Best Short Story Writing Contests in 2025

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The Moment Magazine-Karma Foundation Short Fiction Contest invites unpublished stories that focus on themes relating to Judaism or Jewish culture. Established in 2000, it has featured renowned judges and offers cash prizes for outstanding works.

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Novel, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Script Writing, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Storytrade Book Awards celebrate literary excellence in small and independent publishing, featuring over 70 categories for fiction and nonfiction. The awards spotlight outstanding books and provide industry recognition for authors.

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The contest welcomes submissions of previously unpublished short stories of 1000 words or fewer. It encourages simultaneous submissions and offers publication for finalists in their journal.

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Suspense, and Thriller

The Story Unlikely Short Story Contest encourages submissions of all genres, with a focus on quality storytelling. The contest aims to revive the art of storytelling and embraces a variety of narratives without restrictions on age or location.

Genres: Flash Fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

The Winds of Asia Award invites Asian authors and poets to submit original, unpublished works that highlight Asian cultures. Winners can receive cash prizes up to $500, along with publication in Kinsman Quarterly and the upcoming anthology, Winds of Asia. The contest encourages diverse voices and stories.

Genres: Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Memoir, Non-fiction, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story

A solar flare is short-lived but has a huge amount of energy. Sunspot Lit is looking for a noteworthy flare of creative energy through short stories, poems, or graphic novels.

Genres: Fiction, Short Story, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, and Thriller

A competitive writing platform for storytellers featuring stories judged by industry professionals. The Autumn Battle involves writing a 2000-word story in seven days.

Genres: Fantasy, Flash Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction, Short Story, and Thriller

Season Themes is a flash fiction contest that invites authors to create stories inspired by monthly themes and prompts. Each theme features a specific character prompt that authors must incorporate into their stories, allowing for creative interpretations across various genres.

Genres: Essay, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Science Fiction, Science Writing, Thriller, Young Adult, Children's, Poetry, Romance, Short Story, Suspense, and Travel

The 100 Word Writing Contest is an international contest hosted by Tadpole Press that encourages creativity across all genres. It welcomes entries from writers of all ages and backgrounds, aiming to diversify literature and promote unique narratives.

Genres: Essay, Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

The Swamp Pink Prizes celebrate excellence in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Each winner receives $2,000 and publication in an upcoming issue of Swamp Pink. The contest is open for submissions throughout January.

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Short Story

Welcome to the 31st annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest. Submit published or unpublished work. $9,000 in prizes.

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Essay, Memoir, and Short Story

The contest is part of the annual Word on the Lake Writers Festival, encouraging submissions in short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Entries must be unpublished and original, with a maximum of 2,000 words for fiction/nonfiction and three one-page poems. Winners are published in the anthology.

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Story, Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, and Thriller

The Winter Flash Fiction Battle is an engaging contest where writers compete by creating stories based on given prompts. Participants write a story of up to 1000 words within three days. The contest emphasizes community feedback and professional judging.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, and Short Story

The Folly Short Story Prize aims to celebrate accessible, entertaining, and well-written stories. The prize launched in 2023, recognizing innovative and edgy writing. The winner of the 2024 contest will be featured in Folly's second issue.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction, and Short Story

The Parsec Short Story Contest aims to encourage non-professional writers to explore speculative fiction in genres like science fiction, fantasy, and horror. The theme for 2025 is 'ROOTS', and submissions should relate to this theme. The contest has no entry fee and supports young writers through a special Youth Story Prize.

Genres: Fiction, Novel, Novella, Poetry, and Short Story

The 2025 Book Prize awards a winning manuscript with a $1,000 advance and a standard contract from Unleash Press. Accepts novels, poetry collections, short story collections, and creative nonfiction. The competition is open now until December 1, 2024.

Genres: Flash Fiction, Short Story, and Fiction

The Letter Review Prize for Short Fiction is a competition for short fiction (up to 5000 words) with no genre or theme restrictions. It is open to writers worldwide, with 2-4 winners published and sharing in the prize money. Entries are also considered for publication and submission to the Pushcart Prize.

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The Atom Learning Young Author Award encourages children aged 7-11 to express their creativity through writing. The contest invites submissions of up to 500 words based on a specific theme, fostering young authors' storytelling skills.

