Enjoy the best short story competitions 2023 available to writers all around the world. Submit to these short story contests 2023 to win cash prizes.
Short Story Competitions 2023
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Short story competitions 2023 is a curated list of short story contests that are open to writers all over the world. Often, there are no restrictions as to who can enter the listed contests.
The short story competitions 2023 list are gathered from many websites and blogs, and other writing platforms. This is to ensure writers have some opportunities available for them to grab.
Also Check: Short Story Competitions 2022
Interested writers are however advised to read the submission guidelines before submitting to the short story competitions. Failure to do so, might result in disqualification.
Writing Opportunities In 2023
Poetry Competitions In Nigeria 2023
Writing Competitions In Nigeria 2023
Poetry Competitions UK 2023
Magazines That Pay Per Poem In 2023
Short Story Competitions 2023
Literary Magazines Accepting Submissions 2023
Poetry Competitions In Africa 2023
Short Story Competitions In Nigeria 2023
Literary Magazines In Nigeria/ Africa 2023
Join the Second WhatsApp group— If the first group gets filled up.
Benefits Of Submitting To Short Story Competitions 2023
Below are some of the benefits of being a part of the listed short story competitions available in 2023:
- Cash prizes
- Scholarships
- Publications
- Recognition etc.
List Of Short Story Competitions 2023
The contests are organized based on the days and months of deadlines.
January Short Story Competitions 2023
- European Writing Prize 2023
The European Society of Literature hosts many writing competitions each year, but the European Writing Prize is the most prestigious of them all. The annual competition will help showcase a variety of writers from different backgrounds, and this year marks the first.
The theme is usually quite vague so as to give authors room to add as much of their own individuality and creativity to their pieces as possible.
Submissions will open on 1 October 2022, and will close on 1 January 2023. The longlist will be published 2 weeks later, on 15 January 2023
Theme For The European Writing Prize 2022
The theme for this European Writing Prize is ‘Anxiety’. Writers should incorporate the notion of anxiety into their work however they see fit.
What matters most is whether you submit a fine piece of writing — it isn’t so much about how close to the prize theme you make your work.
Who can submit?
Anyone! Despite ‘European’ being in the title, you can submit a piece of writing regardless of where you are in the world. We only ask that your submission be written in English, as our judges mostly speak that as their first language.
What’s the prize if I win?
- The prize for the winner will be as follows:
- 50 euros paid via PayPal or bank transfer
- Automatic lifetime membership into The European Society of Literature
- Publication in the following quarterly literary journal of TESL
- Potential talks with literary agents — they may scout the shortlist and winners.
- The prestige associated with being victorious! An unmatched opportunity to get your foot in the burgeoning literary industry of Europe and the Americas.
There is no entry fee
- Island Prize For African Writers 2023
Founded by Booker longlisted author Karen Jennings, we are delighted to announce that The Island Prize has opened submissions for its second year running.
The Island Prize is a literary prize that has been curated with the primary aim of helping African writers break into the UK publishing scene. This prize is open to unpublished debut novelists from all African countries, or the diaspora. All short-listed writers will be read by publishers and agents both in the UK, US, and South Africa.
The first year of The Island Prize exceeded all expectations. We received over 120 entries from all over the continent, a fine and diverse long list, and then an excellent shortlist. The winner already has a UK agent as a direct result of the prize, and three books have been offered publishing contracts. The competition has aroused much interest in the UK, and we expect even more this year.
All long-listed authors will receive detailed feedback on their submission, with their entire manuscript being read by industry professionals.
All short-listed authors will receive in-depth editorial attention to their entire manuscript, working closely with publishers, agents, and our judges to ready their work for submittance to agencies and publishers once the winner has been announced.
Prizes For Island Prize For African Writers
Winner – £500
Two Runners Up (Shortlist) – £200
Both the winner and runners up will receive detailed editorial feedback and will be mentored by industry professionals and read by UK and US agents.
