19 (More) Short Story Competitions in 2014

Earlier this year we posted 14 Short Story Competitions in 2014. After lots of positive feedback and more than a few requests, here are 19 more short story competitions to keep you busy. Entry fees are payable in most cases; check the relevant websites for full terms and conditions.

Saturday Evening Post’s Great American Fiction Contest
is open to stories between 1500 and 5000 words in length. Entries should in some way touch upon the publication’s mission: celebrating America, past, present, and future. The winner will receive US$500 and be published in the January/February 2015 edition of the magazine. Entries close 1 July.

Missing Slate’s Inaugural Fiction Writing Competition
is open to stories up to 10,000 words, as well as to novel excerpts. Based in Pakistan, The Missing Slate is an arts and literary journal created with intent to uphold free speech irrespective of geography, political or religious affiliations. The winning entry will be published in a print anthology and receive a cash prize. Entries close 1 July. 

Seán Ó Faoláin International Short Story Competition
is an annual short story competition open to writers from around the world. First prize is €2000 (US$2700), publication in the literary journal Southword, and a week-long residency at Anam Cara Writer’s and Artist’s Retreat. Entries close 31 July.

Orlando Prize for Short Fiction
is for stories up to 1500 words and is open to women writers worldwide. First prize is US$1000 and publication in The Los Angeles Review. Prizes are also offered for creative non-fiction, poetry and flash fiction. Entries close 31 July.

Costa Short Story Award
is run as part of the Costa Book Awards, one of the UK’s most prestigious and popular literary prizes. The award is for a single, previously unpublished short story of up to 4000 words. Last year’s award winner received prize money of £3500 (US$5900). Entries are expected to open in July. 

Alice Munro Short Story Competition
is run as part of the Alice Munro Writers and Readers Festival which takes place in North Huron on Ontario’s West Coast. Stories must not exceed 5000 words and entrants must not have been commercially published. Entries close 1 August.

Manchester Fiction Prize
is a major international literary competition open to anyone aged 16 or over. The winner receives a cash prize of £10,000 (US$16,700). Stories can be up to 2500 words in length. The organisers also offer a Manchester Poetry Prize. Entries for both competitions close on 29 August.

Aesthetica Magazine
is inviting writers to submit their work to their 2014 creative writing competition. First prize is £500 (US$830) and the winner and finalists will be published in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual. Entries closes 31 August.

Thomas Morton Memorial Prize in Literary Excellence
is open to short fiction up to 8000 words. The prize will be judged by Zsuzsi Gartner and the winner receives CA$1000 (US$900) together with a book pack valued at approximately $700. The winning story will also be published in the Fall 2014 issue of The Puritan. Entries close 30 September.

Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize
is run by The Missouri Review and has a first prize of US$5000. Entries can be up to 25 typed, double-spaced pages. International writers are welcome to enter and entries close 1 October.

Zoetrope All-Story’s Annual Fiction Contest
has the aim of seeking out and encouraging talented writers, with the winning and runners-up’s work being forwarded to leading literary agents. A first prize of US$1000 is also offered. Stories can be up to 5000 words. Entries open on 1 July and are expected to close on 1 October.

The Age Short Story Award
is one of Australia’s most prestigious short story prizes. Past winners include Elliot Perlman, Michelle de Kretser and Cate Kennedy. Entrants can submit up to three stories, each with a maximum length of 3000 words. There are no entry fees and the winning writer in 2013 received AUD$2000 plus publication. Entries are expected to open in October.

Calvino Prize
is an annual fiction competition sponsored by the Creative Writing Program at the University of Louisville. The prize is awarded for writing in the fabulist experimentalist style of Italo Calvino. First prize is US$1500 and publication in Salt Hill Journal. Stories must be less than 25 pages in length. Entries close 13 October.

Scott Prize
is an international annual prize for a first collection of short stories. Entrants must not have had a short story collection published before. The winning collection will be published by Salt Publishing. Entries close 31 October.  

John Steinbeck Short Story Award
is for fiction up to 5000 words. Entry requires a reading fee of $15 and includes a free copy of the latest edition of Reed Magazine. The winner receives a prize of US$1000. Entries close 1 November.

Malahat Review’s Open Season Awards
are open to short fiction up to 2500 words, as well as to poetry and creative non-fiction. The winning entries receive CA$1000 (US$900) and will be published in The Malahat Review’s Spring 2015 issue. Entries close 1 November.

Danahy Fiction Prize
is an annual award with a prize of US$1000 and publication in Tampa Review. Judging is by the editors of Tampa Review, and all entries will be considered for publication. They generally prefer manuscripts between 500 and 5000 words but stories falling slightly outside this range will also be considered. Entries close 1 November.

Fish Publishing’s International Short Story Prize
is for stories up to 5000 words. Ten entries will be published in the 2014 Fish Anthology. First prize is €3000 (US$4000) (€1,000 of which is for travel expenses to the launch of the anthology). Entries close 30 November.

Hackney Literary Awards’ Short Story Prize
is for stories up to 5000 words in length. There are national prizes, as well as state prizes for writers from the state of Alabama. A US$5000 prize is also offered for an unpublished novel. Entries close 30 November.

For more writing competitions and publication opportunities follow Aerogramme Writers’ Studio on Facebook and Twitter.