New2theScene

Competitions

Short story Competition

Opening

December 31, 2025

Closing

March 1, 2026

Entry fee

Topic

You decide! Let your imagination free.

Word count

4,000



First Prize

Publication, promotion and £50 vouchers

The winning entrant will receive:

A podcast interview, discussing their story, their journey and their ambitions – a great selling point to potential agents/publishers!
Their story published in an anthology
Their story published on the website
An 'Origins' blog, promoting themselves
A free place in one of our workshops (worth £30)
A relationship with New2theScene – potential offers for projects not advertised
£50 N2tS vouchers for our bookstore



First Prize

Publication, promotion and £50 vouchers

The winning entrant will receive:

A podcast interview, discussing their story, their journey and their ambitions – a great selling point to potential agents/publishers!
Their story published in an anthology
Their story published on the website
An 'Origins' blog, promoting themselves
A free place in one of our workshops (worth £30)
A relationship with New2theScene – potential offers for projects not advertised
£50 N2tS vouchers for our bookstore



Notable Mentions

Potential publication and £15 vouchers

Notable mentions will receive:

Potential publication in an anthology
Potential publication on the website
A free place in one of our workshops (worth £30)
A relationship with New2theScene – potential offers for projects not advertised
£15 N2tS vouchers for our bookstore

This competition is not yet open. Please check back soon.

How to enter

Carefully read the rules, entry requirements and eligibility before submission.
Check you’re sending the final, best version of your submission.
Follow the format requirements for the competition (found in ‘Rules of entry’).
Pay your entry fee.
Check your emails and click the 'submit your story' button, remembering to copy your submission number.
Upload your entry, using your submission number as reference.
Good luck!

This competition is only open to members

£3 / month

Membership



Entry to all competitions (Novel, Short Story, Flash Fiction, Poetry… 6 in total)



Entry to exclusive member’s competitions (only for members, with publication as a prize)



Feedback on submissions (a paragraph of constructive criticism from judges)



Access to members only content (e.g. novella project)



10% off books and workshops

As a member, you receive one free entry. Additional entries should be purchased in the usual manner.

This competition is now closed

Please ensure you read the rules carefully before entering the competition.

Entry implies acceptance of all rules, and failure to comply may result in disqualification.

Disqualification

We disqualify submissions if they are published elsewhere, over the word limit, or do not meet the criteria specified in the ‘eligibility’ section.

General

Submissions can be of any genre, in any style or form. Children, sci-fi, war, erotic: let your imagination free! You can enter any number of submissions, but each will be subject to the full entry fee. If you submit in error and want to withdraw or exchange your story, please email submissions@new2thescene.co.uk with ‘exchange’ or ‘withdraw’ as the subject. This must be done before the deadline.

Entry fees will not be refunded.

Deadline

The deadline date for submissions is 23:59 (UK time) on the date stated in the details section on the website. Submissions after this time will not be accepted.

Submission

Word count: 4000 words max. No minimum. Title not included in the word count.

Format

Add the word count to the top right of the first page. The title is not included in the word count but if you include a glossary of terms, this is included
Do not add a front cover or title pages
Use any font in 12pt
Double line spaced
Number the pages in the centre at the bottom of the page
Save the file as a Microsoft Word document –.doc or .docx
The file name should be the title of the novel followed by the entrant’s name e.g. Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
Accompanying emails and/or extra information will not be read

Eligibility

The competition is open to writers of any nationality, writing in English, aged 16 and over at the time of the closing date.

Submissions must be entirely your own work. Any evidence to the contrary will result in disqualification.

Submissions must not have been published, self-published, published on any website, blog or online forum.

If your submission has been longlisted or shortlisted in other competitions, provided it has not been published, it is eligible.

Simultaneous submissions are allowed but will become ineligible should they be published or scheduled for future publication prior to the date of prize giving. Entry fees will not be refunded.

You must inform us immediately should your submission be published elsewhere.

Judging

The judges’ decision is final, and no correspondence can be entered into. Judges are unable to comment on individual submissions. Judging is fair and unbiased. Feedback will not be given. New2theScene reserves the right to change the panel of judges without notice.

Copyright

Worldwide copyright of each submission remains with the author, but New2theScene has unrestricted rights to publish the winning submission in an anthology, anywhere on its website, and on any relevant promotional material.

Results & prize

Updates on judging will be given throughout the process. Winners will be notified by email within three weeks of the competition closure. Prizes and timelines for delivery will be emailed at the same time. If entrants have not had correspondence by this date, they have not been successful.

New2theScene

Competitions

Short story Competition

Opening

Closing

Entry fee

Topic

Word count

First Prize

First Prize

Notable Mentions

How to enter

FAQs

New2theScene Ltd.

Community

Content

Contact

New2theScene

Competitions

Short story Competition

Opening

Closing

Entry fee

Topic

Word count

First Prize

First Prize

Notable Mentions

How to enter

Rules of entry

FAQs

New2theScene Ltd.

Community

Content

Contact