slow and they do not want winners vanishing mid-process. A minority allow it but ask you to note it in your entry.
This is different from multiple submissions, which means sending several different stories to the same contest. Plenty of contests allow that too, often with a fee per entry. The vocabulary matters because rules pages use both terms precisely, and misreading one for the other is a common way to break a rule by accident.
The three clauses to check before you enter twice
First, the simultaneous submissions clause itself. If the rules say entries must not be under consideration elsewhere, believe them; contests do compare notes within their scene, and a withdrawn win embarrasses everyone. Second, the previously published definition. If contest A publishes your story as a winner, it becomes published work, and contest B will disqualify it if their rules require unpublished entries. Third, the rights clause: what the contest takes if you win, usually first publication rights, sometimes exclusivity for a period.
Timing does a lot of the work here. A contest with a fast, predictable cycle is easy to run alongside others. Writory's Short Story Contest, for example, runs monthly with results by the 30th, so you know within weeks whether a story is free to keep travelling.
What to do when a story wins one of them
Withdraw it from every other queue the same week, before the winning contest publishes. Almost every contest and magazine has a withdrawal process: an email to the contest address or a note through the submission portal with your name, the story title, and a one-line explanation. Nobody is offended by a withdrawal for a win; editors see it constantly and it reads as professionalism.
What causes lasting damage is silence. If your story wins contest A, gets published, and then places in contest B while still listed as unpublished, you have handed contest B a rights problem and yourself a reputation problem. The writing world is small, judges circulate between competitions, and disqualification lists are quietly remembered.
A sensible multi-contest strategy
Keep a submission log: story title, market or contest, date sent, response date, result, and the story's publication status. A spreadsheet is enough. Send each strong story to two or four well-chosen contests whose rules allow it, rather than carpet-bombing twenty, because entry fees add up and deadlines cluster.
Match the story to the contest before entering anywhere. Word limits, themes, and judge taste vary, and a story trimmed to fit one contest's cap may need its full length elsewhere. Keep a master version and note which variant went where, so an acceptance never surprises you with the wrong text.
Where writers get burned
The classic burn: a story wins a small contest that publishes winners on its website, and the writer, thinking a blog-sized audience does not count, keeps submitting it as unpublished. It counts. Publicly available anywhere generally means published, and the disqualification arrives at the worst moment, usually when a bigger contest asks for confirmation of status.
The second burn is quieter: entering a no-simultaneous-submissions contest anyway, betting nothing will collide. It works until it does not. The third is forgetting an old entry entirely; contests with long judging windows can surface a result eight months later, after the story has sold elsewhere. The log solves all three.
What poets can take from this
- Search each rules page for the words simultaneous, previously published, and rights before entering the same story anywhere twice.
- Withdraw a story from all other queues within days of a win, before the winning contest publishes it.
- Track every submission in a log with dates, status, and the exact version of the story you sent.
- Treat anything publicly readable online, including your own blog, as published when a contest requires unpublished work.
- Prefer contests with stated, fast decision timelines when running one story in several places.
Try it yourself
Pick your best unpublished story and find three real contests whose rules allow simultaneous submissions and whose word limits fit it. Write one sentence per contest on why this story suits that judge or theme. Enter the two where your sentence is convincing.
Questions
Can I enter two different stories in the same contest?
Often yes; that is called a multiple submission, and many contests permit it, usually with a fee per entry. Check the rules for a per-writer cap. Sending your two strongest, rather than everything you have, tends to serve you better with fee-based contests.
What happens if the same story wins two contests at once?
It becomes a rights conflict, because each contest typically expects first publication. You would have to decline one win, and both contests will remember why. Prompt withdrawal after the first win exists precisely so this never happens.
Does posting a story on my own website count as published?
Almost always, yes. Most contests and magazines define published as publicly accessible in any form, which includes personal sites, newsletters, and public social posts. Password-protected critique groups are usually fine, but when in doubt ask the contest directly.
By the Writory editorial team, reviewed by working poets. Updated July 2026.
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