Deadline: January 6, 2023
- RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers 2023
Established in memory of writer Bronwen Wallace, this award has a proven track record of helping talented developing authors get their first book deal. Two $10,000 prizes will be given for outstanding works of unpublished poetry and short fiction.
The RBC Bronwen Wallace Award is sponsored by RBC Emerging Artists. The initiative supports organizations that provide the best opportunity for artists to advance in their projected career paths. Providing key funding across artistic genres, RBC contributes to the positive, sustained impact of the arts in building strong, diverse, and vibrant communities. Since 2015, more than 28,000 artists have been supported through these programs.
Genre: Poetry and Short Story
Winner: $10,000; Finalists: $2,500
Deadline: January 16, 2023
- Nine Dots Prize 2023
The Nine Dots Prize has now revealed the question it will pose as part of a global problem-solving competition, offering US$100,000 and a book deal with Cambridge University Press for the winning response.
The question for the 2023/2024 cycle is: ‘Why has the rule of law become so fragile?’
First launched in 2016 and now in its fourth cycle, the Nine Dots Prize encourages innovative thinking and engaging new writing that confronts some of the most significant issues of our time. The Prize is judged entirely anonymously and seeks submissions from both established names and emerging talent, including those who may not have been published before.
Entrants must respond to the set question in 3,000 words and provide an outline showing how they would expand their response into a short book of between 25,000-40,000 words, backed up with relevant research and evidence.
The winner will receive editorial support from Cambridge University Press as well as the opportunity to spend a term at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH), at Cambridge University, to help develop their ideas and focus on their writing.
Deadline: Monday 23rd January 2023
- Ako Caine Prize For African Writing 2023
The AKO Caine Prize for African Writing is a registered charity whose aim is to bring African writing to a wider audience using our annual literary award. In addition to administering the Prize, we work to connect readers with African writers through a series of public events, as well as helping emerging writers in Africa to enter the world of mainstream publishing through the annual Caine Prize writers’ workshop which takes place in a different African country each year.
Eligibility Criteria For The Ako Caine Prize 2023
The story must have been published in the five years preceding the submissions deadline. For 2023 eligibility, the judges will only consider work published between 1st February 2018 and 25th January 2023.
Entries must be more than 3,000 words or less than 10,000 words.
Deadline: Thursday 26th January 2023 (12:00 GMT).
- Welkin Writing Prize 2023
From the organizer:
I’m running this competition as a thank you to the writing community which has done so much to support both my writing and my freelance work over the past few years. In September 2022, I was lucky enough to receive a DYCP grant from Arts Council England to fund paid research and writing time, and this competition feels like a small thing that I can do to pay forwards my good fortune. As such, the competition is free to enter and I hope it will be a welcoming space for all writers. The competition is open to all forms of narrative prose, be that flash fiction, short-short, vignette, haibun, hermit crab, prose poem or work that sits outside such labels. There is a whole universe (or welkin) of possibilities.
Prizes For Welkin Writing Prize 2023
The competition will award prizes for:
- 1st place (£150 + annual membership of Writers' HQ worth £190)
- 2nd place (£75 + AdHoc Fiction book voucher worth £25)
- 3rd place (£50 + a copy of "Deflection" by Roberta Beary)
There are additional prizes of £25 for the best non-placed:
writer with a disability or chronic health conditionL, GBTQ+ writer, working class writer, writer whose first (or home) language isn't English carer for an adult dependent, new writer (for a writer with five or fewer publishing credits).
Deadline: 28th February 2023 at 11:59pm GMT.
- Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest 2023
Three times a year, Jerry Jazz Musician awards a writer who submits, in our opinion, the best original, previously unpublished work of short fiction.
The Jerry Jazz Musician reader has interests in music, social history, literature, politics, art, film and theater, particularly that of the counter-culture of mid-twentieth century America. Our newsletter subscribers include publishers, artists, musicians, and fellow writers. While your writing should appeal to a reader with these interests and in these creative professions, all story themes are considered.
