Writing Competitions to Win Money, With the Odds Stated
Quick answer: Writing competitions to win money pay one writer and tell everyone else nothing. Writory's Short Story Contest pays $100 to the winner of each round plus free entry to the next, charges $8 to enter, closes on 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, and returns a certificate and a score out of 100 to every entrant.
One writer a round takes $100 and free entry to the next; every other entrant who paid $8 before 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST still receives a certificate and a score out of 100.
The prize, and how it is paid
The winner of each story round receives $100, paid in US dollars to writers outside India, wherever they live; no country is excluded from payment. The winner also enters the next round free, and the winning story is published on /winning-stories with the writer's consent and credit. Writers keep all rights, so a winning story can go on to a magazine or an anthology the next week. The sister poetry contest has already paid winners in India, the United States, Ireland, Kenya and Slovenia.
The story contest's first winner will be named on 30 November 2026; there is no story winner to point to before that, and this page will not invent one. Judge the promise by the poetry record on /past-winners, where every round's winners sit on dated pages going back more than a year, and by the rubric at /short-story-judging-criteria, which is the same document the judges hold when they read.
The honest odds, and what the fee buys when you lose
One prize a round means most entrants do not win, here or anywhere. Entry is $8 for one story, $14 for two, $25 for five, and the sensible way to think about it is not as a ticket but as a paid reading. Every story is judged blind against the published rubric: Storytelling & Structure 25, Character & Emotional Impact 25, Language & Craft 20, Originality & Voice 20, Impact & Resonance 10. Every entrant gets all five marks and a certificate.
That changes the arithmetic. A writer who enters six rounds and never places has six scorecards showing, mark by mark, where the stories stood and whether they moved. The same six fees at a contest that answers only its shortlist buy six silences. Free entry is earned, not open: win a round, or enter three in a row for the Seasoned Quill badge, and the next entry costs nothing.
When entries close
Entries close on 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST; results, certificates and the prize announcement arrive on 30 November 2026. The contest is run from India, so the clock is Indian Standard Time, UTC plus five and a half hours, no daylight saving. At 11:59 PM IST it is early evening in London and early afternoon in New York. 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.
Giving a story its best chance at the money
Half the score is structure and character. A story where each scene causes the next and the protagonist wants something specific already outscores most of the field before a single sentence is polished. Language is a fifth; voice a fifth; the last ten points are what the story leaves behind. Read the rubric notes at /short-story-judging-criteria before drafting, take the free six-lesson Story Craft course at /academy/story-craft if the terms are new, and cut anything the ending does not need.
This is not a lottery and not a path to a living. It is a monthly contest with one cash prize and a scorecard for everyone, for short fiction of 100 to 3,000 words in any genre or language, open to anyone aged 13 or over. A writer who needs large annual prize money should enter the Commonwealth Short Story Prize alongside it; a writer who wants to know where the work stands every month is who this is for.
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
How much is the prize, and in what currency?
The top prize is $100 per round, paid in US dollars to winners outside India. The amount on this page is read from the same source as the entry form, so it is the figure in force for the current round. The winner also enters the next round free.
How and when is the prize money paid?
After results are announced on 30 November 2026. Winners are contacted by email and paid directly, in US dollars for writers outside India; no country is excluded from payment, and a winner under 18 can have it paid to a parent's or guardian's account. The poetry contest has paid winners on four continents.
Who can enter?
Anyone aged 13 or over, in any country, with an original story of 100 to 3,000 words in any genre and any language. There is no residency rule and no separate category by nationality; every entry is judged blind in one pool against the same published rubric.
What does the fee return if I do not win?
A certificate with your name and the contest round, and your score out of 100 as five separate marks, one per rubric line, delivered on 30 November 2026. That is the return on a non-winning entry: not money, but a precise account of where the story stood, which a rejection never gives.
Is there more than one cash prize per round?
The prize stated here is the top prize, $100 to the winner of the round, with free entry to the next round attached. Beyond the winner, what every entrant receives is the certificate and the five-part score, and winners are named on the dated results page with the winning story.
Do I give up any rights by winning?
No. Writers keep all rights in every case. Publication of the winning story on /winning-stories happens only with the writer's consent and credit, and the prize does not depend on promoting anything or buying anything. You may sell or republish the story anywhere afterwards.
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.