Deadline: November 30, 2022
Entry fee: $20
About the competition
The Short Story Prize 2022 is open.
The Fish Short Story Prize was started in 1994, and has become an established event on the literary calendar. Previous judges, Roddy Doyle and Colum McCann are honorary patrons. (Past honorary patrons were Frank McCourt and Dermot Healy).
The judge for this year is Sarah Hall, an English novelist, poet and short story writer. Her critically acclaimed second novel, The Electric Michelangelo, was nominated for the 2004 Man Booker Prize.
Sarah will select 10 short stories to be published in the Fish Anthology 2023. About Sarah Hall.
10 winners will be published in The Fish Anthology 2023 which will be launched during the West Cork Literary Festival (July 2023).
Publication in the annual Fish Anthology (Fish Books) has, for many authors, been a stepping-stone to a successful writing career. See Alumni.
Anam Cara will host the second-prize winner for a weeks retreat at the writer’s convenience.
Competition guidelines
- No entry form is needed. Entry is online, or by post if required.
- You may enter as many times as you wish.
- This short story competition is open to writers of any nationality writing in English.
- There is no restriction on theme or style.
- Maximum number of words is 5,000.
- The winning stories must be available for the Fish Anthology, and therefore must not have been published previously.
- Fish holds publishing rights for one year after publication, after which publishing rights revert to the author. (Please acknowledge Fish in any subsequent publications.)
- Notification of receipt of entry will normally be by email.
- The judges’ verdict is final. No correspondence will be entered into.
- Stories cannot be altered or substituted once they have been entered.
- Judging is anonymous. Name and contact details must not appear on the stories, (in the box provided if entering online, on separate sheet if entering by post).
- In order to give opportunities to emerging writers: (a) Writers who have had two short stories published in Fish Anthologies may not enter for three years after their second publication. They may enter other Fish competitions. (b) Previous first prize winners may enter again, but will not be eligible for the first prize.
- Entry fees will not be returned if stories are withdrawn after entering.
- Entry is taken as acceptance of these rules.
- Submit your short story here.