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

The Narrative Prize is awarded annually for the best short story, novel excerpt, poem, one-act play, graphic story, or work of literary nonfiction by a new or emerging writer. All works published in the magazine each year are considered, and previously unpublished works may also be submitted. The prize includes a cash award and recognition in the literary community.

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The Letter Review Prize for Short Stories is part of a broader contest that includes categories for essays, nonfiction, poetry, and unpublished books. Winners are typically announced every three months and all submissions are considered for publication.

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The Plaza Short Story Prize invites entries for short stories up to 5000 words. The prize includes cash rewards and publication in an anthology, aiming to discover and promote new literary talent.

Genres: Flash Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, and Fiction

The Annual Short Contest is part of Gemini Magazine's yearly contests, which include Flash Fiction and Poetry. Each contest seeks to discover and publish exceptional literary works from writers around the globe.

Genres: Memoir, Non-fiction, and Short Story

The Fish Short Memoir Prize invites entries of personal memoirs, with the aim of being published in the Fish Anthology 2025. It's open to writers of any nationality and no prior publication is needed.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Mystery, Science Fiction, Science Writing, and Short Story

The competition invites elementary and middle school students to submit short stories (maximum 350 words) based on a monthly theme. Winners receive recognition and prizes, including Amazon gift cards and publication in the Hall of Fame.

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, Poetry, Script Writing, and Short Story

The Places Writing Competition invites stories and poems about places that inspire or challenge writers. It includes various categories like poetry, short stories, and flash fiction, and aims to highlight the significance of places in literature.

Genres: Non-fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

The Flying South contest invites submissions in three categories: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, and Poetry. Each entry should be original and previously unpublished. Winners are awarded cash prizes, and all finalists are published in the annual issue.

Genres: Fiction, Poetry, and Short Story

The Francine Ringold Awards for New Writers honor the work of writers at the beginning of their careers. $500 prizes will be awarded in both the fiction and poetry categories, and the winning manuscripts will appear in the spring issue of Nimrod. Winners will have the chance to work with the Nimrod board of editors to refine and edit their manuscripts before publication.

Genres: Fiction, Non-fiction, Short Story, Essay, Memoir, and Novel

Established in 2018, the Women's Prose Prize honors previously unpublished, original prose work including novels, short story collections, memoirs, and essay collections. It is open to all women writers, with a fair evaluation process ensuring anonymity during judging.

Genres: Short Story

The theme for this year's competition is 'risking all', commemorating the centenary of the 1924 British Mount Everest expedition. Participants can submit poetry or prose inspired by this theme.

Genres: Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller, and Young Adult

The Spring Microfiction Battle is part of the Writing Battle series, where participants write stories based on prompts. Participants receive feedback from peers and industry judges.

Genres: Fiction, Flash Fiction, and Short Story

The contest invites participants to write a story of exactly 100 words on topics like envy, eyeglasses, nightmares, or turtles. It is open to all ages, including international writers. Winning stories will be published in an e-zine.

Genres: Memoir, Non-fiction, and Short Story

Original, unpublished works of memoir writing up to 2000 words. The winner will be interviewed and the winning story published on Alison Wearing’s website and featured in the Memoir Writing Ink program. This award was created in celebration of the life of Amy Macrae and in support of her living legacy to improve the outcomes of women with ovarian cancer. Submissions accepted between April 15 to June 30, 2024.

Genres: Mystery, Non-fiction, Science Fiction, Short Story, Suspense, and Thriller

The Claymore Award assists new and rebranding English-language fiction authors with potential publishing opportunities, including agent representation, book deals, and media adaptations. The contest emphasizes the importance of getting the first 50 pages of an unpublished work noticed by industry professionals.

Genres: Fiction and Short Story

The Pinch Literary Awards recognize excellence in fiction. Submissions are judged blind, with various entry windows throughout the year.

Genres: Fiction, Short Story, Fantasy, and Science Fiction

The Writers of the Future Contest, initiated by L. Ron Hubbard in 1983, supports new writers in science fiction and fantasy, judged by leading authors. Winners receive cash prizes and recognition. The contest encourages original works and offers a platform for upcoming writers.