No entry fee is required. One story entry only. Simultaneous submissions are accepted.
The contest is open to entrants from anywhere in the world (English language only please)
A prize of $150 will be awarded for the winning story.
Deadline: January 31, 2023
- Imagine Little Tokyo Short Story Contest 2023
Celebrate and participate in the 10th Anniversary of LTHS’ popular program with your fictional story about Little Tokyo. Winners of Adult, Youth (18 and under) and Japanese language categories will receive a special prize of $1,000.
Story submission deadline is January 31, 2023.
The story must be original, fictional, written in either Japanese or English by the submitting author and never been published (even online).
- Jack Hazard Fellowship For Fiction 2023
Jack Hazard Fellows are fiction, creative nonfiction, and memoir writers who teach full-time in an accredited high school in the United States. We provide a $5,000 award that enables these creative writers who teach to focus on their writing for a summer.
Applications for the Jack Hazard Fellowship is now open.
Below, you will find the eligibility requirements, an FAQ, and the link to the online application.
ELIGIBILITY FOR A JACK HAZARD FELLOWSHIP 2023
Three years minimum of full-time grades 9-12 teaching experience.
Teaching full-time grades 9-12 in the 2022-2023 school year in an accredited high school in the United States and committed to return to that school in 2023-2024.
February Short Story Competitions 2023
- The Diana Woods Memorial Award 2023
The Diana Woods Memorial Award in creative nonfiction was established in Diana’s memory by her family, friends, and the Antioch University Los Angeles MFA community. Diana Woods Memorial Award serves as a special opportunity for authors worldwide to be published in the literary journal Lunch Ticket. Launched in the spring of 2012, Lunch Ticket is produced by the Antioch University Los Angeles MFA program, an innovative creative writing graduate program devoted to the education of literary artists, community engagement, and the pursuit of social justice.
Twice each year an author of a work of creative nonfiction will be selected for the Diana Woods Memorial Award award by a special guest judge. One author will be chosen for the Summer/Fall issue of Lunch Ticket and one in the Winter/Spring issue. The winning submissions will be published in Lunch Ticket and the recipient will receive $250.
- The Graywolf Press African Fiction Prize 2023
January 3, 2023—Graywolf Press is pleased to announce that the submission period for the fourth Graywolf Press African Fiction Prize 2023 will run from February 1-28, 2023.
The prize will be awarded for a first novel by an African author primarily residing in Africa and will be judged by Tsitsi Dangarembga, author of the Booker Prize short-listed This Mournable Body and the forthcoming Black and Female, in conjunction with the Graywolf editors.
Graywolf Press, a nonprofit American publisher, publishes work that is distinctive, artistically singular, and of a high literary quality. For this prize, the judge and the Graywolf editors are seeking novels that are engaged with the current moment and that approach contemporary issues with innovative prose and fresh perspectives.
Submissions must be full-length, previously unpublished first novels, or first novels published in Africa that have not been distributed or available for sale outside of the continent of Africa.
Deadline: February 28
- Black Caucus of ALA (BCALA) Self-Publishing Literary Awards 2023
Black Caucus of ALA (BCALA) Self-Publishing Literary Awards 2023. Through this contest, the BCALA honors the best self-published eBooks by an African American author in the U.S. in both fiction and poetry genres.
These awards acknowledge outstanding achievement in the presentation of the cultural, historical and sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora. The purpose is to encourage the artistic expression of the African American experience via literature and scholarly research including biographical, historical, and social history treatments by African Americans. The judging committee will be comprised of a BCALA-appointed panel, which will select one winner in each genre.
Each genre prize winner shall receive: $2,500.00, formal recognition at the Black Caucus of ALA Literary Awards, and a BCALA Literary Award Seal to use in their marketing.
