The Short Story Contest That Shows You Your Score
Quick answer: The Writory Short Story Contest opened on 1 September 2026. Send one original story of 100 to 3,000 words, any genre, by 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Judging is blind against a published rubric, results land on 30 November 2026, every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100, and writers keep all rights.
Submit 100 to 3,000 words by 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Every story is judged blind against a published rubric, and every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100 on 30 November 2026. You keep all rights, always.
How the round runs
Entries close on 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST and results go out on 30 November 2026. One story costs ₹199 in India or $8 internationally; $14 covers two stories and $25 covers five, for writers who work in batches. Any genre qualifies, from a 100-word piece to a full 3,000 words, and there is no theme to write toward unless the month announces one.
The panel reads every story blind. Your name comes off before judging, and the score you get back is broken into the five published dimensions: Storytelling & Structure (25), Character & Emotional Impact (25), Language & Craft (20), Originality & Voice (20), Impact & Resonance (10).
Why the scorecard matters
Most contests return one of two things: a congratulations or nothing. Enter four in a year and hear back from none, and you have spent the fees and learned nothing about the work. Here the transaction is different. Every entrant, placed or not, receives a certificate and all five rubric marks, so a 78 in March that becomes an 84 in May is progress you can actually see.
If you want more than numbers, a written feedback report is available as an add-on: the editorial team quotes your own lines back at you and explains what the strong sentences are doing that the weak ones are not.
Check the record before you trust it
Writory has run monthly poetry contest rounds for over a year, and every poetry round's winners are published on dated pages you can open and verify. Poetry entrants have come from 40 countries; poetry winners have been named in India, the United States, Ireland, Kenya and Slovenia. The first Story results are scheduled for 30 November 2026; Story winners have not yet been announced.
Free entry exists, but it is earned, never open: win a month and your next entry is free, or enter three months in a row and the Seasoned Quill badge brings a free entry with it. Earned entries get the same blind judging and the same scorecard as everyone else.
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. Winners earn free entry to the next round. Enter at https://writoryofficial.com/submit-story.
Common questions
How is the word count measured?
By the story text itself; the title is not counted. Anything from 100 to 3,000 words qualifies, and length buys no advantage: a 400-word piece and a 1,900-word piece are scored against the same rubric.
Are simultaneous submissions allowed?
Writory asks for no exclusivity, so a story entered here can sit with magazines or other contests at the same time. Just track the other side's rules: some prizes withdraw a story's eligibility if it wins and is showcased somewhere first.
What do the judges actually see?
Plain story text with your name removed. No bio, no photo, no note about where you live or how many times you have entered. The sentences carry everything, which is the point of blind judging.
Is there any free way in?
Only an earned one. Monthly winners enter the next round free, and entering three rounds running earns the Seasoned Quill badge, which carries a free entry. There is no open free entry, and earned entries receive exactly the same judging and scorecard.
What does the written feedback add-on include?
A report prepared by the editorial team that quotes your own lines and works through them: where the story turns, where it stalls, what the ending actually rests on. It is optional and separate from the scorecard, which every entrant receives regardless.
Does my story have to be unpublished?
No. A story from your blog, Wattpad or an old anthology qualifies, as long as it is your own original work. What is never accepted is work that is not yours: copied text, and text the entrant did not write, is rejected, not scored. Other contests may treat public posting as published under their own rules; entering here changes nothing either way.
Do I keep the rights to my story?
All of them, permanently. Entering grants Writory nothing beyond permission to judge the story. Winners are showcased with credit and consent, and you remain free to publish, sell or adapt the story anywhere.
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.