To enter please fill out the Short Story Contest Form, pay the submission fee, and upload your entry.
Prizes
First Prize $50
Second Prize $30
Third Prize $20
Honorable Mention $10
Opens: October 1 | Deadline: December 1
Max Word Count: 3000 words
Due to international restrictions, we are not able to accept international submissions at this time.
Winners of the 2023 Short Story Contest
First Place - "Going Under" by Laura Stewart Schmidt
Second Place - "Almost Fifty" by Lynda Madison
Third Place - "Able Auto Parts” by Lynda Madison
Honorable Mention - "The Lake Effect" by Virginia Renz Higgins
Thank you to the 2023 Judge, David Massengil
Short Story Contest
100 Years of Holding Writing Contests
Annual Short Story Contest
Opens October 1 - Deadline December 1
Since its founding in 1920, St. Louis Writers Guild has sponsored an annual short story contest. The contest is one of the oldest in the country, and is certainly one of the most prestigious. Tennessee Williams won first place in 1935 for his story, "Stella for Star." (University of Delaware library; Special Collections Department; Tennessee Williams Collection, 1939-1994; www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/findaids/williams_t/willtenn.html)
St. Louis Writers Guild Annual Short Story Contest opens for submissions every October, the deadline is in December, and prizes are awarded in January. Historically, entries have come from across the nation and Canada. Stories are blind-judged by an expert in the fields of writing and literature.
Writers do not need to be members of the Guild in order to participate in this contest.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Topic: The work must meet the specific form requirements of a short story, be a work of fiction written in English, represent the author's original and unpublished work, and be intended for an audience of adult readers (as opposed to a story intended for children). Any topic is allowed, but works that include pornography, extreme violence, racism, and/or other content that is not appropriate for a mainstream literary audience are not eligible.
Contest Opening: The contest opens for submissions on October 1. Entries prior to October will be disqualified and cannot be returned.
Deadline: Entries must be submitted on or before December 1 of the current year.
Entry Fee: $15 first manuscript, $10 additional entry; limit two entries per person.
Please note: The previous year’s first-place winner is prohibited from entering this contest.
Judge: A new judge is chosen every year from industry professionals who select their favorite stories from the entries.
Announcement of Winners: Winners’ names and story titles will be posted on the St. Louis Writers Guild website and announced in SLWG’s electronic newsletter, Here’s News! Entrants can subscribe to Here’s News! on the SLWG Homepage. Facebook and Twitter, too!
All winners are invited to a reading and award ceremony at a SLWG Event. See website for details.
Submission Rules:
• Story must not exceed 3,000 words. Title does not count in word limit.
• Manuscripts must be typed in double-spaced format in black ink using a standard typeface or font, such as Courier, Times New Roman, Georgia, or Arial.
• A cover page should be the first page of the file, information to include, the story’s title, followed by the author’s name, address, telephone number, email address, and the total number of words in the story.
• You must include a page number in the lower right corner of every page.
• The story’s title must appear on the first page of the manuscript—about midway down the page.
• The story’s title must also be typed in the upper left corner of every page of the manuscript.
• The story’s text must begin two lines beneath the title on the first page.
• Due to international restrictions, we are not able to accept international submissions at this time.
• DO NOT INCLUDE THE AUTHOR’S NAME ON ANY PAGES OF THE MANUSCRIPT.
St. Louis Writers Guild no longer publishes the full text from the winning entries so the author retains publication rights.
New Submission Guidelines:
SLWG now has a online submission form, and you can upload your entries right in the form. Fill out the form, upload your document, pay the contest fee, and get a message of success!
File Requirements - SLWG prefers .pdf, .doc, and .docx, PAGES, file formats. A few other file formats can be uploaded.
File should include a Cover Sheet (Title, Author’s Name, Address, Phone Number, & Email), and the Short Story (No name on the story), include page numbers.
File Name - Please have the Title and Author Name in the file name. Example: Title_Name.pdf
The Judge for 2023:
David Massengill
David Massengill the author of three novels—Grave Regrets, The Skin That Fits, and Red Swarm—all of which are available from Montag Press. He has also written the short story collections Extermination Days (Demain Publishing) and Fragments of a Journal Salvaged from a Charred House in Germany, 1816 (Hammer and Anvil Books). His short works of literary and horror fiction have appeared in dozens of literary journals, including Eclectica Magazine, Pulp Metal Magazine, Word Riot, and The Raven Chronicles, among others. David has received grants for his fiction from both Seattle’s Artist Trust organization and Seattle’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs. He has also contributed nonfiction to Seattle Weekly, where he served as Books Editor. He lives in Washington State.
Entries can be submitted via mail
Mail:
St. Louis Writers Guild
Attn: Short Story Contest
P.O. Box 411757
St. Louis, MO 63141
Winners 2022
First -- "Tell Me What I Want to Hear” by Bruce Perrin
Second -- Teresa Bell: "Hear the Whistle Blow" by Teresa Bell
Third -- "Term Limited" by Susan K. Glassman
Honorable Mention -- "The Last Forest of Alaizeyu" by Kittisak Konga
Thank you to our judge, Scott Miller!
Winners of the 2021 SLWG Short Story Contest
101 Years of Holding Writing Contests
Winners of the 2021 Short Story Contest
First Place: “The Gate to Her Soul“ by Kenny Joyce
Second Place: “Vague Promises of Survival“ by Linda Goff
Third Place: “Know Your Milieus” by Larry Duerbeck
Honorable Mention: “Braden in the Underworld” by Terri Bell
Thank you to the 2021 judge, C. Hope Clark
Past Winners of the Short Story Contest
2020 - 100 Years of Holding Writing Contests
First Place: “To Thrive, Consider The Cotyledon“ by Emily Hunter
Second Place: “Gooey Duck“ by Levi Varney
Third Place: “The Yearbook” by Dillon Fernando
Honorable Mention: “Election Day” by T. W. Fendley
Thank you to the 2020 judge, Steve Higgins
2019
First place: "The Woman Who Married An Oyster”, by Larry Duerbeck
Second place: "Alex and Amie: A Love Story”, by Bruce Perrin
Third place: “Marlowe and the Yellow-Eyed Country Girl”, by Max Eisele
Honorable Mention: "The Cat Fight”, by Linda Ann Goff
Thank you to everyone who entered and this year’s judge Terry Maggert
2018
First Place - Parade by Larry Lovan
Second Place - So Ezra He Became by RD Puller
Third Place - Yellow Ochre by Lynda S. Madison
Honorable Mention - Streetcar Dreams by RD Puller
Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all who entered. Thank you to the judge, Amanda Wells.