Deadline: February 28
March Short Story Competitions 2023
- Annual BSFS Poetry Contest 2023
The contest deadline is March 1.
Entries should address the themes of science fiction/fantasy/horror/science.
1st prize: $100; 2nd prize: $75; 3rd prize: $50.
Limit: 3 poems/person, maximum 60 lines each.
No entry fee.
- Please no previously published submissions.
- Winners will receive a cash prize, convention membership and be invited to read their winning entries at Balticon. Attendance at Balticon is not required to win.
- Winning poems will be published one time in the BSFAN, the Balticon convention souvenir book. In addition, a pdf version of the winning poems as they appear in the BSFAN will be available on the Balticon Poetry Contest website. Writers retain all rights to their work. By submitting to the contest, entrants agree to these terms
July Short Story Competitions 2023
- SURGING TIDE: THE ANNUAL SUMMER WRITING CONTEST
Surging Tide is pleased to launch our Second Annual Writing Contest 2023 this summer.
Please find below a more detailed prompt as well as guidelines on how to submit.
Surging Tide editors will shortlist 3-5 writers in each category (poetry and prose).
We will forward this list onto the judges, who will select a winner and a runner-up. All shortlisted writers and artists will be guaranteed publication in Surging Tide Issue 10, though all pieces submitted will be considered.
In addition, the winner and runner-up will receive written commentary from their respective contest judges.
Entrants can submit ONE piece per category per submission or up to FIVE pieces with a donation to Surging Tide. Multi-genre submissions allowed (i.e. you can submit one poem and one flash fiction, but not six poems.)
In addition to publication, the winner of each category will be awarded $100 and each runner-up will also be awarded $25.
Deadline: July 31
August Short Story Competitions 2023
- Lucky Jefferson Poetry & Prose Summer Contest 2023
Lucky Jefferson is currently accepting submission for its inaugural poetry and prose competition. Interested writers are to read further on the guidelines for submissions.
20 finalists will receive publication in Lucky Jefferson's digital 365 Collection.
Two finalists from that group (one poetry and one prose) will each receive $100, publication, and a swag box.
Deadline: August 1
- The Granum Foundation Prize 2023
The Granum Foundation Prize will be awarded annually to help U.S.-based writers complete substantive literary works—such as poetry books, essay or short story collections, novels, and memoirs—or to help launch these works.
Additionally, the Granum Foundation Translation Prize will be awarded to support the completion of a work translated into English by a U.S.-based writer.
Funding from both prizes can be used to provide a writer with the tools, time, and freedom to help ensure their success. For example, resources may be used to cover basic needs, equipment purchases, mentorship, or editing services.
Prize: One winner will receive $1,500 or more
Deadline: August 1
- North East Playwriting Award 2023
We are hugely excited to announce the inaugural North East Playwriting Award, presented by Live Theatre in partnership with The Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust. This brand new venture seeks to award commissions to two playwrights who are either from or based in the North East of England. The commissioned plays will then be produced for our stage.
Our main award will offer one playwright a full-length commission fee of £10,000 and ensuing production in our main theatre.
Furthermore, we are thrilled to build on our commitment to young talent by offering a second commission award of £7,000 to a young playwright (16-25 years) to write an under-70 minute play.
Deadline: Submission Closes Mon 7 August 2023
- Morley Prize for Unpublished Writers of Colour 2023
The prize is intended to nurture and provide opportunities for aspiring novelists of colour, promote diverse fiction across the broader literary landscape of Britain and continue Morley’s long history of educational excellence, community engagement, and support for social justice.
The winners will receive £500 prizes, but the real reward here is that those shortlisted will be given individual editorial consultations with an agent on their work, and the chance to ask any questions about the agent/editorial process and how to secure an agent - opportunities available to very few budding authors, but advice and connections which for those without access might mean the difference in achieving a career as a writer.
