Tamil Short Story Competition: சிறுகதைப் போட்டி, Read in Tamil
Quick answer: Tamil short story competition entries are accepted at Writory in Tamil script, 100 to 3,000 words, any genre, from writers aged 13 and over. The fee is ₹199 for one story, paid in rupees. Judges read the story in Tamil, blind, against the published rubric, and every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100 on 30 November 2026.
Enter your சிறுகதை in Tamil script, pay ₹199 in rupees, and receive a சான்றிதழ் and a five-part score out of 100 whether you place or not. Blind judging against a published rubric, deadline 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST.
Read as Tamil, by readers of Tamil
A Tamil entry is read in Tamil by people who read Tamil fiction, never carried into English before it is scored. The distance between written செந்தமிழ் and spoken பேச்சுத் தமிழ், the way a Madurai or Kongu register lands in dialogue, the weight a single ஐயோ can carry at the end of a paragraph: these are craft decisions, and the judges score what they do inside the story. Names, towns and histories come off before reading, and one published rubric applies to the whole round: Storytelling & Structure 25, Character & Emotional Impact 25, Language & Craft 20, Originality & Voice 20, Impact & Resonance 10.
One limit, stated plainly. There is no separate Tamil pool and no Tamil-only prize; Tamil stories sit in the same round as English, Hindi or Spanish ones, and the top prize of ₹5,000 goes to the highest score in the round. What is promised is a reading that knows the line from Pudhumaipithan through Ki. Rajanarayanan's Karisal stories to Ambai and Jeyamohan, and a scorecard that explains its number rather than handing you a total.
What counts as a சிறுகதை here
No theme is set and no genre is ruled out. A story of 100 to 3,000 words qualifies, from a village piece in the Karisal tradition to a Chennai apartment story in the plain manner of Ashokamitran, a crime story, a romance or science fiction. Original work only, by a writer aged 13 or over. It does not have to be unpublished: a story from your blog or a college magazine is eligible if it is yours. Copied work is rejected, not scored.
Tamil script is expected. Thanglish is accepted but it costs rhythm, and rhythm sits inside Language & Craft. English words in dialogue are fine, because that is how the city speaks. Send the text as you would want it printed in Kalachuvadu or the Deepavali malar of Ananda Vikatan, with paragraph breaks where you mean them, and give the story a Tamil title so the certificate carries its real name.
11:59 PM IST is 11:59 PM in Chennai
The contest keeps Indian Standard Time, so a writer in Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli or Puducherry reads the deadline straight off the clock: entries close on 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Results and certificates arrive on 30 November 2026. The first round has run long, from 1 September 2026, so the debut is judged on a full field rather than a first month's trickle, and every entry in it receives the same scorecard.
From December the contest is monthly. Entries close on the 25th at 11:59 PM IST, results land on the 30th, and the next round is already open when they do. A story finished after a deadline is simply an early entry for the next one, which is a different thing from the annual competitions most Tamil writers know, where a missed date means a year's wait. Winners take the top prize and free entry to the next round; free entry is earned, never open.
Entering and paying in rupees
Entry is ₹199 for one story, ₹349 for two and ₹699 for five, paid in rupees by UPI, debit or credit card, or netbanking at /submit-story. No international card, no conversion, no post. Each story is judged on its own, so two stories in different modes come back with two separate scorecards, and the gaps between them tell you something you can use in the next round.
Every entrant receives a certificate with a verification link on writoryofficial.com and the full five-part score out of 100. Winners are published on a dated results page with their scores. Optional written feedback can be added at entry; for a Tamil story it is written in Tamil and quotes your own sentences. The free Story Craft course at /academy/story-craft is in English, and what it teaches about scene, structure and endings transfers to a Tamil story without loss.
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 I enter a story in Tamil?
Yes. The contest accepts stories in any language and reads each in its own language, so a Tamil entry is read as Tamil by readers of Tamil fiction, not translated first. It competes in the same round as every other entry against the same published rubric and receives the same certificate and score out of 100.
Should I use Tamil script or Thanglish?
Tamil script. Thanglish is accepted, but the judges are reading for rhythm and precision under Language & Craft, and Romanised Tamil loses both, along with the difference between ல, ள and ழ that a Tamil reader hears. English words inside dialogue are ordinary speech and are scored on what they do for the character.
What is the fee for writers in India?
₹199 for one story, ₹349 for two, ₹699 for five, paid in rupees by UPI, card or netbanking. Winners of a round enter the next one free. There is no open free entry; every other writer pays the same fee and gets the same reading and the same five-part scorecard.
Is there a certificate for every entrant?
Yes. Every entrant receives a certificate with a verification link on writoryofficial.com and all five marks out of 100, on 30 November 2026. A school or college can open the link and confirm it; a writer can quote the score, which says more than a participation line ever does.
Will Madurai or Kongu dialect in my dialogue lower the score?
No. Ki. Rajanarayanan wrote the Karisal country in its own speech and took the Sahitya Akademi Award for Gopallapurathu Makkal in 1991. Dialogue is scored on what it does for the character and the scene, and a judge who reads Tamil knows a regional voice from a mistake.
Do I keep the rights, and can I send the story to a magazine later?
You keep every right. Entering grants Writory permission to judge the story and, if it wins, to showcase it with your name and consent. Sending the same story to Kalachuvadu, Ananda Vikatan or any other magazine or competition, before or after results, is entirely your decision.
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.