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The Literature.com Contest Spring 2024
Enter our short-story literature contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and gain worldwide recognition for your talent!
Tell me more!
Literature.com prides itself in supporting and encouraging all writers, regardless of background, education or experience. All authors, whether just starting out or with many years of practice, are encouraged to use our contests as an opportunity to gain motivation, inspiration, exposure and most importantly, build passion and enjoyment for the written word!
How does it work?
Every season, a new contest will begin. Submit an original short story or choose one of your existing stories from the site. Check out our entry criteria, then submit your entry before the deadline! The following season, we will announce the winners on our contest Summary Page. Additionally, all nominated stories will be displayed on our site and will feature a special badge, highlighting it is a contest nominee. Each winner's badge will display their position in the top three!
What about the awards?
When it comes to the awards, we offer exciting prizes for our contest winners. The top three winners will receive cash prizes, with the first-place winner receiving $300, the second-place winner receiving $200, and the third-place winner receiving $100. Furthermore, five runners-up will receive a personalized mug featuring their winning short story.
How do you decide who wins?
In this contest, our members are the judges! Every member of Literature.com is eligible for one vote, each vote worth a single point. Once all the applications have been received or the submission period has been reached, they will be able to start reading the entries and vote. On top of that, the Literature.com team will award five bonus points to their favorite stories. The voting period will last one month, after which the winners will be announced!
Yes! All our members are judges too!
Our literature contests boast a clever twist! We thought long and hard about what we can offer the literature community that is new, fresh and exciting. Traditional formats have a panel of judges, named or anonymous. Our vision is that literature is like art - it can be viewed and interpreted in a myriad of ways and it all comes down to taste and opinion. We offer Judging Guidelines to outline the key aspects of a good short story and encourage you to bring your own knowledge and experience together with ours when conducting your votes. We believe in our community and its power to create! Let the games begin!
Guidelines
- Signing up to Literature.com is required to enter.
- Work must be an original composition and previously unpublished.
- Your story should not exceed 5,000 words. There is no minimum.
- Stories must be in English.
- There is no limit to the number of stories you may apply with, a new application form must be filled out for each new entry.
- A non-refundable entry and review fee of 25 USD* is required to enter.
- * Can’t afford the entry fee? Every contest we’ll be accepting up to 5 free submissions from
writers that are financially out of reach.
Ethics
Our contests adhere to the Council of Literary Magazines & Presses Contest Code of Ethics sharing the goal to "connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing".
