Filipino Short Story Writing Contest: Patimpalak sa Maikling Kuwento
Quick answer: Filipino short story writing contest entries are open at Writory from September 2026: an original maikling kuwento of 100 to 6,000 words in Filipino or Tagalog, entered online for $8. Stories are read in their own language, judged blind against the published rubric; the top prize is $100, and every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100.
Isulat ang maikling kuwento sa Filipino, Tagalog, Taglish o English at ipasa online. Every story is read in the language it was written in against the published rubric, entries close on 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, and every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100.
Ang maikling kuwento, read in Filipino
The Philippines has a short story culture most countries would envy. Liwayway has printed fiction in Tagalog every week since 1922, Deogracias Rosario earned the title father of the Tagalog short story in its pages, Genoveva Edroza-Matute's Kuwento ni Mabuti is still taught in high schools, and the Palanca Awards have run a maikling kuwento category alongside the English one since 1950. Most international contests ignore all of it and accept English only. Here a story in Filipino stays in Filipino: read in Filipino by readers who know the language, and scored on the same published rubric as every other entry.
The rubric has five parts: Storytelling & Structure 25, Character & Emotional Impact 25, Language & Craft 20, Originality & Voice 20, Impact & Resonance 10. Under Language & Craft, Filipino prose is marked as Filipino prose; a paragraph of Taglish dialogue, a Bisaya or Ilokano line inside a Tagalog story, or a purist sentence with no borrowed word are all read as choices, not corrected. Judging is blind, so names, cities and earlier entries come off before reading. There is no Filipino category and no Filipino prize; every story, in every language, sits in one pool and one scored list.
The deadline in Manila is 2:29 in the morning
Entries close on 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Local deadline: Manila: 1 December 2026 at 02:29 GMT+8. Results and certificates follow on 5 December 2026. The first contest runs from 1 September 2026 to 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, with results and certificates on 5 December 2026 at 8:00 PM IST. Story rounds run every three months, closing on the last day of February, May, August and November. Results follow on the 5th of the next month. The next round opens on the 1st, before the previous round's results.
The local dates above are calculated for this round, including any daylight-saving change. Wherever you write, allow time to upload, pay and check your confirmed entry in your account. A story finished after the deadline can enter the next three-month round.
Entering and paying from the Philippines
The story goes in at /submit-story, typed or pasted. Stories run from 100 to 6,000 words in any genre, the writer must be 13 or older, and the work must be original and yours. Entry is $8 for one story, $14 for two and $25 for five, paid in dollars by card or PayPal; your bank converts the charge to pesos at its own rate, and no other payment step is needed. A story in Filipino and a story in English go through the same form.
The top prize is $100, paid to eligible winners, subject to payment availability in their country and account, and the winner also enters the next round free. Eligible Seasoned Quill writers can also receive a free single-entry reward; available rewards appear at checkout. Whatever the placing, every entrant receives a certificate with a verification link and the full five-part score out of 100. The Palanca says nothing to the writers who do not place; this contest returns a five-part score to every entrant. Written feedback is an optional add-on. You keep every right to the story and may send it to Liwayway or a campus folio the next day.
Bago mo ipasa
Writory Academy's Story Craft course at /academy/story-craft is in English and requires a module or full-course unlock; its lessons on scene, cause and ending apply to a kuwento in Filipino without alteration. Read the rubric once, then read your own story asking the five questions the judges will ask. Optional written feedback on an entry is available, and for a story in Filipino it is written in Filipino, so the notes are about your sentences rather than a translation of them.
The first Story results are scheduled for 5 December 2026; Story winners have not yet been announced. A kuwento that a school paper cut for space, or a national contest never answered, will be read here in full and scored in writing.
The published rubric, 100 points
- Storytelling & Structure (25 points): Does every scene cause the next, and does the ending pay off the opening?
- Character & Emotional Impact (25 points): Do we want something with your character, and does the story make us feel it?
- Language & Craft (20 points): Clean, deliberate prose: rhythm, precision, and nothing wasted.
- Originality & Voice (20 points): The angle only you could write, told in a voice that sounds like nobody else.
- Impact & Resonance (10 points): What the story leaves behind after the last line.
How it works
Submit an original story of 100 to 6,000 words by 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Every story is judged blind against the rubric above, and results arrive on 5 December 2026: every entrant receives a certificate with their name and a score out of 100. Writers keep all rights. Winners earn free entry to the next round. Enter at https://writoryofficial.com/submit-story.
Common questions
Pwede bang Filipino o Tagalog ang kuwento?
Yes. Filipino, Tagalog, Taglish and English are all accepted, and a story in Filipino is read in Filipino, not through a translation. Type or paste it at /submit-story. Every entry, whatever its language, is scored on the same published five-part rubric.
How much is the entry fee, and how do I pay from the Philippines?
$8 for one story, $14 for two, $25 for five, paid in dollars by card or PayPal; your bank converts the charge to pesos at its own rate. Winners enter the next round free. There is no separate fee for Filipino and no language-specific surcharge. Eligible account rewards can be selected at checkout.
Makakatanggap ba ako ng sertipiko kahit hindi manalo?
Every entrant does. The certificate carries your name, the contest round and a verification link on writoryofficial.com, and it arrives with your five-part score out of 100 on 5 December 2026. Students attach it to college and scholarship files; working writers quote the score.
Is there a separate prize for the best story in Filipino?
No. Every story, in every language, competes in one pool for the same top prize of $100. A maikling kuwento in Filipino is read in Filipino and marked on the same rubric as an English entry, so it competes in the same field rather than in a side category.
Tinatanggap ba ang Taglish, Bisaya o ibang wika ng Pilipinas?
Yes. Taglish dialogue, a story in Cebuano, Ilokano or Hiligaynon, or a Tagalog story with regional speech in it are all legitimate choices. Language & Craft asks whether the choice is deliberate and consistently handled, not whether it matches a textbook.
When do results come out?
On 5 December 2026 for the current round, on a dated public page, with certificates and scores delivered the same day. The first contest runs from 1 September 2026 to 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, with results and certificates on 5 December 2026 at 8:00 PM IST. Story rounds run every three months, closing on the last day of February, May, August and November. Results follow on the 5th of the next month. The next round opens on the 1st, before the previous round's results.
More story contest pages
About Writory
Writory (writoryofficial.com) is an international monthly poetry contest founded in 2025 by Shivay Mehra. Poets from 40 countries have entered, readers come from more than 150 countries, and every submitted poem is judged and scored out of 100 across five criteria: creativity, emotion, structure, language and impact and resonance. Every entrant receives a certificate; winners receive cash prizes and are published by name. Entries close on the 25th of each month and results are announced on the 30th. Writory is listed by Duotrope, Poetry Kit, Christopher Fielden's competition list and Creative Writing NZ, among other organisations. Past results are public at past winners and the leaderboard.