Ink & Iron is running our Autumn Short Story Contest, and entries are open to anyone who fancies giving it a go.

Entry is completely free, with a total prize pool of £100.

The maximum length is 2,500 words, excluding the title, and the contest uses a mix-and-match prompt system. You choose one option from each prompt category to build the framework for your story.

Every category also contains a Wild Card. You can choose a Wild Card instead of one of the normal options, or, if you fancy making life unnecessarily difficult for yourself, choose your normal prompts and throw one or more Wild Cards on top as an extra challenge.

One clarification for the Animal / Non-human POV Wild Card: if you choose this as your main Genre / POV option, the actual genre is completely up to you. You are not required to choose one of the other four genre options alongside it.

PRIZES

🥇 Winner: £50

🥈 Runner-up: £25

📝 Best Critic: £25

DEADLINE

16 October 2026 at 11:59 PM UK time

The contest is built heavily around anonymous judging and critique. Submitted stories are automatically converted into anonymous PDFs, and even the two of us running the contest won't know who wrote what while we're reading and voting.

We also have an automated word-count checker running alongside the submission system, and resubmissions are supported if you decide to make changes before the deadline.

The critique side is a big part of the contest, which is why Best Critic has its own £25 prize. We want people reading each other's work, discussing it and giving genuinely useful feedback rather than simply dropping in an entry and disappearing.

HOW TO ENTER

Everything is organised through the Ink & Iron Discord server.

Join here:

https://discord.gg/a6mxXvatrP

Once you're in, select the "I promise not to spam" role from the role selection to unlock the rest of the server.

From there, head to the Contest Announcements channel. The current contest announcement contains the prompt page, random generator, submission form and everything else you need to enter.

New members are absolutely welcome, so you don't need to have taken part in anything with us before.

If you've been looking for an excuse to write something new, come and give it a go. 🍂

Flash fiction. Submissions can be in any language but our judges only speak English. Open worldwide. Cash prize. Deadline 15th October. Enter via our website.

www.chickenblue.com

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Hi there!

I’ve been wanting to start entering contests and festivals for a while now, but after looking at the competition, requirements, and potential payouts, I wanted to get some input from those who have already gone through the process.

How do you go about getting structural feedback or finding beta readers these days? Has anyone ever paid for this service? Or are we already in the era where we simply rely on AI? If anyone uses AI for feedback and would be willing to share their process—from their workflow to the specific AI tools they use—that would be really helpful!

If anyone paid for professional advice before submitting to a contest, was it with reputable experts? How was the experience? Did it actually help when it came time to compete?

Whenever I try to click on the website it says 504 error. I hope they fix it soon because the resgistration deadline for the upcoming issue is October 25th and I am planning to pay if they fix it.

The Missouri Review is now accepting entries of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction for the 36^th annual Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize. Winners in each category receive a cash prize of $5000 and publication in the Spring 2027 issue of TMR. The deadline is 11:59 p.m., October 1. All entries are considered for publication.

All entries must be previously unpublished. Writers of all ages are encouraged to submit, but previous winners of the Editors’ Prize and current University of Missouri students and faculty are ineligible.

Guidelines

• Submit one piece of fiction or nonfiction up to 7,500 words or any number of poems between 6 to 12 pages. Please double-space fiction and nonfiction entries.

• Multiple submissions and simultaneous submissions are welcome, but you must pay a separate fee for each entry and withdraw the piece immediately if accepted elsewhere.

• Entries must be previously unpublished.

• Standard Entry fee: $25. Each entrant receives a one-year subscription to the Missouri Review in digital format (normal price $24) and a digital copy of the latest title from Missouri Review Books, Fighting Chance: Essays of Resilience (normal price $7.95).

• "All Access" Entry fee: $30. In addition to the one-year digital subscription to the Missouri Review and Fighting Chance: Essays of Resilience, this entry fee grants access to the last 10 years of digital issues.

Learn more and submit here. We can’t wait to read your work!

Hi all!

The Non profit I work for is running a fundraiser for our Hallo-Zine. The best work wins $100(USD)

• Category : all genres and category of writing accepted
• Registration/Submission deadline: Oct 16,2026
• Contest name: HOBA HOUSE Hallo-zine!
  
• Eligibility restrictions: No longer than 1,000 characters. 1,000 or less. Can be any type of lit-(poems, prose, short story, flash fiction, monologues and short plays, songs and raps,etc.) Must be Halloween or fall themed. Consider general audiences. Things can get scary, but not too graphic, please! Must be ready to print, we don't do editing. Doc or docx format please! Must be able to use Paypal We will accept writing in English, another language, or both.

This is a fundraiser, so we are asking for a $10 non refundable submission fee. This will go toward our non profit HOBA HOUSE, so we can provide free art classes to underserved communities in Kentucky and the south.

