WestWord

This festive season we'll be counting down to Christmas again with the online publication of 10 seasonal stories.

• The winning stories will be published in December — one a day starting 12th December — and in true advent calendar style the prizes will be revealed when the story is published.      Entry fee: £8      Deadline for entries: 26th October 2025      Max word count: 1000

Stories can have been previously published as long as you retain the publication rights and the publication date was before October 2025.  Competition T&Cs  

• Submit stories written in English through Submittable by 23.59 GMT on the deadline date (sorry late entries will not be included).
• Please include a word count on the story document
• Maximum word count is 1000 (excluding title) but there is no minimum. Please do not submit stories above this word count as they will be automatically disqualified. Sorry!
• Stories must be your own original work and they can have been previously published as long as you retain the publication rights and the publication date was before October 2024.
• By entering the competition you agree to your story being published on the WestWord website.
• If you enter the story elsewhere and it is accepted for publication before judging takes place then you will have to withdraw it and no entry fees will be refundable.
• Stories can be in any genre apart from children’s fiction.
• You can enter multiple stories but the £8 entry fee is payable each time and each story must be submitted separately.
• The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Submissions are open on a rolling basis for flash fiction stories to appear in our twice-monthly Flash Focus feature. All writers selected will also have an interview about the story that will run alongside it.

There is no theme but our usual submission guidelines apply. Please read the kinds of stories we publish to get a feel for what we like. 

Words: Up to 1000 (excluding the title)

Submission fee: £7 submission only / £22 with feedback

Author payment: £20

ENTRY RULES

• Submit stories written in English through Submittable. Please use a clear font of at least size 12 so that we can read it easily!
• Please use the name of your story as your Submission title and the document you upload.
• Please include the word count at the start or end of the story document.
• Stories must be your own original work and not have been published online or in print, or have won any other competitions (longlisted and shortlisted in other competitions is fine if the story remains unpublished).
• Simultaneous submissions are allowed but if your story wins a prize or is published prior to the winner’s announcement your submission will become ineligible. No refunds of submission fees will be paid.
• By entering the competition you agree to your story being published in WestWord.
• Stories can be in any genre apart from children’s fiction.
• You can enter as many times as you like but all entries must be made separately and the entry fee paid each time.
• The judge’s decision is final.
• Cash prize payments will be made through PayPal or via BACS.
• There are no alternative prizes.

Please do not send us stories with racism, sexism, homophobia, religious hatred or any other kind of bigotry and hate. Any sex must be relevant to the story. Do not send us graphic stories of rape, incest, child abuse, bestiality, or gratuitous violence. We won’t publish it and we do not want to read it.

Authors will retain all rights and copyright to their works. WestWord requests one-time, non-exclusive rights to publish your work.

Submissions are open on a rolling basis for stories of 100 word exactly. 

There is no theme but our usual submission guidelines apply. Please read the kinds of stories we publish to get a feel for what we like. 

Words: 100 exactly (excluding the title)

Submission fee: £5 submission only / £20 with feedback

Author payment: £15

ENTRY RULES

• Submit stories written in English through Submittable. Please use a clear font of at least size 12 so that we can read it easily!
• Please use the name of your story as your Submission title and the document you upload.
• Please include the word count at the start or end of the story document.
• Stories must be your own original work and not have been published online or in print, or have won any other competitions (longlisted and shortlisted in other competitions is fine if the story remains unpublished).
• Simultaneous submissions are allowed but if your story wins a prize or is published prior to the winner’s announcement your submission will become ineligible. No refunds of submission fees will be paid.
• Stories can be in any genre apart from children’s fiction.
• Payments will be made through PayPal or via BACS.
• Stories must not be created with or edited by AI.

Please do not send us stories with racism, sexism, homophobia, religious hatred or any other kind of bigotry and hate. Any sex must be relevant to the story. Do not send us graphic stories of rape, incest, child abuse, bestiality, or gratuitous violence. We won’t publish it and we do not want to read it.

Authors will retain all rights and copyright to their works. WestWord requests one-time, non-exclusive rights to publish your work.

WestWord Mini Memoir

We're looking for creative non-fiction pieces up to 1,500 words — true stories told with the precision, resonance, and craft of the best short fiction. Mini memoir sits in that particular sweet spot where a single moment, relationship, or fragment of lived experience is held up to the light to reveal universal truths about being human.

Submission are open on a rolling basis.

• Max word count: 1500
• Author payment: £35 
• Submission fee: £8 or £33 with feedback on submission (if your piece is accepted you can send a different story up to 1500 words for the feedback)

SUBMISSION T&Cs

• Submit stories written in English through Submittable. Please use a clear font of at least size 12 so that we can read it easily!
• Please use the name of your story as your Submission title and the document you upload.
• Please include the word count at the start or end of the story document.
• Stories must be your own original work and not have been published online or in print, or have won any other competitions (longlisted and shortlisted in other competitions is fine if the story remains unpublished).
• Simultaneous submissions are allowed but if your story wins a prize or is published prior your submission must be withdrawn through Submittable. No refunds of submission fees will be paid.
• Cash payments will be made through PayPal or via BACS (UK or Ireland only for BACS).

Please do not send us graphic stories of rape, incest, child abuse, bestiality, or gratuitous violence. We won’t publish it and we do not want to read it.

Authors will retain all rights and copyright to their works. WestWord requests one-time, non-exclusive rights to publish your work.

Short Story Spotlight publishes one short story a month along with an interview with the author about their craft.

