Lots of news of various kinds about short story competitions, in the UK and beyond

Joined May 2015
Writing competitions closing this year and in 2027
In ✍️ newsletter #93: more new writing competitions & publishing opportunities + meeting date reminders for 2026 & 2027 🎉 If you're interested in subscribing please visit: christopherfielden.com/writi…
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NOW JUST NINE DAYS LEFT TO ENTER! Our Novel Competition closes for entries at the end of this month (October). Submit the first 3,000 words plus a short synopsis. flash500.com/novels/ First prize £500 #contest #fiction #novels #WritingCommunity
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Heroes and legends
The 15th Mastermind Creative Writing Competition from projectinfinitybp.org is seeking work on the topic "A Short Story Exploring What Heroes and Legends Are and How They Differ." No reading fees and competition is open to everyone. Resubmissions allowed every 24 hours. Deadline: November 19. newpages.com/guide-submissio… #writers #writingcontest
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Open for entries until November 1
The Onyx Winter Prose & Poetry Contest is open for entries. ✍️ Open to all styles, genres, and types of writing. 📖 First Place: $500 (1 award for Prose, 1 award for Poetry). The deadline for entry is November 1, 2026. 🔗 onyxpublications.com/contest…
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Jaime Gill wins the Tom Howard/John Reid Fiction Prize, coming first out of 2000
The biggest honour of my writing career - I’ve won the Tom Howard/John Reid Fiction Prize for my story “Black Sky Blue Earth.” Coming first out of 2000 is mind-blowing. And the prize money buys me a LOT of writing time. I’m so grateful (more in comments) winningwriters.com/past-winn…
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winners, special mentions and shortlist
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"Suggested fee / donation £5. Top prize £100."
Chawriteable’s Win-Win Writing Competition opens on 15th Dec & closes on 15th Jan 2027. Flash fiction up to 400 words & short stories up to 1,000 words. Suggested fee / donation £5. Top prize £100. Winning stories illustrated & published online. chawriteable.co.uk/competiti…
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The prompt is "glimmer"
The @ironcladcreate short story competition is open for entries until 11th December 2026. The prompt is “glimmer”. 6,000 words max. £9.75 entry fee. £100 top prize. Winners and shortlisted writers are published in an anthology. ironcladcreative.org/shortst…
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Submit by midnight on Sunday 18th October
There's just one week left to submit to this year's Short Story Prize. Submit by midnight on Sunday 18th October: thelondonmagazine.submittabl…
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A Statement from the Caine Prize for African Writing
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ShortStoryComps retweeted
FFF Competition Thirty-Six...
FFF Competition Thirty-Six 100 to 300 words Judge: Emma Phillips @words-outwest.bsky.social 1 W £200.00 2 HC £100.00 3 SL £80.00 and publication £4.95 per entry/story Read the rules! #writingcompetitions #flashfiction All the info... freeflashfiction.com/current…
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Enter the 2027 Literary Women’s Writing Prize for Short Story To learn more, click here: writerscentre.com.au/blog/en…
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ShortStoryComps retweeted
Here are the winning, highly commended and other shortlisted stories in the 2026 HWA Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition: #HWADDSS26 #historicalfiction
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New publisher listing for: Hayden's Ferry 40th Anniversary 40-Word Contest @haydensferryrev (Fiction Poetry Nonfiction; non-paying) duotrope.​com/contest/haydens-ferry-40th-anniversary-40-word-41036 #WritingCommunity
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ShortStoryComps retweeted
another distressing article on AI-generated prize-winning fiction. my theory is that much of new fiction is AI-generated but only the prize-winners are evaluated & exposed. no one much cares about the others who will attract relatively little attention. so long as there are large cash prizes for literary awards there are likely to be AI-generated manuscripts submitted, as in a lottery.
Exclusive: Another prestigious award has gone to a writer who seems to have used AI as the crisis of trust in the literary world intensifies, @vauhinivara reports: theatlantic.com/books/2026/1…
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Exclusive: Another prestigious award has gone to a writer who seems to have used AI as the crisis of trust in the literary world intensifies, @vauhinivara reports: theatln.tc/9fOCEM5A
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Zimbabwean writer Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza has been announced as the 2026 Caine Prize winner for his outstanding short story, ‘The Blue Fighter’, published by The Shallow Tales Review in 2025. Read his short story via the link in our bio. #CainePrize26
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Read a new short story set in Nigeria and written by Uduak-Abasi Ekong. One day, a mysterious man arrives at a family's door, claiming to be their father returning after long years of absence. This story won the @BrickLaneBooks Short Story Prize 2026. buff.ly/8iCEqRg
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