Submissions are now OPEN for The London Magazine’s Short Story Prize 2023. 

The London Magazine has published short stories by some of the most well-respected literary figures over the course of its long history, from Jean Rhys to Raymond Carver and V.S. Pritchett. Our annual Short Story Competition seeks out new voices to join them.

Established to encourage emerging literary talent, the award provides an opportunity for publication and recognition, rewarding imagination, originality and creativity. The London Magazine is taking submissions for previously unpublished short stories that do not exceed the maximum of 2,500 words, from writers across the world.

The story that wins first place will be published in a future print edition of The London Magazine. The second and third place stories will be published on our website. Winners will also receive cash prizes (see below), and will be celebrated as part of prize-giving ceremony in the summer.

 


Information


Entry fee: £10 per short story

Subsequent entries: £5 per story

Student/Low Income Entry: £5 per story
(Must be submitted with a valid university email address/proof of benefits)

Note: There is no limit to the number of entries you can submit.

Opening date: 3rd May 2023
Closing date: 5th July 2023

First Prize: £500
Second Prize: £300
Third Prize: £200

Enter Short Story Prize


Judges

Tom Conaghan is the publisher of Scratch Books – a small press dedicated to the craft of the short story. His reviews and essays have appeared in The Observer, The TLS, The Irish Times, The LA Review of Books, amongst others.

 

 

 

 

Eley Williams’ writing has been awarded a Betty Trask Award, the James Tait Black Award and the Republic of Consciousness Prize, with work anthologised in The Penguin Book of the Contemporary British Short Story ed. Philip Hensher, and Liberating the Canon ed. Isabel Waidner. Her second collection of short stories, Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good is forthcoming in 2024.

 

 

 

R.Z Baschir is the 2021 winner of the White Review Short Story Prize, and 2022 winner of the PEN America/Robert J Dau Prize for Emerging Writers. Her writing has appeared in The White Review, The London Magazine and The Best British Short Stories 2022. She lives in London and is currently working on a short story collection exploring the themes of the occult, body horror, and the relationship between waking and dream life.

 

 

 

 

Andrew Holgate was literary editor of the Sunday Times for 14 years until  he stepped down in October 2022, and was deputy literary editor for nine years before that. His entire working life has been in books, in bookselling, publishing, literary journalism and now agenting – he is currently a part-time associate agent at Andrew Nurnberg. He is the co-editor of two books, has judged numerous literary awards (including the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-fiction, which he chaired in 2021), and is an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

 

 

 


To discover more content exclusive to our print and digital editions, subscribe here to receive a copy of The London Magazine to your door every two months, while also enjoying full access to our extensive digital archive of essays, literary journalism, fiction and poetry. 

Image Credit: Antonio Olmos

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