International Writing Competitions in Poetry and Short Story
Quick answer: International writing competitions run by Writory: a monthly poetry contest, open for over a year, and a Short Story Contest for 100 to 6,000 words. Both accept any language and every country, judge blind, and give every entrant a certificate and a score out of 100. Story entry $8, deadline 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST.
Monthly poetry and quarterly story contests open to every country and every language: story entry $8, deadline 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, and a certificate and score out of 100 for every entrant in both.
Two competitions, no border
Writory runs a monthly poetry competition and a short story competition with quarterly rounds. Neither has a residency rule. The poetry contest has run every month for over a year: any language, entries close on the 25th, results by month end, and every poet receives a certificate and a score. The Short Story Contest opened on 1 September 2026 for original fiction of 100 to 6,000 words in any genre. Anyone aged 13 or over can enter either from any country, online, and payment and prize availability depend on the country and account.
International is a claim many contests make and few can show. The poetry winners are on dated pages at /past-winners and have come from India, the United States, Ireland, Kenya and Slovenia; entrants have come from 40 countries. The first Story results are scheduled for 5 December 2026; Story winners have not yet been announced. The story contest uses blind judging against its own published rubric.
Any language, read in its own language
A story or poem may be written in any language. It is read in that language, not through a translation, and it sits in the same pool as every other entry rather than in a side category. Names and countries come off before reading. The story rubric is the same for every entry: Storytelling & Structure 25, Character & Emotional Impact 25, Language & Craft 20, Originality & Voice 20, Impact & Resonance 10. A judge sees prose, not a passport.
That matters for a writer whose first language is not English, who in most international competitions is asked to compete in translation or not at all. Here a story in Tagalog, Hindi, Swahili or Spanish is judged on what it does in Tagalog, Hindi, Swahili or Spanish. Every entrant receives the five marks and a certificate whatever the language and whatever the result, on the same day as everyone else.
One deadline for every timezone
Both contests are run from India, so both deadlines are anchored to Indian Standard Time, UTC plus five and a half hours, with no daylight saving. Story entries close on 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST and results arrive on 5 December 2026; the poetry contest closes on the 25th of every month. At 11:59 PM IST it is early evening in London and Lagos, early afternoon in New York, mid-morning in Los Angeles, and the early hours of the next day in Manila and Sydney.
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. Certificates and scores are delivered digitally to every entrant at once, so no part of entering or winning requires an address in any particular country. Convert the deadline once for your own city and write that local time down, not the Indian one.
How prizes cross borders, and what these contests are not
The top story prize is $100, paid in US dollars to eligible winners, subject to payment availability in their country and account; contact contest@writoryofficial.com before entering if unsure. Winners of a round also enter the next round free. Writers keep all rights in both contests, and a winning piece is published on the site only with the writer's consent and credit. Story entry is $8 for one story, $14 for two, $25 for five, priced in US dollars for writers outside India.
These are recurring contests for short work, not annual prizes with juries of famous names, and they are not free at the door: free entry is earned by winning or by entering three rounds running, which brings the Seasoned Quill badge and a free entry. There is no novel, essay or screenplay category. A writer who wants a fee-free annual prize should also look at the Commonwealth Short Story Prize; a writer who wants a reading and a number every round is who this is for.
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
Can I enter from any country?
Yes. Both contests are open to anyone aged 13 or over anywhere in the world, under the contest rules, with no residency or citizenship requirement. Entry is online, judging is blind, results and certificates are delivered digitally, and prizes are paid to eligible winners, subject to payment availability in their country and account.
What does entry cost, and in which currency?
Story entry for writers outside India is $8 for one story, $14 for two, $25 for five, in US dollars. The poetry contest has its own lower fee on its own page. Free entry is earned only: by winning a round, or by entering three rounds running for the Seasoned Quill badge.
What is on the certificate, and can it be verified abroad?
The certificate carries your name and the contest round and records a blind-judged, scored result against a published rubric. Winners are named on dated public pages, so a placing can be checked from any country. The score, five marks out of 100 for a story, arrives with the certificate and stays private to you.
Do I have to write in English?
No. Both competitions accept any language, and every entry is read in the language it was written in, not through a translation. It is judged in the same pool as every other entry, against the same rubric, with the writer's name and country removed before reading.
How is a prize paid to a winner outside India?
In US dollars, after results on 5 December 2026, to the winner directly; prize-payment availability depends on the country and account. The poetry contest has already paid winners in the United States, Ireland, Kenya and Slovenia as well as India, so the route is not theoretical. Nothing about collecting a prize requires an address in any particular place.
Can I enter both the poetry and the story competition?
Yes, in the same round if you like. They are separate contests with separate fees, rubrics and results, and each entry is judged only against its own field. A poem and a story entered in the same round return two certificates and two scores.
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.