Deadline: 14th August 2023
- The Yale Drama Series 2023
The Yale Drama Series is seeking submissions for its 2024 playwriting competition. The winning play will be selected by the series’ current judge, Jeremy O. Harris. The winner of this annual competition will be awarded the David Charles Horn Prize of $10,000, publication of their manuscript by Yale University Press, and a celebratory event.
The prize and publication are contingent on the playwright’s agreeing to the terms of the publishing agreement.
Deadline: August 15
- RSL Giles St Aubyn Awards for Non-Fiction 2023
Three annual awards — of £10,000, £5,000 and £2,500 — are available for authors engaged on their first commissioned works of non-fiction
These Awards are for writers with a publishing contract for their first work of non-fiction and can be entered by publishers, agents or writers. This year’s judges are Tom Burgis, Fiona St Aubyn and Kieran Yates.
Deadline: The closing date for entries is Friday 25 August 2023 at 5pm (BST).
- Nan Shepherd Prize 2023
We’re delighted to announce that the 2023 Nan Shepherd Prize is now open to entries. Between now and 25 August 2023, unpublished nature writers are invited to submit their book proposals.
The prize is open to previously unpublished writers based in the UK and Ireland who consider themselves underrepresented in nature writing, whether through ethnicity, disability, class, sex, gender, sexuality or any other circumstances.
Deadline: August 25
- The Masters Review’s Short Story Award for New Writers 2023
It’s time for the Summer Short Story Award for New Writers! The Masters Review’s Short Story Award for New Writers is a biannual contest that recognizes the best short prose from today’s emerging writers.
We welcome submissions of previously unpublished fiction or creative nonfiction up to 6,000 words.
Prize: The first-place winner of this contest, selected by our guest judge, will receive a $3,000 grand prize, along with online publication. Second- and third-place winners will receive $300 and $200 respectively, along with online publication.
Deadline: August 27
- The Val Wood Prize for Creative Writing 2023: The Hungry Tide 30th Anniversary Special
This year, in celebration of Val Wood, they are back with a brand new theme and a brand new judging panel. Having previously been associated with Hull Libraries, the competition is now solely independent and all of its entries will be received by and judged directly by the competition’s namesake, Val Wood.
The winner of the competition will receive £100 and a signed copy of The Hungry Tide. The winning entry will be published on the website valwood.co.uk and shared via various social media outlets.
There will be two further prizes and the winners will receive signed copies of the Hungry Tide upon it’s re-release in October.
Deadline: Entries should be submitted by 5.00pm (BST) 31st August 2023
- The Toni Beauchamp Prize in Critical Art Writing
The Toni Beauchamp Prize in Critical Art Writing is currently open for submission. The entry is free. The 2023 Beauchamp Prize will be judged by Micki Meng.
Entries for the Toni Beauchamp Prize in Critical Art Writing should be a single piece of prose, written in English, not exceeding 1,500 words.
There will be one first place prize of $3,000 dollars, and two runners up, awarded $1,000 each. The winning essay will be featured in GC's printed journal, and the two runners-up will be considered for publication. For previous winners, see the sidebar.
Deadline: August 31st
- The Edinburgh Award for Flash Fiction
The Edinburgh Award for Flash Fiction 2024 is open to writers for submissions. £2,000 prize for writers worldwide and stories on any topic up to 250 words.
Deadline: Open for entries, 1 June to 31 August 2023
First Prize £2,000
Second Prize £300
Third Prize £150
- Aesthetica Creative Writing Award 2023
Aesthetica is looking for the best new writing talent. The £5,000 international literary prize is open to poetry and short fiction entries on any theme, celebrating innovation in content and form.
Deadline: August 31
- Aesthetica Creative Writing Award 2023
Aesthetica is looking for the best new writing talent. The £5,000 international literary prize is open to poetry and short fiction entries on any theme, celebrating innovation in content and form.
