Short Story Competition

The next short story competition will run in 2026. Please follow me on Instagram @SaraBodinar to be kept updated on the next entry submission window.

Draft2Pitch Short Story Competition Details

Cash prizes will be up for grabs, as will the chance to have your story published in my 2026 short story anthology. Multiple entries welcome. 1500 words each.

Prizes

  • First prize £100
  • 2 x Runners up £50
  • All winners and the 50 shortlisted entries will be published in the 2026 Draft2Pitch short story anthology.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions are welcome from writers all over the world, but they must be written in English. When you send a submission to this competition, this is taken as acceptance of all the terms and conditions. (Please see below)

The cost to submit a story is £10 per entry.

Formatting: Please use Times New Roman font size 12.

Word count: I’ll accept 10% over or under the word count of 1500 words.

Parents may submit stories on behalf of their children, but let me know in the email if that’s the case.

How to enter: Send me your name, contact details, the title of your short story and a short author’s bio in the body of an email to sarabodinar@gmail.com

Your story should be attached to the email as a word document (doc, docx, odt) In the subject line of your email please write ’Short story competition.’

Then I’ll send you an invoice for £10. Please note that your email submission attachment will not be opened until payment has been made.

About me

Hi, I’m Sara Bodinar. I’m an award-winning screenwriter, playwright, story editor of novels and an academic.

  • I’m an Honorary Fellow at the University of Nottingham (School of English and Drama)
  • I lead the Writers Room at Nottingham Playhouse
  • I’m the Writer-in-Residence at the Nottingham Actors Workshop
  • I’m a staff writer at a film studio in London, and I’ve helped hundreds of different writers around the world get their work published / produced / optioned / sold, or simply just seen by the right people! Plus, I’ve had a huge bunch of my own films and plays produced too. 

My main website is here sarabodinar.com

But you can also connect with me via Instagram – I’m @SaraBodinar or Facebook where I’m The Cornish Screenwriter

Terms and conditions

Your story must be an original work of fiction, not published elsewhere. 

By submitting your story to the Draft2Pitch competition you warrant that the story you’ve written and are submitting is original, fictional, and entirely your own work. You, the author, also warrant that the story you enter into this competition does not infringe the copyright or any other rights of any third party and is not libellous, unlawful or defamatory of any living person or corporation.

By submitting your story to the Draft2Pitch competition you acknowledge and agree that:

  1. You will receive no fees or royalty payments for having your story published in the anthology. 
  2. Your story or bio may be used (in whole or part) in advertising and marketing material in any format, via any medium.

The entry fee is £10 per submission. Your submission won’t be accepted until the entry fee has been paid. The entry fee is non-refundable.

Submissions close on (2026 submissions date to be confirmed). Anything that arrives after this time will be rejected. (And please remember the entry fee is non-refundable.) 

During (month TBC), all the entries will be read by a small panel of judges (respected writers) to create a shortlist of 50. The winners will be chosen from that shortlist. The decision of the judges is final. Any further correspondence regarding their decision will be ignored. The shortlist will be announced on (Date TBC). The winners will be announced on (Date TBC). 

The shortlisted stories may be edited by me into a more professional format following the announcement of the winners.

Only one cash prize per author allowed.

I reserve the right to change the terms and conditions and to refuse entry to the competition at my discretion. 

Looking to edit your short story?

If you’re looking for a small, friendly online writing community, you could consider joining my Draft2Pitch weekly online writing workshops. Here’s the 2025-6 online writing classes schedule.