Stories Out of School Contest 2021/ How to Submit (Payment: $1000 + more)

The Academy for Teachers is looking for flash fiction submissions for its Stories Out of School Contest. They want “honest, unsentimental stories about teachers and the rich and complex world of schools.”

The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, the 1st of September 2020.

About the Contest:

Because “teachers seldom appear in fiction”, the Stories Out of School Contest was created by the Academy for Teachers to honour rich and complex stories about teachers and schools.

The judge for the contest this year is Jonathan Lethem, who is the author of eleven novels, including The Fortress of Solitude, Chronic City, The Feral Detective, and Motherless Brooklyn, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award and last year became a major motion picture starring Ed Norton.

Previous judges include Susan Choi, who judged the contest in 2020 and selected Jennifer Kaplan’s “Field Trip” as the winner; Cheryl Strayed, who judged in 2019 and selected Santian Vataj’s “A Brief Description of Mister Kuka” as the winner; and Karen Russell, who judged the prize in 2018 and selected Walker Rutter-Bowman’s “Craft” as the winner.

Who Can Submit to the Stories Out of School Contest:

• You don’t need to be a teacher to submit.
• Anyone who is above the age of eighteen  can submit.
• There is no submission fee.

How to Submit to the Stories Out of School Contest:

• Submit a short story of between 6 and 749 words.
• The story’s protagonist or narrator must be a K-12 teacher.
• The story must be previously unpublished.
• Formatting: 12 pt, Arial font, double-spaced.
• The document must be a PDF file.
• Your submission should not include any personal information.
• Each writer can only submit one story, and once.
• Submissions should not be sentimental and education jargon should be avoided.
• Submit here.
• The deadline for submissions is September 1, 2020.
• The winners will be announced in January 2021.

Prize:

• The winner will receive $1000 and the winning story will be published in A Public Space.
• The runners-up will receive a subscription to A Public Space.

To better your submission, check out these reviews and recommended stories here and here, and these tips from TJ Benson on how to write good short stories.

Good luck.