• Word count: Up to 5,000
• Submission fee: £10
• Author payment: £40

There is no theme but please read the stories we have previously published to get a feel for what we like.

Submission Guidelines

• All submissions must be sent through Submittable and we cannot accept email submissions. Anything sent via email will not be read.
• Please submit no more than one story per category in each submission period. If you are submitting to more than one category then each submission must be made separately and the submission fee paid each time.
• Please use a legible, easy-to-read font of 12pt or 14pt.
• All submissions must be previously unpublished (never published in print or online, including a personal blog) and in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format ONLY.
• Simultaneous submissions are fine but please withdraw your submission via Submittable if it is accepted elsewhere.
• Our submissions are open to all adult writers worldwide. All work must be written in English.

Please do not send us stories with racism, sexism, homophobia, religious hatred or any other kind of bigotry and hate. Any sex must be relevant to the story. Do not send us graphic stories of rape, incest, child abuse, bestiality, or gratuitous violence. We won’t publish it and we do not want to read it.

Authors will retain all rights and copyright to their works. WestWord requests one-time, non-exclusive rights to publish your work.

Our Long Short Story category is always open:

• Word count: 5,000 - 10,000
• Submission fee: £15
• Author payment: £65

There is no theme but please read the stories we have previously published to get a feel for what we like.

Submission Guidelines

• All submissions must be sent through Submittable and we cannot accept email submissions. Anything sent via email will not be read.
• Please submit no more than one story per category in each submission period. If you are submitting to more than one category then each submission must be made separately and the submission fee paid each time.
• Please use a legible, easy-to-read font of 12pt or 14pt.
• All submissions must be previously unpublished (never published in print or online, including a personal blog) and in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format ONLY.
• Simultaneous submissions are fine but please withdraw your submission via Submittable if it is accepted elsewhere.
• Our submissions are open to all adult writers worldwide. All work must be written in English.
• All work must not have been created with or edited by AI.

Please do not send us stories with racism, sexism, homophobia, religious hatred or any other kind of bigotry and hate. Any sex must be relevant to the story. Do not send us graphic stories of rape, incest, child abuse, bestiality, or gratuitous violence. We won’t publish it and we do not want to read it.

Authors will retain all rights and copyright to their works. WestWord requests one-time, non-exclusive rights to publish your work.

2027 WestWord Prize

Our annual WestWord Prize wants your best flash fictions up to 1000 words. 

Deadline: 31st May 2027

Max word count: 1000

Entry fee: £10 submission only / £30 with feedback

Online anthology publication: August 2027

Theme: No theme

Prizes:

• First prize: £250
• Second prize: £100
• Third prize: £50
• Shortlisted: £25

Judge: Gaynor Jones

Gaynor Jones is a writer and carer based in Oldham, UK. The recipient of a Northern Writer’s Debut Award for her short fiction, and an Arts Council England DYCP grant for her novel writing, she has won first prize in several writing competitions, including Bath Flash Fiction and the Mairtín Crawford Short Story Award, and has placed or been listed in others including the Bridport Prize, Reflex and Mslexia. Her story Heliotropism was longlisted for the 2022 BBC National Short Story Award. 

She has performed her work at many spoken word nights in the North West, and as a guest of For Books’ Sake at the Edinburgh Fringe. She has taught for Comma Press, Burnley Literature Festival and Didsbury Arts Festival, among others. In 2024 she was a virtual writer-in-residence for Melbourne UNESCO City Of Literature, and was a 2026 recipient of an Explore grant from Immersive Arts.

Send the opening chapter of your novel to win feedback from top publishing industry professionals.

2027 Judge: Imogen Pelham, Literary Agent, Marjacq Scripts

Prizes

First Prize

Submission package review and feedback from Imogen Pelham in a Zoom meeting where she’ll provide detailed guidance on your cover letter, synopsis, and first three chapters — essential elements of any submission to agents and publishers.

Second Prize

Feedback on your first three chapters from Amanda Saint, award-winning author and publisher, creative writing teacher, and founder of WestWord and The Mindful Writer.

Third Prize

3 months membership of WestWord.

Shortlisted Entries

All shortlisted writers will receive short feedback from Imogen Pelham on the first chapter submitted during the judging process. This feedback will be provided in the blog post announcing the competition results.

Entry Details

Deadline: 31st January 2027

Max word count: 3500

Entry Fee:

• Standard entry: £15
• Entry with detailed feedback on your first chapter: £75

Eligibility and T&Cs

Please note: This competition is for YA and adult fiction novels only. We do not accept submissions of children’s novels.

• Submit stories written in English through Submittable using the button above by 23.59 GMT on the deadline date (sorry late entries will not be included). Please use a clear font of at least size 12 so that we can read it easily!
• Please use the name of your story as your Submission title and the document you upload.
• Do not include your name on the story document or submission title but provide a short bio as requested in the submission form. All stories are read anonymously so any showing the author’s name will be disqualified.
• Please include the word count at the start or end of the story document.
• Chapters must be your own original work (no AI usage is allowed) and the novel it comes from must not have been published previously. This includes self-publishing.
• Stories can be in any genre apart from children’s fiction.
• You can enter as many times as you like but all entries must be made separately and the entry fee paid each time.
• The judge’s decision is final.
• There are no alternative prizes.

PLEASE NOTE: Submissions that ignore the rules and include prologues or more than one chapter will be automatically disqualified and fees will not be refunded.