Writing Competitions South Africans Can Enter, in Any of Twelve Languages
Quick answer: Writing competitions in South Africa are mostly annual and English-first. Writory's monthly short story contest accepts stories of 100 to 3,000 words in isiZulu, Afrikaans, isiXhosa, Sesotho, English or any other language, for $8 a story. Judging is blind against a published rubric, and every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100 on 30 November 2026.
Enter one story of 100 to 3,000 words for $8 by 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, and every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100 against a published rubric.
The South African year, and the months it leaves empty
South Africa has festivals in every season: Franschhoek in May, Time of the Writer in Durban, the Open Book Festival in Cape Town each September, the Kingsmead Book Fair in Johannesburg. The Sunday Times Literary Awards reward published books. Short.Sharp.Stories has anthologised new South African short fiction for a decade, and New Contrast has been printing stories and poems since 1960. Two Nobel laureates, Nadine Gordimer and J. M. Coetzee, came out of this ground.
What the calendar lacks is a monthly place to send a single story and hear back with a mark. Writory is that: $8 a story, blind judging, and on 30 November 2026 a certificate plus five marks out of 100, Storytelling & Structure 25, Character & Emotional Impact 25, Language & Craft 20, Originality & Voice 20, Impact & Resonance 10. It is not a Sunday Times award and does not claim to be one.
Twelve official languages, every one read in itself
South Africa has twelve official languages since South African Sign Language joined the list in 2023, and eleven of them are written. Most competitions in the country still run in English, with Afrikaans a distant second. Writory accepts any language and reads each story in its own language, so an isiXhosa story from Gqeberha or a Sesotho story from Bloemfontein is judged by a reader of that language, in the same pool as English.
Blind judging means the panel sees no name, no school, no suburb. A matric learner in Soweto and a lecturer at Stellenbosch are read on identical terms. South African English spelling is never marked down. Writers keep all rights, so a story scored here stays free to go to any local anthology or journal afterwards. Nothing is printed and there is no anthology to buy; entering is not publication.
The deadline in Johannesburg time
Entries close on 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. South Africa is on SAST, three and a half hours behind India, with no daylight saving on either side, so the deadline is 8:29 PM in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria, every round of the year. That is the same evening, well before load-shedding schedules usually bite the late slots.
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. Stories must be original, 100 to 3,000 words, any genre, from writers aged 13 or over, entered online at /submit-story. Nothing is posted and nothing is printed.
Paying in dollars from a rand card
Writory prices international entry in US dollars: $8 for one story, $14 for two, $25 for five. One story is roughly R145 at current rates. Payment runs through PayPal, which takes a PayPal balance or a Visa or Mastercard as a guest. Most South African bank cards are enabled for international online purchases by default; if yours declines, your banking app usually has a toggle for it.
The prize of $100 is paid by PayPal, which operates in South Africa and lets account holders withdraw to a local bank account. Winners also enter the next round free, and that is the only free entry. Writory Academy Story Craft is a free six-lesson course at /academy/story-craft if you want the rubric explained before you write. The sister poetry contest has published dated winners from Kenya, India, the United States, Ireland and Slovenia.
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 in South Africa can enter?
Anyone aged 13 or over, in any province, with no residency or citizenship condition. Entry is online at /submit-story and judging is blind.
How much is entry in rand?
The fee is fixed in US dollars: $8 for one story, $14 for two, $25 for five. One story is roughly R145; your card converts at the day's rate.
What does every entrant receive?
A certificate in your name and a score out of 100 with all five rubric marks, on 30 November 2026, whether or not you place.
What time does the round close in South Africa?
25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, which is 8:29 PM SAST in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. There is no daylight saving on either side, so it never moves.
Can I write in Afrikaans, isiZulu or isiXhosa?
Yes. Any language is accepted, each story is read in its own language, and all entries compete in one pool against the same rubric.
Are there free writing competitions in South Africa?
The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is free for South African citizens and pays £5,000 overall. Writory is not free; entry is $8, and free entry is only earned by winning a 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.