A Short Story Contest for High School Students, Scored Like Real Work
Quick answer: Short story contests for high school students usually run once a year and reply only to winners. Writory's contest runs monthly, admits anyone aged 13 or older, costs $8 a story, and is judged blind against a published five-part rubric. Every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100 on 30 November 2026, and keeps all rights.
Open worldwide from age 13, $8 for one story of 100 to 3,000 words, deadline 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Every entrant receives a certificate and all five rubric marks out of 100, whether the story places or not.
Who can enter, and how a student actually does it
The eligibility rule is one line long: age 13 and over. That covers every high school year, from a ninth grader who turned 13 over the summer to a senior finishing applications. There is no school category, no teacher nomination and no form to file. You write one original story of 100 to 3,000 words, in any genre and any language, and enter it online at /submit-story before 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST.
Payment is the part students ask about most. Entry is $8 for one story, $14 for two, $25 for five, paid by card at the point of submission. If you do not hold a card, a parent can pay on your behalf and the entry still goes in under your name, which is the name that will appear on the certificate. Results and certificates arrive on 30 November 2026.
Stories are read in the language they were written in, and every language competes in one pool. A student writing in Spanish, Hindi or Korean is not moved into a separate category; the story is judged against the same rubric as an English entry, by a reader of that language. If your best writing happens in the language you speak at home rather than the one you are taught in, enter in that language. Translation for the contest's sake tends to flatten exactly the voice the rubric is looking for.
What a certificate and a score out of 100 are worth to you
Be clear about what you get. The certificate carries your name and the contest month; it records that you entered a judged international contest, not that you won one. Winners are named on a dated results page, so a placement can be checked by anyone you show it to. A certificate of entry is a real document, but it is evidence of a habit, not a trophy, and it should be described that way on an application.
The score is the more useful half. Five marks come back: 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. A story that scores 22 on character and 9 on language tells you exactly where the next draft should go. Enter three months running and you have a dated record of one skill moving, which is rarer than a single ribbon.
One thing the score is not: a grade on you. It is one panel's reading of one story against one rubric on one day, from a reader who did not know your age. Teachers grade with your history in mind; this reader has none of it. That is what makes a low mark bearable and a high mark believable, and it is why the number is worth more than a comment in a margin.
Craft notes for a high school entry
Most classroom stories are written to a length. Contest stories are written to an ending, so decide the last image before you draft and cut anything that does not lead to it. Structure is worth 25 marks and it is judged as cause and effect, not as word count. A 900-word story where every scene forces the next will outscore a 3,000-word story that wanders.
Three more notes. Start inside a scene rather than with a paragraph of setup; judges read hundreds of openings and reward the one that trusts them. Give your character a want that can be stated in one sentence, since 25 marks ride on whether a reader cares. And read the piece aloud once before entering; Language & Craft is 20 marks, and the ear catches repeated words the eye forgives. The free Story Craft course at /academy/story-craft works through all of this in six lessons.
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
I am in ninth grade and just turned 13. Can I enter?
Yes. Age 13 and over is the only rule, and there is no lower school category or separate junior pool. Your story is read blind, with no name, age or school attached, and scored on the same five criteria as every other entry that month.
Can I use a story I wrote for English class?
If it is your own original work and lands between 100 and 3,000 words, it qualifies. Classroom pieces are usually drafted to a brief rather than to an ending, so give it one more pass with the five rubric headings beside you before you enter. The deadline, 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, leaves time.
Does the certificate help with college applications?
Modestly and honestly. It shows you entered a judged international contest and, if you placed, the dated results page confirms it. Admissions readers care about sustained effort, so a series of monthly entries and improving scores is stronger evidence than any one certificate. Describe it as what it is.
How do I pay if I do not have a card?
A parent or guardian can pay the $8 at /submit-story while you are logged in, and the entry stays under your name. If you win the $100 prize, it can be paid to a parent's account. Nothing about the payer appears on the certificate.
Will my story be published or shown to anyone?
No. Entries are not published, only winners are named on the dated results page, and non-winners' scores are private. Writers keep all rights, so the story remains yours to submit to a school magazine, another contest or a literary journal afterwards, the same week if you like.
When are the deadlines?
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. Results and certificates follow on 30 November 2026, and a story finished after a deadline is simply an early entry for the next 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.