Writer's Digest

A First Place Winner will receive: $3,000, publication, and more. A Second Place Winner will receive: $1,500. The Third Place Winner will receive: $500. Fourth through Tenth Place Winners will receive: $100. Eleventh through Twenty-Fifth Place Winners will receive: A $50 gift certificate.

The following are not permitted to enter the contest, neither under their legal names nor pen names: employees of Active Interest Media and their immediate family members; Writer’s Digest Books authors; Writer's Digest contributing editors and columnists; and Writer’s Digest instructors for online courses and live webinars. Grand Prize-winning authors from this and other WD competitions, within the three years of being awarded, are not eligible. Previous top winning entries from this and other WD competitions are ineligible except in the case of substantial rewrites. Ineligible entries will be disqualified.

Due to to U.S. Government restrictions we are unable to accept entries from Syria, Iran, North Korea, or Crimea.


Writer's Digest Short Story Competition

Please read contest details carefully before submitting.

1,500 word maximum. Entry forms must have the word/line/page count listed where requested. Count refers to all words making up the story (no matter the number of letters in the word). Do not count the title or contact information in the word count.


Writer's Digest Short Story Competition

Additional info

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