A Short Story Competition Open to Irish Writers, in English or Irish
Quick answer: Short story competition open to Ireland: Writory's monthly contest accepts original stories of 100 to 3,000 words in any genre, in English, Irish or any other language, for $8 a story. Judging is blind against a published five-part rubric, every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100 on 30 November 2026, and the top story wins $100.
Enter one story of 100 to 3,000 words for $8 by 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, and receive a certificate and a five-part score out of 100 whether or not you place.
Where it sits beside the Irish competitions
Ireland punches far above its size in short fiction. The Seán Ó Faoláin Prize from the Munster Literature Centre in Cork pays €2,000 each year, RTÉ's Francis MacManus competition is free and broadcasts the winners on Radio 1, Fish Publishing runs its prize out of West Cork, and The Stinging Fly and Banshee still read unsolicited stories from Dublin. Listowel Writers' Week in June and Cúirt in Galway each spring hand out more.
Every one of those is annual, and none of them tells you how close you came. Writory is the monthly complement. On 30 November 2026 each entrant receives a certificate and five marks: Storytelling & Structure out of 25, Character & Emotional Impact out of 25, Language & Craft out of 20, Originality & Voice out of 20, Impact & Resonance out of 10. Judging is blind; a first-timer in Sligo is read exactly as a published writer in Dublin 2.
Two things called IST, and the deadline in Dublin
The deadline is 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, and here IST means Indian Standard Time, not Irish Standard Time, which is a genuine trap for Irish writers. India is five and a half hours ahead of Greenwich all year. So in Dublin, Cork and Galway the deadline falls at 6:29 PM in winter and 7:29 PM during Irish summer time, from late March to late October.
The first contest runs from 1 September to 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, with results and certificates on 30 November 2026. From December the contest is monthly: entries close on the 25th, results on the 30th, and the next round opens the moment they land. Stories must be original and 100 to 3,000 words, in any genre, and the writer must be 13 or over. Entry is online at /submit-story only. There is no anthology, no printed book to buy, and no publication of your story unless you win and agree to it.
Irish-language stories are read in Irish
Stories may be entered in any language, and each is read in its own language, so a story as Gaeilge is judged by a reader of Irish, not run through anything on the way. It competes in the same pool as the English entries against the same rubric. Given how thin the paid opportunities for Irish-language short fiction are outside Oireachtas na Gaeilge's literary competitions, that is worth knowing.
One honest caveat about scope. Ireland is not a Commonwealth member, so Irish citizens cannot enter the free Commonwealth Short Story Prize that UK writers lean on. Writory has no citizenship condition of any kind; the only requirements are age, originality and length. The sister poetry contest has already published a dated winner from Ireland, alongside winners from India, the United States, Kenya and Slovenia.
Paying in dollars from a euro card
Writory charges in US dollars: $8 for one story, $14 for two, $25 for five. One story is about €7 at current rates. Payment runs through PayPal, which accepts a PayPal balance or a Visa or Mastercard as a guest; Revolut and N26 cards convert at close to the interbank rate, and AIB and Bank of Ireland cards add a small non-euro charge.
The winner's $100 is paid by PayPal, which operates fully in Ireland and withdraws to any Irish bank account. Winners also enter the next round free, and that is the only free entry there is. You keep all rights to the story, so it remains free to go to The Moth or the Stinging Fly afterwards. If you want the rubric taught first, Writory Academy Story Craft is a free six-lesson course at /academy/story-craft.
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 3,000 words by 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Every story is judged blind against the rubric above, and results arrive on 30 November 2026: every entrant receives a certificate with their name and a score out of 100. Writers keep all rights. Monthly winners earn free entry to the next round. Enter at https://writoryofficial.com/submit-story.
Common questions
Is the competition open to writers in Ireland?
Yes, from age 13, in the Republic and Northern Ireland alike, with no residency or citizenship condition. Entry is online at /submit-story and judging is blind.
What is the entry fee in euro?
The fee is in US dollars: $8 for one story, $14 for two, $25 for five. One story is roughly €7 at current rates, converted by your card or PayPal on the day.
Do I get feedback, or just a result?
Every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100 with all five rubric marks shown, on 30 November 2026. A longer written reading of your story is available as an optional extra at entry.
Does IST mean Irish time here?
No. The deadline is 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST in Indian Standard Time, which is 6:29 PM in Dublin in winter and 7:29 PM during Irish summer time.
Can I enter a story written in Irish?
Yes. Stories as Gaeilge are read in Irish and judged in the same pool as every other language against the same five-part rubric.
Are there free short story competitions in Ireland?
The RTÉ Francis MacManus competition is free for Irish-born or resident writers and worth entering every year. Writory is not free; entry is $8, and free entry is only earned by winning a round.
More story contest pages
About Writory
Writory (writoryofficial.com) is an international monthly poetry contest founded in 2025 by Shivay Mehra. Poets from 31 countries have entered, readers come from over 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.