The ninth Bath Short Story Award 2022 is open for entries now and will close on Monday, April 11th at midnight BST.
The ninth Bath Short Story Award 2022 is open for entries now and will close on Monday, April 11th at midnight BST. We welcome stories of up to 2200 words on any subject or theme from anywhere in the world. Before entering, please check the rules for more details.
This year, the competition is judged by novelist, short story writer, playwright and writing teacher, Paul McVeigh who has judged many short story awards. Read our interview with him to find out more about him and what he looks for in a short story.
The longlist and shortlist for the Bath Short Story Award 2022 is likely to be announced in July 2022 and the winners by August 2022.
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Prizes For The Bath Short Story Award 2022
- £1200, first prize
- £300, second prize
- £100, third prize
- £100, the Acorn Award for an unpublished writer of fiction.
- £50 in book vouchers for the local prize, donated by Mr B’s Emporium of Books, Bath.
Entries: £9.00 each, online only.
Word limit: 2200.
We look forward to reading your stories.
NB. We are not accepting simultaneous submissions this year.
Bath Short Story Award 2022 Entry Rules
Stories can be on any theme or subject but must be original and written in English. They must also be for adult or young adult readers. Non-fiction and fiction written for children under 13 years is not eligible.
Entrants must be 16 years or over.
NB Simultaneous submissions are not accepted.
Maximum length is 2,200 words. Entries should be typed, double or 1.5 spaced, in a plain legible font (Pt 12). Each page should be numbered but carry no personal details about the author.
Send stories in email attachments as a doc, docx, pdf, odt, or rtf file. Not in Pages, please. The file name must be the title of your story. (If your story is untitled, the file name must be the first five words of the story).
Closing date for receipt is April 11th, 2022 at midnight, BST. Online entries only (details on the entry page) The Award is open to everyone (locally/nationally or internationally).
There is no limit to the number of entries but there is a fee of £9 for each story submitted. Stories entries must be paid for via PayPal on the entry page.
Entries must not have been previously published in print or online, been broadcast or won a prize. Published online includes publication on your personal blog.
Entries will be read and judged anonymously so do not put your name on the pages of your story.
NB If your story entry has been long or shortlisted in another Award and it holds the same title, it will not count as anonymous if it is identified with your name and these details have been published online or elsewhere.
Once you have submitted your story and paid for your entry, no refunds can be made.
Prizes are as follows: 1st £1200; 2nd £300; 3rd £100, with a local prize of £50 , for the best entry from any BA, BS, GL or SN postcode unplaced in the main competition.
In addition there is The Acorn Award of £100 for the best entry from an unpublished writer, unplaced in the main competition. For the purposes of the Acorn Award by ‘unpublished’, we mean no fiction of yours has been published in print in any language, online or on an audio file. Self- published blogs count as unpublished. NB : Stories by you, posted on your site, cannot be entered into the competition as this will break our anonymity rule (7.)
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The results of the competition will be announced on the Bath Short Story Award (BSSA) website.
No single story may win more than one prize. By entering, competitors accept that prizewinning and shortlisted stories, with the authors’ names, may be published on the BSSA website, in any BSSA anthology, in local media and/or be read out on local radio stations for up to a year from the closing date without extra remuneration.
By entering, an acceptance of all the BSSA rules and terms and conditions is implied.
Entries that fail to comply with rules and terms and conditions will be disqualified.
No correspondence can be entered into and the judges’ decisions are final.
Please contact us if you require any clarification on rules or entry procedures.
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