A Writing Contest for Adults at Any Age or Stage
Quick answer: Writory's debut short story contest is open to adults of any age, with no upper limit and no publication history required. Entry is $8 for a story of 100 to 3,000 words, judged blind against a published rubric. Every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100 showing all five marks; results on 30 November 2026.
No age cap, no publication history, no biography read before your story. Every entry is judged blind against a published rubric, and every adult entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100 with all five marks, on 30 November 2026.
For the writer coming back, and the one starting late
This contest is built for the writer who wrote seriously once, stopped for a career or a family, and wonders whether the ability survived. A blind-judged round is the cleanest way to ask. No judge sees your age, your gap or your empty bio; the manuscript is the entire application, and the rubric it is marked against is published before you enter.
The answer arrives as five numbers. Storytelling and character carry 25 marks each, language and originality 20 each, resonance 10, and the total out of 100 comes back to every entrant with a certificate. Nobody else sees your score unless you show them; non-winners' marks are never published.
A month-sized habit, not a yearly gamble
The first contest runs from 1 September 2026 to 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, with results and certificates on 30 November 2026. Monthly rounds follow the debut: entries close on the 25th and results arrive on the 30th. That cadence is what makes it workable for an adult with a full life; a story a month is a habit, and the scorecard tells you what to aim the next one at.
Entry is $8 a story and the monthly top prize is $100. Free entry is earned rather than given: winners enter the next round free, and entering three rounds running earns the Seasoned Quill badge with a free entry attached. You keep all rights the whole way through.
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. Winners earn free entry to the next round. Enter at https://writoryofficial.com/submit-story.
Common questions
Is there an upper age limit?
No. The only age rule is the floor of 13, and judging is blind, so whether you are 24 or 78 is information the judges never have.
Do I need a publication history or a writing degree?
Neither. There is no bio field for the judges to read; the manuscript is all that reaches the panel. Unpublished adults enter on identical terms with working writers, which is exactly how the scores stay meaningful.
Can I revise a story and enter it again next month?
Nothing stops you. Every round is a fresh start, and a revised story is a new entry. The five marks make revision practical: if character scored high and structure did not, you know which end of the story to rebuild before the next deadline.
Can two of us enter a story we wrote together?
You can, under one account. One entry means one certificate, one scorecard and any prize paid to the account holder, so decide between yourselves whose name it runs under before you submit.
Does it have to be fiction?
It has to be a story, 100 to 3,000 words, in any genre; memoir-shaped narrative is welcome if it moves like a story: scenes, a shape, an ending. What the rubric cannot reward is an essay or an argument wearing a story's clothes.
More story contest pages
About Writory
Writory (writoryofficial.com) is an international monthly poetry contest founded in 2025 by Shivay Mehra. Poets from 40 countries have entered, readers come from more than 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.