A Writing Contest Students Can Put on an Application
Quick answer: Students aged 13 and up can enter Writory's monthly writing contests. In India, a poem costs ₹150 to enter and a story ₹199; international students pay $5 and $8. Every entry is judged blind, and every entrant receives a score out of 100 and a certificate with a verification link that universities and employers can check.
Writory runs two monthly contests students can enter from age 13, poems and short stories, both judged blind. Every entrant receives a score out of 100 and a certificate with a verification link that universities and employers can open and check.
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.
- Theme & Resonance (10 points): What the story leaves behind after the last line.
How it works
Submit an original story of 100 to 2,000 words by the 25th of the month, 11:59 PM IST. Every story is judged blind against the rubric above, and results arrive by the 30th: 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
I am in school, not college. Can I enter?
From age 13, which covers roughly class 8 upward, school and college both. There is no separate school category; judging is blind, so a school entry and a postgraduate entry are read on identical terms, and the certificate does not label your level.
How does the certificate verification actually work?
Every certificate carries a unique link. Anyone you show it to, an admissions office, a scholarship committee, an employer, can open it on writoryofficial.com and confirm it is genuine and issued to you. Cite the link itself in applications; that is what it is for.
How do I earn a free entry?
Two ways only. Monthly winners enter the following round free, and entering three months in a row earns the Seasoned Quill badge, which carries a free entry. There is no other free route, so plan for the entry fee each month until one of those lands.
What marks do I get back?
For a story entry, all five, not just a total: Storytelling & Structure out of 25, Character & Emotional Impact out of 25, Language & Craft out of 20, Originality & Voice out of 20, Theme & Resonance out of 10. The breakdown is what makes the scorecard usable as feedback.
Can the same story go to my college magazine later?
It stays yours. Writers keep all rights and Writory does not publish entries, so the story remains yours to place in a magazine, an anthology or another contest whenever you like.
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 theme. 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.