A Writing Contest for Unpublished Writers, With No Byline Required
Quick answer: Writing contests for unpublished writers should not ask for a bio, and this one has no field for it. Writory's monthly short story contest is judged blind, open to anyone 13 or over, and costs $8 for 100 to 3,000 words in any language. Every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100, and writers keep all rights.
No publication credits asked for and none visible to the judges. $8 a story of 100 to 3,000 words, entries closing on 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, every right kept by you, and a certificate and score out of 100 for every entrant on 30 November 2026.
No credits required, and nothing to declare
The entry form asks for a story of 100 to 3,000 words and nothing about your past. There is no bio field, no list of previous publications, no question about whether you have been rejected by forty magazines or never submitted anywhere. Judging is blind: the manuscript reaches the judges without a name attached, so an empty publication history is not merely tolerated, it is invisible. The only eligibility rule is age 13 or over.
Entry is online at /submit-story for $8 a story, $14 for two, $25 for five, paid in US dollars through PayPal outside India. Any genre and any language qualifies; a story in Polish or Swahili is read in that language in the same pool. The first round closes on 25 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, and results and certificates arrive on 30 November 2026, so the wait between finishing and knowing is days rather than the months a magazine takes.
Your rights, and what entering does to your publication status
You keep all rights. Writory does not take first serial rights, does not publish entries and does not hold the story after the round. That matters more for an unpublished writer than for anyone else, because most literary magazines want previously unpublished work, and a contest that publishes every entry online quietly spends that status. Entering here does not. A story that scores 68 in one round can go to a magazine the next week, still unpublished.
If you win, your name appears on the dated results page for that month, and any wider use of the story happens only with your permission. Non-winners' names, scores and stories are never made public. Read the rights clause of any contest before entering, including this one; the ones to walk away from transfer rights on submission or charge to see results.
What the certificate and the score mean without a byline
The certificate carries your name and the contest month and arrives whether you place or not. It certifies that a story of yours was read blind against a published standard; it is not a publication credit and should not be listed as one. Its use is private and practical: the first dated evidence, for many writers, that they finished something and put it in front of strangers who owed them nothing.
The score is the answer a form rejection withholds. Five marks add to 100: Storytelling and Structure 25, Character and Emotional Impact 25, Language and Craft 20, Originality and Voice 20, Impact and Resonance 10. A story that keeps missing at magazines usually has one number well below the others, and that is the number to work on. Winners take $100 and free entry to the next round; three rounds running earn the Seasoned Quill badge and a free entry.
Craft notes for the writer without a first credit
Stop writing the story you think editors want. The 20 marks for Originality and Voice go to the angle only you had, and imitation of last year's prize winner reads as imitation. Land the ending; unpublished manuscripts fail at the last page more often than the first, and Storytelling and Structure asks whether the ending pays off the opening. Cut the first paragraph and check whether the story still starts. It usually does.
Give a character a concrete want before the end of page one, since 25 marks depend on the reader sharing it. Treat 3,000 words as a ceiling; 1,200 well-shaped words beat 2,900 that drift. Read the free Story Craft course at /academy/story-craft, then write the next story rather than polishing the last one to death. A round later, compare the two scorecards. That comparison is the education.
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
Does entering count as being published?
No. Writory does not publish entries and takes no rights, so your story stays unpublished for any magazine or anthology that asks for first rights. The certificate is a record of entry and judging, not a publication credit, and should be described that way on any bio you write later.
Do I need a bio or a cover letter?
Neither exists on the form. The judges receive the manuscript alone, with no name, history or note attached, and score it against the five published criteria. For a writer with no credits this is the fairest arrangement available, and it is also why the score means something.
Can I enter a story that magazines have rejected?
Yes. Rejections are not a rule here, and the judges do not know about them. Rejected stories are often close; the five marks will tell you whether it missed by an inch or a mile, which is exactly what the form letters would not. Give it one more draft first.
Can I enter something I posted on my blog or a writing forum?
Yes, if it is your own original work. Writory has no previously-unpublished rule. Bear in mind that many magazines treat public posting as publication, so a story that is already online may have spent its first rights elsewhere; entering here changes nothing about that either way.
Who owns the story after the contest?
You do, entirely, as you did before. Writory does not publish entries, does not hold them after the round, and uses a winning story more widely only with the writer's permission. A story can go to any magazine, competition or book afterwards on the same terms as if it had never been entered.
If my score is low, does anyone find out?
No. Non-winners' scores are never published, the certificate does not show marks, and the story is not published. The number is yours to use as a baseline. The next round exists to move it, and entering three in a row earns the Seasoned Quill badge and a free entry.
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.