A Story Writing Competition for Kids: What a Parent Should Know First
Quick answer: A story writing competition for kids under 13 is not what Writory runs, and this page says so first. The contest is open from age 13, so a 13-year-old can enter for $8 with a parent paying, and receives a certificate and a score out of 100 against a published rubric. Younger children can use the free course and prompts.
Writory's monthly short story contest admits writers aged 13 and over, no younger. For a 13-year-old, entry is $8, the deadline is 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, and the certificate and five-part score arrive on 30 November 2026, whether the story places or not.
The age rule, stated before anything else
Writory's short story contest is for writers aged 13 and over. It is not a children's competition and does not run a junior section. If your child is 8, 10 or 12, they cannot enter yet, and we would rather you learn that in the first paragraph than at the payment page. For a 13-year-old, it is a real contest read blind against a published rubric, which is a different and more grown-up experience than most school competitions.
Meanwhile, two things are open at any age. The Story Craft course at /academy/story-craft is free, six lessons long and written for readers, not enrolled students. The story prompts at /short-story-prompts are free too. A ten-year-old who writes a prompt a week and keeps the pages will have a thick folder by thirteen, and the first entry will be a revised story chosen from it rather than a first attempt.
How a 13-year-old enters, and where a parent comes in
The story is the child's: one original piece of 100 to 3,000 words, any genre, in whatever language they write best, since stories are read in their own language. Entry happens at /submit-story before 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Payment is $8 by card, so in practice the parent pays while the young writer is logged in. The entry, the scores and the certificate remain in the child's name.
Beyond paying, the most useful thing a parent can do is nothing to the manuscript. Judging is blind, and a story that has been quietly rewritten by an adult produces a score that tells the child nothing true. Read it, ask questions, point at a line you did not understand, and then let the young writer decide. If the story wins the $100 prize, it can be paid to a parent's account.
What the certificate means for a young writer, honestly
The certificate carries your child's name and the contest month and records that they entered a judged international contest. That is all it records. It is not an award, and describing it as one at home teaches the wrong lesson. Winners are named separately on a dated results page, which means a real placement can be checked by anyone, and a child who places has something they can point to for years.
The score is the part worth talking about at the dinner table. Five marks out of 100 come back on 30 November 2026, one for each rubric heading, for every entrant. A 13-year-old who learns that their character work scored 20 out of 25 while their structure scored 14 has been given something specific to work on, from a reader who did not know their age. Nobody else's scores are published, so there is no comparison to manage, only the child's own progress.
Craft notes to pass along, not to apply yourself
Start where something is already happening; the first sentence does not need to introduce anyone. Give the main character one clear want, because 25 marks depend on whether a reader cares what happens to them. Let the ending be a choice the character makes, not a rescue or a wake-up. These three notes cover the 50 marks for structure and character, which is where a young writer's first entry usually gains or loses the most.
Two more. Keep it short, since the rubric never rewards length and a tight 600 words beats a loose 2,000; the lower limit is 100 words and a complete story can live there. And have the young writer read it aloud once, to you or to the wall; the ear finds the line that needs fixing before the eye does. Then stop. A 13-year-old's story with a real ending and a few rough sentences will score more honestly than one an adult has smoothed.
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
My child is under 13. Is there any way to enter?
No. The rule is 13 and over, with no junior category and no exceptions, and entering under a parent's name would put the wrong name on the certificate. The free Story Craft course and the story prompts are open at any age and are the honest way to use the time until the birthday.
Who reads my child's story, and do they know their age?
Stories go to the judges with no name, age or school attached, and are scored against the published five-part rubric. The reader does not know they are reading a thirteen-year-old, which is the fairest and also the sternest arrangement. The marks that come back are the same ones an adult receives.
Is my child's name or story shown publicly?
Stories are never published. Non-winners' scores are private. If your child wins, their name and story title appear on that month's dated results page; nothing else is made public, and the certificate carries only their name and the contest month.
How does payment work?
Entry is $8 for one story, paid by card at /submit-story. A parent pays while the young writer is logged in, and the entry stays in the child's name; the payer's details do not appear on the certificate or anywhere public. If the story wins the $100 prize, it can be paid to a parent's account.
What does a score out of 100 mean for a 13-year-old?
It is five marks against a fixed rubric, arriving on 30 November 2026, that show where one story was strong and where it was not. It is not a measure of talent or a prediction. Two or three scores across a few months, compared against each other, are far more telling than any single number.
Can I help edit the story before it goes in?
You can read it and ask questions. Rewriting lines yourself defeats the purpose, since the score would then measure your sentences rather than your child's, and the certificate would record work that was not fully theirs. Point at what confused you and let the writer fix 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.