Writer's College Short Story Competition 2024

If you are a creative writer you may be interested in the 2024 Writer's College Short Story Competition. This is an annual writing competition held in New Zealand and is open to both unpublished writers and those authors with three or less pieces of published work. Cash prizes go down to third place plus the top three winners will have their work published in an anthology.

Writer's College Short Story Competition 2024

The short story writing competition is open to entrants 16 and over worldwide. Entries must be in English and only one entry per person is allowed. No assisted stories are to be submitted and competitors are asked to make a declaration that ChatGBT has not been used.

The theme for this 2024 short story contest is ‘It didn’t have to be this way'. The phrase must appear within the body of the story but any title may be selected by the writer.

The competition closes at midnight on 30 September 2024.

Short Story Competition Details

• Open to anyone aged 16 and over from any country.
• Entries will be accepted in the English language only
• 2,000 words maximum. Entries will be disqualified if they exceed the word count by more than 50 words.
• 2024 theme is ‘It didn’t have to be this way’. This phrase is to appear somewhere in the story. Titles are to chosen by the writer.
• Only one entry per person. It is free to enter.
• Stories must be the original work of the author. No AI assisted stories are allowed.
• Stories must not have been previously published.
• Entrants retain the copyright of their entry but give permission for their story to be published in an anthology if selected.
• The competition closes on 30 September 2024. The longlist will be published by 31 October 2024 and the winners announced by 15 November 2024.
• The Writers College reserves the right to extend the competition deadline or cancel the competition should the entries not be of publishable quality.

Copyright

Copyright of the entry remains with the author. By entering the competition you agree to the publication of the story in an anthology if chosen to appear.

Entry Format

Email entries only. The story must be copied and pasted into the body of the email.

Fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman, size 12 or more may be used. Use 1.5 or double spacing between lines.

The title and word count is to be stated in the email.

Prizes

First Prize: NZ $1000

Second Prize: NZ $500

Third Prize: NZ $250

Plus winning entries will be published in an anthology of stories.

Closing Date

Competition closes midnight on 30 September 2024

The Longlist will be available on 31 October 2024

Winners will be announced on the Writer's College website on 15 November 2024


The full rules of the competition and previous winning stories can be found at 2024 Writer's College Short Story Competition