What Is a Short Story?
26 Speculative Fiction Contests
Short works
"Novels are, for me, adding up details, just work, work, work, then you're done. Short stories are more difficult — they have to be perfect, complete in themselves." — Isabel Allende
The short story is one of the oldest, most common, and most varied forms of writing. It's categorized by length and defined by brevity. A short story is fictional prose written in narrative form.
Shorter than a novel and read in a single sitting, the most commonly preferred length of a short story is 5,000 words. Still, it can fall between 1,000 (flash fiction) and 10,000 (novelette) words. Some outliers range up to 20,000 (novella) words.
Short stories tend to be less complex, aimed at a unity of effect, and primarily concentrate on evoking a single mood conveyed in only one or a few significant incidents or the tale of one particular character.
Despite their brevity, short stories are fully developed, complete works with as much impact on readers as novels. In particular, they express theme just as effectively. They are often judged by the ability to provide a satisfying treatment of their characters and subject.
Short stories are a flexible form that can challenge the expectations of a genre's conventions in a relatively low-stakes way compared to a novel.
The form encourages economy of setting, concise narrative, and the omission of a complex plot; character is disclosed in action and dramatic encounters but is seldom fully developed.
A short story typically isn't fully developed in these areas:
multiple points of view; a large cast of three-dimensional characters
a full backstory and meaningful character arc for every character
extensive worldbuilding
complicated settings
complex magical systems
long, intricate plots with multiple subplots
major twists and conflicts
successive climaxes
"A short story is a narrative — a single-sitting read, but with enough time and weight to move the reader. It is narrow and focused to produce a singular effect, the story's meaning, most commonly through events affecting some change or denial of change in an individual. All aspects of a short story are closely integrated and cross-reinforcing; language, POV, tone and mood, the sounds as well as the meanings of the words, and their rhythm." — Alex Keegan
What are short story writing contests?
You might be wondering what short story contests are, exactly. Short story contests are where writers submit original works with the hope of winning prize money, awards, and possible publication in a prestigious magazine, online publication, or anthology.
They can be found on curated lists such as Novel & Short Story Writer's Market by Writer's Digest or on popular websites like reedsy. Some of the best searchable databases are The Submissions Grinder, Duotrope, and Literarium.
Many new writers start their careers by featuring short stories in contests, magazines, and anthologies. Some experts focus on such markets exclusively.
Why writing contests are essential to a writer's career
"A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit." — Richard Bach
Though there isn't a single reliable measuring device for book sales data (ex., BookScan captures approximately 85% of all print sales, and Bowker publishes statistic reports), it's estimated that the number of new books (traditionally published and self-published in various formats) is over 4 million annually.
New books sell a mean average of less than 250 copies in the first year.
The marketplace is crowded. Only big-name authors and brand-name books stand out. Less than 1% of the new books published have a chance of being stocked in an average bookstore.
Most books today are sold to the authors' and publishers' communities, and authors, not publishers, do most of the marketing. Publishers devote the lion's share of their promotional budgets to a few lead or top authors.
Why submit to writing contests?
"If you're serious about getting ahead, you must invest time, energy, and a few dollars to become better informed and methodical." — Alex Keegan
Writing contests are a vital part of the writing community
Magazines, literary journals, and universities regularly host writing competitions to keep their publications funded throughout the year. Those that are non-profit use contests as fundraisers. Writing contests support new authors trying to gain exposure and hone their craft and the writing industry as a whole.
It's a method for deliberate, organized practice
Writing contests help new writers internalize what it is to be an author while providing practice for honing the craft. Contests allow writers to develop the habit of meeting deadlines and writing consistently while actually finishing something.
Acknowledgment and validation
Entering contests shows the world that a writer is serious about their craft. They're one of the best ways for new writers to get their work acknowledged. Even if a story doesn't win anything beyond recognition and appreciation from other writers and readers, it gives new writers a real sense of validation.
Get published
Contests encourage writers to put their stories in front of the eyes of as many people as possible; for readers to discover new authors.
Grow your writing resume
Winning can lead to awards, a magazine contract, or book deals.
Get feedback
When offered, feedback from editors and judges is invaluable.
Earn money and prizes
Of course, prize money, trophies, and awards are significant factors. The prizes differ from one contest to another. Some contests give more money than others or offer semi-pro or professional pay rates and royalties. Others offer prestigious awards and trophies.
Other benefits
A hallmark of some of the best contests is when their primary purpose is to convey the opportunity and importance of networking. Many top contests offer workshops by industry pros and masters in their field. Even if a story doesn't win or get published, some judges and editors recommend an author to an agent or another publication.
In short, winning short story contests are a low-risk way to launch a career.
Contest Caveats
Below is a list of some of the best writing contests, however:
It is not comprehensive.
It does not parse deadlines or feature descriptions.
It focuses on those open to speculative fiction short stories (the typical word limit is five thousand or less). Speculative fiction includes, but is not limited to, science fiction, fantasy, horror, superhero fiction, alternate history, utopian and dystopian fiction, and supernatural fiction.
There are hundreds of contests. Many are reputable; some are prestigious. Some are exploitative, pointless, or outright scams (for more on predatory contests, click here). When reviewing individual contests, pay attention to the terms, rights, fees, prize money, judges, rules, and contest history.
Contests range from broad categories with thousands of entries to specific categories with only a relative few entries.
They can be open to international, national, or regional entrants only.
Many specify categories such as literary fiction or genres like science fiction; others are nonspecific or generalize to all fiction.
Some pay money, offer awards, publication, workshops, networking with other writers and professionals, free subscriptions, or only one of those benefits.
Different writing contests have different submission periods (annually, biannually, quarterly, rolling). Be sure to take advantage of websites that use search functions with filtering and those that consistently show upcoming deadlines.
Some writers recommend checking lists once a season (fall, winter, spring, summer) and compiling a personal, curated list. Others recommend resources such as The Submissions Grinder, Literarium, and Duotrope for market information and submission tracking. Note that speculative fiction writers should not submit to contests run by general or literary fiction publishers.
26 Best Short Story Contests for Speculative Fiction
Speculative fiction includes, but is not limited to, science fiction, fantasy, horror, superhero fiction, alternate history, utopian and dystopian fiction, and supernatural fiction.
Recommended reading:
Additional resources:
Writer's Digest magazine
Cheers,
Jarrid Cantway