Short Story Contests in 2026, Month by Month
Quick answer: Short story contests in 2026 run on two clocks: annual prizes with one window a year, and monthly contests open whenever a story is ready. Writory's is monthly: $8 for 100 to 3,000 words in any genre, deadline 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, and a certificate and score out of 100 for every entrant.
Writory's Short Story Contest takes 100 to 3,000 words in any language for $8 until 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, and every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100.
The Writory dates for 2026
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. The first round runs long on purpose, so the debut is judged on a full field rather than a first-month trickle. After that the rhythm matches the poetry contest, which has kept the same 25th-and-month-end cadence for over a year, with winners named on dated pages.
Every deadline is anchored to Indian Standard Time because the contest is run from India. Entries close at 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. At 11:59 PM in India it is early evening in London, early afternoon in New York, mid-morning in Los Angeles and the small hours of the next day in Sydney; the exact hour shifts with daylight saving in your country, so check a converter. Results and certificates follow on 30 November 2026 for everyone at once. A story arriving at 12:01 AM IST belongs to the next round, so if the conversion worries you, submit a day early.
Other contests worth a place on the same calendar
Writory is one entry in a year's plan, not the whole plan. The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is free, annual and open to citizens of Commonwealth countries. Furious Fiction, from the Australian Writers' Centre, is a free 500-word challenge with a weekend window. On The Premises runs free themed rounds a few times a year. All three publish their windows on their own sites, and those windows move, so check the current year's page rather than a list someone compiled in January.
Read each listing the same way. Look for the deadline with its timezone, the fee and what it buys, whether results carry a date, and what the rights clause takes. A contest that names its past winners on dated pages is a contest that has actually paid out; one that cannot show a single previous result is asking you to trust a promise. Writory's poetry winners for the past year are on /past-winners, and the story contest's first winners will appear on /winning-stories after 30 November 2026.
What every entrant receives, placed or not
Every story is read blind, with the writer's name removed, and scored against the published rubric: Storytelling & Structure 25, Character & Emotional Impact 25, Language & Craft 20, Originality & Voice 20, Impact & Resonance 10. The five marks and a certificate go to every entrant on results day, not only to the shortlist. The winner takes $100 and free entry to the next round. Writers keep every right to their work; entering grants Writory nothing beyond permission to judge the story.
Entry is $8 for one story, $14 for two and $25 for five, which suits writers who finish in batches and want several pieces scored against the same rubric in one round. Stories may be in any language; each is read in its own language and all of them sit in one pool. The free six-lesson Story Craft course at /academy/story-craft and the monthly prompts at /short-story-prompts cost nothing and are there whether or not you enter.
Who this contest is for, and who it is not for
It is for a writer who wants a fixed deadline every month and a number back that means something: someone with a drawer of half-finished stories, a student building a first record, a working writer who wants a reading between magazine submissions. It is not the contest for a novella; 3,000 words is the ceiling. It is not a route to publication in a print anthology, and it is not free. A writer looking only for zero-fee prizes should take the three named above and come back when the scorecard matters more than the fee.
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
Who can enter the 2026 rounds?
Anyone aged 13 or over, from any country. There is no residency rule, no citizenship rule and no cap on the number of rounds you enter in a year. Stories must be your own original work of 100 to 3,000 words, in any genre and any language, entered online at /submit-story.
What does entry cost in 2026?
$8 for one story, $14 for two, $25 for five, the same in every round of the year. Free entry is earned rather than open: the winner of a round enters the next one free, and writers who enter three rounds running earn the Seasoned Quill badge and a free entry with it.
What do I receive if I do not win?
A certificate with your name and the contest round, and your score out of 100 broken into the five rubric marks, delivered on 30 November 2026. Your score is not published; only winners appear on the results page. The certificate documents a blind-judged, scored result, which is why a school or employer can check it against the dated results page.
Why does the first round run for three months?
So the debut is judged on a full field. Every story entered from 1 September 2026 to 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST sits in one pool and is judged together, with results on 30 November 2026; on the site it is called The First Writory Story Contest. From December the contest is monthly, closing on the 25th with results on the 30th, the cadence the poetry contest has kept for over a year.
Can I enter a story that is already on my blog?
Yes, as long as it is your own original work. Writory asks for no exclusivity and no first-publication rights, so a story can sit with a magazine or another contest at the same time. Check the other side's rules, though; many annual prizes treat a public post as published and would refuse the same story.
When exactly do results arrive?
On 30 November 2026, by email: the certificate, the five marks and the winner announcement together. Winners are also named on /winning-stories with the winning story, with the writer's consent. The date is fixed in advance and published with the deadline, so you can plan the next story around it.
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.