A Short Story Competition Open to Writers in Italy Every Round, in English or Italian
Quick answer: Short story competition entries from Italy are welcome at Writory every round, in English or Italian. Entry is $8 for one story of 100 to 6,000 words in any genre. Judging is blind against a published rubric, every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100 on 5 December 2026, and writers keep all rights.
Entry is $8 for one story of 100 to 6,000 words in English, Italian or any other language. The deadline is 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, evening in Rome, and every entrant receives a certificate and a five-part score out of 100 on 5 December 2026.
The racconto in Italy, and where a quarterly contest fits
Italy's great prizes are for books, and the racconto has ridden along with them. Dino Buzzati won the Premio Strega in 1958 with Sessanta racconti, a collection, and Calvino, Moravia, Ginzburg and Primo Levi all did some of their best work at short length. The Strega is still announced each July at the Ninfeo di Villa Giulia in Rome, the Campiello in Venice each September, and the Premio Chiara in Varese is given specifically for story collections. The Salone del Libro in Turin each May and Festivaletteratura in Mantua each September are the year's two great gatherings.
For an unpublished writer with one finished story, though, the openings are few. The Premio Italo Calvino in Turin takes unpublished book-length work once a year, and most local concorsi answer only their winners. Writory closes every round, reads every story blind against a published rubric, and sends every entrant a certificate and a score out of 100 on 5 December 2026, in whichever language the story was written.
Entering in Italian or English: the terms
A story in Italian is read in Italian, not translated, and scored against the same five-part rubric as an English entry in the same pool. Sardinian, Friulian, Neapolitan, Sicilian or the German of South Tyrol are read the same way. Stories run from 100 to 6,000 words, in any genre, entered online at /submit-story by anyone aged 13 or over. Your name is removed before the panel reads.
The rubric is public: Storytelling & Structure 25, Character & Emotional Impact 25, Language & Craft 20, Originality & Voice 20, Impact & Resonance 10. The top prize each round is $100, the winner enters the next round free, and free entry is otherwise earned, never open. You keep all rights, and nothing is published without your permission, so a story entered here can still go to an Italian rivista or a concorso letterario afterwards.
The deadline in Rome time
The round closes on 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Local deadline: Rome and Milan: 30 November 2026 at 19:29 CET. These dates include the local clock change for this round. Results and certificates follow on 5 December 2026.
Use the local deadline above when planning your entry. Allow time to upload, complete payment and check that the story appears in your account; submitting a day early avoids a last-minute rush. 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.
Paying in US dollars from Italy, and how the prize is paid
Writory is based in India and charges entrants outside India in US dollars: $8 for one story, $14 for two, $25 for five. Pay by card or PayPal at /submit-story. Any Visa or Mastercard works, including a Postepay prepaid card, which many Italians keep for exactly this kind of online purchase; your bank converts at the day's rate, roughly €7 for a single entry at the time of writing. We do not print a euro price because the rate would make it wrong within weeks.
The $100 prize is paid by PayPal, which works with Italian bank accounts and pays out in euro. Written feedback on a story is an optional extra at entry, priced separately; the certificate and score come with every entry. The Story Craft course at /academy/story-craft is in English and requires a module or full-course unlock. 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 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 writers living in Italy enter?
Yes, whatever your citizenship, on the same terms as every other entrant. There is no Italian category and no quota. Judging is blind, so the panel sees no name, city or nationality, and every story is read in its own language in one pool against the same published rubric.
What does entry cost in euro?
Entry is charged in US dollars: $8 for one story, $14 for two, $25 for five. Your card or PayPal account converts at the day's rate, roughly €7 for a single entry at the time of writing. Winning a round makes the next entry free, and entering three rounds in a row earns a free entry.
What does every entrant receive?
A certificate in your name and a score out of 100 across the five rubric parts, delivered on 5 December 2026, the same day the winners are announced. You are not told your rank or the size of the field; the score describes how your own story was read against the rubric.
What time is the deadline in Italy?
The round closes on 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Local deadline: Rome and Milan: 30 November 2026 at 19:29 CET. These dates include the local clock change for this round. Results and certificates follow on 5 December 2026.
Can I write in Italian?
Yes. A story in Italian is read in Italian, not translated, and scored on the same five-part rubric as every English entry in the same pool. Language & Craft is marked on precision and rhythm within the language you chose. Regional languages and dialects written deliberately are read as themselves, not as errors.
Can I pay with Postepay?
Yes, if the card carries a Visa or Mastercard mark and is enabled for online purchases abroad, which Postepay Evolution cards are. The charge is in US dollars and Poste converts it to euro at the day's rate. If a card is refused, PayPal at /submit-story is the other route.
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.