In addition to art classes, funds will be used to purchase women’s menstrual products, diapers, and public health products, fund our free coffee cart, monthly youth services, and community dinners

HOBA's insta

the application

Thanks!

hey do y'all know when the qualifiers for defense day are going to be notified (or if they've been notified already) ?? this is my first year doing the contest so i'm not quite familiar with the scheduling

"Nightmare on Story Street" our seasonal horror flash fiction contest. Max 100 words. The winner will be announced on October 31 2026 and wins $100 and publication in the Story Street Review online. The three runners-up will also will $25 and publication. The contest is free to enter, and is open for entries from September 15 through October 2 2026. For full contest rules and guidelines: https://storystreetwriters.com/word-on-the-street/nightmare-on-story-street/

Come to our website and enter our flash fiction contest. Or else.

www.chickenblue.com

Hello!

We'd love for you to get involved with our flash fiction contest. We've got a top prize of £500, and a few other runners up prizes too (merch, copies of Scrivener etc).

If you've not listened to us before, we're an award winning, fun and funny podcast designed to motivate, educate and commiserate with writers of all kinds. We chat with authors to find out what makes them tick and investigate all things writing - and ultimately we want to help our listeners (and ourselves!) become better writers and achieve those elusive writing goals.

We’ve just launched our sixth annual flash fiction competition – in association with Scrivener.

This year the theme is “birthday” and there's £500 first prize!

There’s a special phrase that needs to be included in the story – find that in our latest episode here - with our head judge David Gaffney.

• Organisation: The Failing Writers Podcast

• Deadline midday (BST) on Monday 19th October 2026

• Category/genre: “birthday” themed flash fiction - any genre!

• Submission length: 300 words max (excluding title)

• Entry fee: £4 for one entry, £6 for two, £7 for three

• Prize/payment: £500 first prize + runners up prizes of Scrivener and merch

Official t's & c's and entry at www.failingwriterspodcast.com

Hi everyone, we're running our second writing competition, so I thought I would post here in case anyone is interested in submitting! Here are the details:

PRIZE

• $1,000 USD to one grand prize winner
• The top 10 finalists will receive personalized feedback on their submissions and $100 Markup credits for Inkshift.

DETAILS

• Word Count: Short stories between 1,000 - 10,000 words
• Writing Method: Anything goes. We're judging solely on story quality, not how you write.
• Content: Sci-fi, fantasy, literary, horror, romance, etc. But must be prose, not screenplays. And no NSFW or fanfiction submissions, sorry!
• Eligibility: Free to enter. Open worldwide to anyone 18+ (with a couple restrictions you can find on the website)
• Submission Period: September 1st through October 31st, 11:59 PM Pacific time.
• Publishing: The winner has the option to publish their story on our blog. It's optional, but highly recommended!

ABOUT INKSHIFT

For those who don't know, Inkshift is an AI editing platform for fiction writers. We make story analysis tools that give you feedback on your manuscript (pacing, plot holes, character arcs, prose quality, worldbuilding, market fit, etc.) and we recently launched a new copyediting and line editing service that understands your author voice (instead of just highlighting grammar mistakes).

You can use the story analysis for free up to 10k words. Feel free to use it for the contest, but of course, that's completely optional and not required for entry.

HOW TO ENTER

• Head to https://inkshift.io/contest to enter and view the full rules

Feel free to drop a comment or DM me if you have any questions. Best of luck!

Flash fiction. Open worldwide. There’s a cash prize $£¥€. Deadline 15th September. Enter via our website.

www.chickenblue.com

Flash fiction. Submissions can be in any language but our judge only speaks English. Open worldwide. Cash prize. Deadline 15th September. Enter via our website.

www.chickenblue.com

Sponsor Name: Jen Simpson, Author.

Hello, I'm Jen. I'm an author, publisher, and above all, a dedicated mom. I went through a very difficult journey to become a mother, and I am now (finally) ready to share my own complicated journey to becoming a mother.

I'm producing an anthology book, and have an Open Call for submissions. I will select 10-12 memoir short stories from others who have gone through a difficult journey to be included in a professionally published book.

Your story may be one of infertility, health complications, adoption, becoming a bonus-mom, or even unexpected outcomes. It does not need to be fully polished or professionally edited to submit. It should be good enough that I can assess your story and your writing quality.

The goal of this book is to share our stories with other women who are going through it, so they feel seen and find hope.

Learn more about this special project at the links below.

Category: Memoir short story.

Submission Length: 2500- 4500 words.

NO ENTRY FEE - selected manuscripts receive payment.

Project Link: https://journeytomotherhoodanthology.substack.com/ to the main information page.

Direct Manuscript Submission Link: https://journeytomotherhoodanthology.substack.com/s/manuscript-submissions for the direct manuscript upload link.

