Story Unlikely Contest is Accepting Submissions/ How to Apply (Prize: $1,500 + More)

Story unlikely contest is now open for submissions for 2024! They accept short stories and every writer is welcome to apply.

Eligibility for Story Unlikely Contest

• Story Unlikely Contest will be open for submissions starting October!
• There are no restrictions on genre. Any genre is welcome. Fantasy, sci fi, memoir, fiction/nonfiction, etc. They do not care as long as it’s properly written.
• There are no restrictions on age of participant, and no need to ask us for permission to participate in the contest – just follow the guidelines below.
• To be eligible, you need to sign up on their site for email updates and more.

Submission Guidelines

• The organizers require that the should not exceed 4,500 words.
• If your name appears on this list of honorables, you’ll be prompted to contact them and they will send you a fancy-schmancy certificate for proof that you, indeed, almost won a writing contest. But not quite.
• Plus, if there is a strong showing, some honorable mentions may be considered for publication in our monthly magazine or podcast.
• The submission period runs from October 1st through January 31st.
• All authors MUST be signed up for the Story Unlikely monthly magazine (free!) to be eligible for prize and publication.
• ONE issue will be sent out via email every month.
• Please note that although you’re welcome to unsubscribe at any time, just wait until the contest is over, otherwise we’ll consider that a disqualification of your entry.
• DO NOT mark their emails as spam, because they would know when this is done). This would therefore mean that you forfeit your entry, and you’ll be barred from future submissions.
• They only accept email submissions.
• Attach the entire story to the email (Microsoft word doc or docx).
• Be sure to remove ALL forms of identification from the story (If your story happens to be about you, just be sure to remove your last name).
• Send your submission email to: dan@storyunlikely.com. Type the word ‘Submission’ in the title, your story will end up in the right place. Otherwise, it may be lost! So email submissions to dan@storyunlikely.com in the following format:
• (Email Subject Line) Submission: TITLE/GENRE (In the body of the email)

Submission Format

• Dear Editor,
• TITLE, GENRE, WORD COUNT
• [Insert FIRST 250 words of your story (rounded to the nearest sentence) here]
• # (insert page break)
• (Insert short author bio, including any previously published stories, as you want it to appear below your story if/when published)
• (Tell them how you found Story Unlikely)
• Sincerely,
• NAME
• Contact information (best email contact, phone number (just in case), country and state, and email)

Prize

• A $1,500 prize package will be divvied up like so: $750 first place, $500 second place, $250 third place.
• More so, the winning story will be featured on Story Unlikely’s website, will be strongly considered for our annual (print) sample magazine, and may be sent out as the bonus story for signing up, which means a lot of exposure to the winner.
• All three placing stories will be published in the monthly issue, and all three will be illustrated by our crackpot team of digital editors!
• Also, do not forget about the honorable mentions! This is a reward as well.