A Short Story Competition New Zealanders Can Enter Every Month
Quick answer: Short story competition open to New Zealand: Writory's contest accepts original stories of 100 to 3,000 words in any genre and any language, including te reo Māori, 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.
One story of 100 to 3,000 words, $8 to enter, closing 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, and a certificate with a score out of 100 back for every writer who enters.
After the Sargeson, what is left of the year
New Zealand's short story year is short. The Sargeson Prize from the University of Waikato is free, pays NZ$10,000 and closes once a year. Landfall has been publishing from Otago since 1947 and takahē from Christchurch since 1989. The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards in May are for books. The Auckland Writers Festival and Verb Wellington are places to listen, not to enter.
Between those dates a working writer in Hamilton or Dunedin has nowhere to send a story and hear back within the month. Writory fills that. Enter by 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, and on 30 November 2026 you receive a certificate and five marks out of 100 against a rubric published in advance: Storytelling & Structure 25, Character & Emotional Impact 25, Language & Craft 20, Originality & Voice 20, Impact & Resonance 10.
The deadline in Auckland and Wellington time
Entries close on 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. New Zealand sits thirteen hours ahead of India during daylight saving, from the last Sunday of September to the first Sunday of April, and twelve and a half hours ahead the rest of the year. So the deadline is 7:29 AM the following morning in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in summer, and 6:29 AM in winter. The Chatham Islands add a further 45 minutes.
Submit by your own midnight on deadline day and you are always inside the window. 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, 100 to 3,000 words, any genre, from writers aged 13 or over, entered online at /submit-story. A writer in Invercargill sees the same score sheet as one in Auckland.
Te reo Māori, and the rights you keep
Any language is accepted, and each story is read in its own language. A story in te reo Māori is read by a reader of Māori and judged in the same pool as the English entries, against the same rubric. New Zealand English is not marked down; Language & Craft scores precision and rhythm, not which dictionary you grew up with.
You keep all rights. Entering here is not publication, so a story scored in one round can still go to Landfall, takahē or the Sargeson afterwards with its first publication rights intact. Nothing is printed, and there is no anthology to buy. The sister poetry contest has published dated winners from India, the United States, Ireland, Kenya and Slovenia; the story contest's first results arrive on 30 November 2026.
Paying from a New Zealand card
The fee is in US dollars: $8 for one story, $14 for two, $25 for five. One story is about NZ$13 at current rates. Payment goes through PayPal, which takes a PayPal balance or a Visa or Mastercard as a guest without an account. ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Kiwibank and Westpac cards all work; most add a foreign-currency fee of around two percent.
The prize of $100 is paid to the winner by PayPal, which operates in New Zealand and withdraws to a local bank account. Winners also enter the next round free. That is the only free entry: there is no open free tier, and we would rather say so than let you find out at checkout. Writory Academy Story Craft, a free six-lesson course at /academy/story-craft, covers the rubric before you write.
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
Can New Zealand writers enter?
Yes, anyone aged 13 or over, anywhere in New Zealand, with no residency or citizenship condition. Entry is online at /submit-story, and judging is blind.
What does it cost in New Zealand dollars?
The fee is set in US dollars: $8 for one story, $14 for two, $25 for five. One story is roughly NZ$13; your card converts at the day's rate.
What do I receive if I do not win?
The same as the winner minus the prize: a certificate in your name and a score out of 100 with all five rubric marks, on 30 November 2026.
What time is the deadline in New Zealand?
25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, which is 7:29 AM the next morning in Auckland and Wellington during daylight saving and 6:29 AM in winter. Submit by your local midnight and you are safe.
Can I enter in te reo Māori?
Yes. Stories in te reo Māori are read in Māori and judged in the same pool as every other language against the same rubric.
Is this open to writers already entering the Sargeson Prize?
Yes. Entering Writory is not publication and you keep all rights, so the same story remains eligible for the Sargeson or any New Zealand journal that asks for unpublished work.
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.