After the success of our inaugural Short Story competition in 2020, Ringwood are proud to announce this year’s Short Story Competition is ready to launch.
As a country built and thriving on literature, Scotland has some incredible writers that go unacknowledged every year, and Ringwood wants to bring some of those underrepresented voices to light.
Writers between the ages of 18 and 29 residing in or originally from Scotland are encouraged to send their best work to our panel of judges. We welcome submissions from all walks of life, including but not limited to writers who identify as women, men, transgender, nonbinary, LGBTQ+, BAME, neuro-divergent, rich, poor, extroverts, introverts, and any and all others who are contributing the the rich tapestry of our literary history. Your voices matter.
The contest opens for entries on 20th September, 2021. There is a £2 entry fee and the
winning writer will receive a prize of £50 and publication on our website; up to two runners
up will also receive acknowledgement and publication on the website.
Contest Guidelines:
The Ringwood Short Story Competition will be kicking off on Monday, 20th September.
There is so much untapped creative potential in this country and we are proud to welcome submissions from all writers between the ages of 18 and 29 who are from or currently resident in Scotland.
Entry to the short story contest is £2 with a first prize of £50 and publication on the
Ringwood website. Up to two finalists will also receive online publication.
All entries will be also considered for the upcoming Ringwood Young Scottish Writers Anthology (release date TBA).
Your submission will be evaluated by our panel of judges, made up of Ringwood staff and published Ringwood
authors.
Please send stories up to 3,000 words maximum to submissions@ringwoodpublishing.com.
We are only accepting contest submissions electronically.
Any one writer is welcome to submit up to five stories, each as a separate submission with its own £2 entry fee.
You will receive a confirmation email once your submission and payment have been received. While we always welcome work that pushes boundaries and makes us ask questions about the world, we do not welcome any stories that promote stigma against mental illness, homophobia, ableism, racism, fascism, sexism, and all manner of bigoted nonsense. As young writers getting ready to take the world by storm, you can do better.
Submissions should be in the form of a double spaced word document, accompanied by page
numbers and in a clear, easy-to-read font. Please include a cover letter detailing contact details, any previous publications and (if applicable) residence in Scotland as the first page of your entry.
Your email subject should read “Short Story Submission”. Simultaneous submissions are accepted and encouraged, though please let us know if your piece is accepted for publication elsewhere. We will toast to your success!
At this time, however, we are unable to provide feedback on individual entries. Your submissions are welcome until the closing date of Friday, 3rd December 2021. Entries received after this date will not be considered but writers are encouraged to submit again next year.
Winners will be announced shortly thereafter in time for publication on the website before Christmas 2021.
Entries received after this date will not be considered but writers are encouraged to submit again next year.
Good luck! We are looking forward to reading your best work
Last year’s winning entries
The winning entry “The Shoes ” by Monica Ferreira can be read by clicking here
The runner up entry Teeth by Mila Daskalove can be read by clicking here