The Current Contest
Short Story Contest #44 launched on Sunday, June 9, 2024.
EXPERTISE
For this contest, write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long in which one or more characters with significant expertise in some area matter to the story. The expert(s) DO NOT have to be the story’s main character(s), though it’s fine if they are–the judges won’t care either way. We’re also open to the idea that your story’s character(s) with expertise might be either wrong, or frauds, or idiots. (Or they’re legitimate experts!) However, the idea of expertise, and at least one person who has it (or doesn’t?) has to matter to the story.
GENRE RULES: No fiction aimed at readers younger than 12, no exploitative sex, no over-the-top grossout horror, and no stories that are obvious parodies of existing fictional worlds/characters created by other authors. (For the same reason, we do not accept “fan fiction”.) Other than that, we’ll take anything from the most super-realistic literary drama to crazy farces (real-world or otherwise) to any variant of science fiction or fantasy you can imagine. Read our past issues and you’ll see.
Deadline: 11:59 PM Eastern US time, Friday, August 30, 2024.
One entry per author. There is no fee for entering this contest.
Remember to take all identifying information out of your story! Tell us who you are in the space provided in the web form cover letter you get when you click on the “submit” button, NOT in your story! No headers, no bylines… just the story.
If your contest entry does not get selected for publication, we will critique it for $15. For more information see our critique page.
If you have questions, ask us at Questions@OnThePremises.com.