The short story contest is open to everyone with a brain (this is more restrictive than you think).
Contest guidelines below. READ CAREFULLY. Failure to do so may result in disqualification!
Story Unlikely's Short Story Submission Guidelines:
The short story contest is open to everyone with a brain (this is more restrictive than you think). There are no restrictions on genre: fantasy, sci fi, memoir, fiction/nonfiction, etc - we don't care as long as it's a good story. Our goal is to connect great writers with readers craving great stories (and pay really stinkin' well, without charging writers a dime!). The story itself cannot exceed 2,250 words.
Editor's Pick
- Mumber Mag
- Black Spot Books Into The Forest Anthology
- Felis Futura Anthology
- Lyric Magazine College Poetry Contest
- Tartts Fiction Award
- Story Unlikely Short Story Contest
- Blue Mountain Arts Poetry Contest 2022
- Stacy Doris Memorial Poetry Award 2022
- Tall Tales Poetry Competition 2022
- Lilith Magazine Annual Fiction Competition 2022
- Lengthy Poem Contest 2022
- Discoveries Writing Competition 2022
- The New Beginning Poetry Competition 2022
- First Flight Writing Competition 2022
What do I win?
First place will get a cool $500, publication in our monthly mailer and will also be featured on Story Unlikely's website.
Honorable mentions will receive $25 and will be published in the monthly mailer.
When can I submit?
The submission period runs from October 1st through December 31st. Our reading period is January through March.
When will my story be published?
Stories will be published at random throughout the following calendar year between April and December, authors will NOT be notified ahead of time (we’re storytellers, after all, why wouldn’t we add a little suspense?), so authors MUST be signed up for the mailing list to be eligible for prize and publication (Don’t worry, we only send out ONE email (story) a month – we can’t stand getting our emails blown up, and we know we’re not alone in that).
How do I submit?
We accept email submissions ONLY.
Attach the ENTIRE story to the email (Microsoft word doc or docx). Be sure to remove ALL forms of identification from the story (If your story happens to be about you, just be sure to remove your last name).
Send your story in the following manner:
Email to submissions@storyunlikely.com
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Email Title must be in the following:
Submission: Title, Author Name, Fiction/Nonfiction, Sub Genre (if applicable or desired)
(In the text)
Dear Editor,
[Insert FIRST 250 words of your story (rounded to the nearest sentence) here]
# (insert page break)
(Insert short author bio, including any previously published stories, as you want it to appear below your story if/when published)
Sincerely,
NAME
Contact information (best email contact, phone number (just in case), and email)
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Do you accept multiple submissions?
No, one submission per author.
Do you accept simultaneous submissions?
No – do not send your story entry out to other publishers until the announcement of the winner has been made.
What type of formatting should the story be in?
We actually prefer block paragraphs (if for no better reason than to see who actually read this), but anything remotely standard is fine - we're not picky on formatting, so long as its not obnoxious.
Any tips on winning this thing?
Sure, here’s a little secret – most stories get ‘bumped’ before we finish reading the first page (that’s right, we’re a merciless bunch).
A trained eye can tell the quality of a story and the ability of the storyteller from only a few sentences, so tighten that opening!
What are you looking for?
To put it simply, good stories. Entries will be judged both by the technical and literary quality as well as the author's ability to tell a story. All entries must be previously unpublished. Here’s what we’re NOT looking for: Excessive anything. Think PG-13, R if necessary. We're not attempting to salt the earth with more cultural dogma couched as mediocre fiction, or writers who are jockeying for the title of Most Woke. There’s enough of that already out there. You want to impress us? Write a good story. You want to win? Write a great one.
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