The Writers’ College Short Story Competition 2025
Submission Guidelines
- Open to new writers.
- Have never been published or have been published fewer than four times in any genre (fiction or non-fiction), in any publication (paid or unpaid).
- Maximum 2,000 words. If your story exceeds the word count by more than 50 words, it will not be considered.
- Theme for 2025: All the things we didn’t learn.
- Genres accepted: All genres are welcome (literary, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, speculative fiction). Literary fiction tends to perform best with our judges.
Judges: Tania Hutley, Sonny Whitelaw, Alex Smith, Lorraine Forrest-Turner.
Entry fee:
- Free entry deadline: 30 June 2025 (midnight, UTC).
- Paid entry period: After 30 June, a $15 entry fee applies.
Prizes:
- 1st place: NZ$ 1,000 and publication in an anthology of winning stories.
- 2nd place: NZ$ 500 and publication in an anthology of winning stories.
- 3rd place: NZ$ 250 and publication in an anthology of winning stories.
Deadline: 30th September, 2025. Longlist announced on 31st October and winners announced on 15th November.
All details, all submissions via their website.