Deadline: August 31
- The Amazon Kindle Storyteller Award 2023
The Amazon Kindle Storyteller Award 2023 is a £20,000 literary prize recognising outstanding writing. It is open to writers publishing in English in any genre, who publish their work through Kindle Direct Publishing. Readers play a significant role in selecting the winner, helped by a panel of judges including various book industry experts.
Deadline: The Kindle Storyteller Award 2023 is open for entries between 1st May and 31st August 2023.
September Short Story Competitions 2023
- Academy For Teachers: Stories Out of School Flash Fiction Contest 2023
We hold periodic contests that help us highlight the rich, challenging, and underappreciated world of the teachers. Judged by accomplished experts, these contests are open to everyone. Enter for a chance to win a cash prize!
“STORIES OUT OF SCHOOL” FLASH FICTION CONTEST
Teachers have the most fascinating, difficult, and important job on the planet, and their workdays are filled with stories. Yet teachers seldom appear in fiction. This annual contest was created to inspire great stories about teachers and the rich and crazy world of schools.
Deadline: September 1
- The Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation & Multilingual Texts 2023
Lunch Ticket is honored to host The Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation & Multilingual Texts. The Gabo Prize is funded by writers, translators, and Antioch University Los Angeles MFA Alumni Allie Marini and Jennifer McCharen, who launched the prize to support the work of peer translators.
The winner, selected by a guest judge, will receive $200, and the winning piece will be published alongside two semi-finalists in the upcoming issue of Lunch Ticket. The Gabo Prize is awarded twice each year.
Deadline: September 1
- The Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction, Issue 24
Lunch Ticket is honored to serve as the host for the Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction 2023. The submission window for Lunch Ticket’s Issue 24 is August 1st to September 1st.
The winning submissions will be published in Lunch Ticket and the recipient will receive $250
- Mslexia Women's Fiction Competition 2023
This competition is for unpublished complete short fiction of up to 3,000 words.
Prizes
The winner will receive £3,000.
Three additional finalists will each receive £100.
The winning entry and three finalists will be published in the December 2023 edition of Mslexia.
The winning entry, three finalists and eight additional shortlisted stories will also appear in Mslexia’s ebook anthology, Best Women’s Short Fiction 2023, published in December 2022.
Deadline
The deadline for all entries is 23.59GMT, 18 September 2023.
- The César Egido Serrano Foundation 2023
The César Egido Serrano Foundation periodically calls for an International Short Story Contest that is part of the activities that the Foundation carries out to achieve its objective, which is none other than that the word is the tool against all violence and harmony between different cultures, religions and ideologies.
This contest is the best endowed by word in the world with a first prize of $20,000 and three second prizes of $2,000 each. In the last edition, 43,185 authors from 172 countries participated in the contest. On this occasion and as the main novelty, it will be the participants themselves who will have the opportunity and responsibility to choose the winners, through a computerized, random and anonymous voting system.
Deadline: September 30
- The Iowa Short Fiction Award & John Simmons Short Fiction Award 2023
The Iowa Short Fiction Award & John Simmons Short Fiction Award 2023 is currently open for submission. The awards are organized by the University of Iowa Press, and are open to previously published writers of prose fiction.
Deadline: September 30
October Short Story Competitions 2023
- Jeffrey E. Smith Editors' Prize 2023
$5,000 Fiction | $5,000 Nonfiction | $5,000 Poetry
Winners receive publication, promotion, and a cash prize.
Deadline: October 1
November Short Story Competitions 2023
- The ServiceScape Short Story Award 2023
The ServiceScape Short Story Award 2023 is currently open for submission. The award is open to short story writers who wants to contest for the cash prize of $1,000.00 USD.
For this award, any genre or theme of short story is accepted. All applicants should submit their original unpublished work of short fiction or nonfiction, 5,000 words or fewer, to be considered.
Along with receiving an award for $1,000.00 USD, the winner will have his or her short story featured within the organizers' blog, which reaches thousands of readers per month. Rules and exclusions apply.
Deadline: November 20
December Short Story Competitions 2023
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