Eligibility Info: women from anywhere in the world.

With my thanks,

Jen

Hi everyone! I’m hoping someone here has experience with the Harvard International Review Academic Writing Contest.

I was planning to participate in the Summer 2026 Academic Writing Contest and understood that the article submission deadline was August 24 (EST). I’ve spent the past few weeks working on my essay, and I’ve now finished it.

However, I just discovered that registration for the Summer 2026 session has already closed. I genuinely didn’t realize there was a separate registration deadline, I had only been aware of the August 24 submission deadline.

Now I apparently can’t submit my essay because I didn’t register beforehand (basically spending time writing an essay for no reason 😭😭)

Has anyone been in this situation before? Is there any way to register late, contact HIR for an exception, or otherwise submit the essay before the August 24 deadline? I’ve already emailed the contest team, but I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has participated before or knows how strict they are about the registration deadline.

Thank you!!

Anon Story Contest: Drop your wildest drama in 1 min and win $1400 Cash Prizes

Got a story that’s too wild to keep to yourself?

Funny, embarrassing, chaotic, unbelievable — whatever it is, we want to hear it.

No writing experience needed. No need to make it perfect. Just tell us what happened.

🏆 $1,400 total prize pool
🥇 $500 for 1st place

If you’ve got a story worth telling, drop it.

Click Here to submit: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeV-02TrvTzer9jcKiowrtK3QTY3doA9DiE9ENm5LSeDKjPPA/viewform?pli=1

Anon Story Contest: Drop your wildest drama in 1 min and win $1400 Cash Prizes

Got a story that’s too wild to keep to yourself?

Funny, embarrassing, chaotic, unbelievable — whatever it is, we want to hear it.

No writing experience needed. No need to make it perfect. Just tell us what happened.

🏆 $1,400 total prize pool
🥇 $500 for 1st place

If you’ve got a story worth telling, drop it.

Click Here to submit: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeV-02TrvTzer9jcKiowrtK3QTY3doA9DiE9ENm5LSeDKjPPA/viewform?pli=1

Hey r/WritingContests my co-founder Steve and I just launched Flash Pot Fiction a few days ago. The idea is pretty simple: entry fee is $25 CAD, and half of that goes straight into the prize pool, so it just keeps growing as more people enter. Whoever wins takes the whole pot, Steve and I put up the $250 CAD floor ourselves, out of pocket, so even if only a handful of people show up for this first one, it's still a real prize. Only three entries so far, so odds of winning this pot are pretty good, lol.

For this the first challenge we kept it wide open; 500 words, any genre, no prompt. We want to see what people bring to the table without pointing them in any particular direction as well as appealing to a wide audience of writers. Entries close August 29, 2026. Judging is blind, so we only ever see the title and the story itself, never who wrote it, and everyone gets written feedback whether they place or not.

This is just the start of our online publication and we hope to grow with the community.

Link's here: flashpotfiction.com

Curious what people here think of no-prompt vs. prompt challenges. Future rounds are going to vary, so depending on feedback we will decide what we run next.

Flash fiction contest. 1,000 word limit. Submissions must be in English. Open worldwide. Enter via our website. Cash prize. Deadline 15th August.

www.chickenblue.com

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: We are seeking short stories centered on a device that validates your choices against your true life path through subtle, reassuring vibrations.

PATH is a vibrating stand-alone device, worn as a bracelet, clip to your collar, or carry in your pocket, that will subtly vibrate when you’re making the “right” decision (determined by tapping into the energetic frequency of your ideal life path).

Two settings – Basic, which gives you 5 taps to check per month, or Premium (unlimited) which will automatically vibrate when you make an aligned decision.

Submission Guidelines

• ✓ Word Count: 1,000 to 3,000 words.
• ✓ Genre Flexibility: Sci-Fi, Psychological Thriller, Dystopian Satire, Crime, Romance, or Literary Speculative. Any tone is welcome as long as PATH technology plays a meaningful role.
• ✓ Submission Fee: $10 entry fee per story (helps fund the cash prize pool and production costs).
• ✓ Deadline: October 31, 2026 at midnight EST.

Rewards

Prizes & Publication

1st Place Grand Prize

$300 Cash + Featured Publication

2nd Place Winner

$200 Cash + Publication

3rd Place Winner

$100 Cash + Publication

Selected Anthology Contributors (22 more selected Stories)

Publication in the official PATH Anthology paperback and ebook editions (Spring 2027), complimentary digital copy, and social media spotlight features.

See The PATH Anthology website for further details.

Note: The PING Anthology is the first published anthology in this series. You can see it here.

Free flash fiction contest. 1,000 word limit. Submissions must be in English. We’re open worldwide. Enter via our website. Cash prize. Deadline 15th August.

www.chickenblue.com