OPEN SHORT
STORY COMPETITION 2025
More Prizes. More Winners. More Chances to Win!
🏆 £2,000 Grand Prize for the Best Story
🥈 £1,000 Second Place
🥉 £500 Third Place
🎁 And don’t forget: your ticket also gets you into a £1,500 Bonus Prize Draw — packed with writing-related goodies and vouchers, shared across multiple winners.
COMPETITION DETAILS
WORDS: 8,000 max (no minimum)
CLOSING DATE: 23:59 (UK time) 16th Dec, 2025
WINNER ANNOUNCED: 10th Feb, 2026
If you’d like to enter more than three stories, please buy a three-story ticket and then contact us for a discount code for your additional entries.
HOW TO ENTER:
Please read the competition rules very carefully.
Next, buy your ticket or tickets. You can submit any number of stories, but must buy enough tickets to cover the number of entries.
Entries are to be sent by email before the deadline of the competition. Full submission instructions will be sent by email as soon as you purchase your ticket.
Please see this formatting guide. While submissions are not directly scored on their presentation, we recommend formatting your entry according to industry standard, as this can influence the overall impression it makes on the judges.
THE COMPETITION
Our 2024 Open Short Story Competition is open to writers of all genres and styles. Whether you write literary fiction, sci-fi, historical, horror, or anything else, we want to read your story!
Word Count: Up to 8,000 words. There’s no minimum, but we suggest at least 500 words to give your story room to shine. Every story is judged on its own merits, so whether your tale is 1,000 or 8,000 words, it can succeed.
FEEDBACK EXCHANGES (Optional)
Participants can take part in two peer feedback sessions in our Facebook group:
First Feedback Exchange: 1st November
Second Feedback Exchange: 1st December
Share your story privately with other entrants and get constructive feedback to help make your submission the best it can be. Engaging with other writers is also a fun way to connect with the community!
Why Enter?
Prize: £2,000 for the winning story, £1,000 for second place, £500 for third place, and a separate £1,500 prize draw where every ticket has a chance to win—no matter how your story scores!
Grow as a writer: Get feedback, polish your entry, and showcase your unique voice.
We can’t wait to read your story!
WHY WRITERS LOVE OUR CONTESTS
“Globe Soup has a great online community of writers in all stages and skill levels… It’s allowed me to dip my feet in and start building my confidence as a writer.” — Tinamarie, Arizona, USA
“This competition got me out of my comfort zone… Now, I’m considering turning the short story I wrote into a novel. I will definitely be joining again!” — Jennifer, USA
“I won’t ever forget that first win, it was an amazing feeling… You set me on my writing journey and so much has grown from that first seed of belief.” — Katrina, Llanfairpwll, U.K.
“Winner or no, my experience with GS has already given back ten times the value of the small entry fee; and for once, the exchange feels like a gift.” — Nicole, South Africa
“I remember hammering out my very first short story… I was surprised to find myself a genre finalist. This was tremendous motivation to continue writing.” — Nimisha, Mumbai, India
“This competition gave me a boost in confidence again… It was a wonderful way of getting back into writing.” — Kelly, United Kingdom
“Globe Soup is extremely genuine… They have a lot of personality and humour, and they seem to care about everyone who is in the group.” — Jess, South Africa