Reedsy’s Short Story Competitions: Terms of Use
Thank you for your interest in Reedsy’s short story competitions! These terms of use set out important information applicable to our Contest and Literary Prize, so please read them carefully.
The weekly Reedsy Prompts Short Story Contest (Contest) and the Reedsy Literary Prize (Literary Prize) are operated and promoted by Reedsy Limited (Reedsy, Us, We, Our), a company incorporated in England with registered number 08841985 and whose address is 483 Green Lanes, London N13 4BS. By entering our Contest and/or Literary Prize, you agree to these terms of use.
In these terms of use when we refer to:
● Reedsy, we might use “us,” “we,” or “our.”
● The person entering the Contest and/or the Literary Prize, we might use “the entrant,” “the author,” “you,” “your,” or “user.”
● The Reedsy Prompts Short Story Contest, we might use “the Contest.”
● The Reedsy Literary Prize, we might use "the Literary Prize."
● Reedsy Prompts, we mean this page: https://reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/
1. The Contest
Every Friday, Reedsy sends a newsletter that includes five themed writing prompts and publishes the same five prompts on Reedsy Prompts.
Writers then have one week (until the following Friday at 11.59 PM EST), to submit a story based on one of the five prompts. Submitted stories (Contest Entries) should be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and written in English.
Contest Entries may be submitted free of charge, but they will not be judged or submitted into our Contest. Unpaid Contest Entries will, where appropriate, still be published on the site and readers will be able to like or comment on them.
Those wishing to participate in the Contest will be charged a submission fee of $5 per Contest Entry.
Each week, one winning Contest Entry (Contest Winner) is determined by Reedsy’s team based on the quality of the submission. The Contest Winner is announced on Friday and featured on Reedsy Prompts and awarded $250 USD. In addition, Reedsy may choose to shortlist one or more runners-up (Contest Runners-up), each of whom will receive $25 of coupons to spend in the Reedsy Marketplace.
To participate in the Contest, you must sign up at: https://reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/
Reedsy is not responsible for the content submitted to the Contest.
2. The Literary Prize
The Reedsy Literary Prize invites writers to submit stories (Literary Prize Entries) between 2,000 - 5,000 words and written in English. Writers have around three months to submit a story based on a single prompt, as specified here: https://reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/reedsy-literary-prize/1/. The deadline for the inaugural edition of the Literary Prize is May 31, 2026, at 11.59 PM EST.
Those wishing to participate in the Literary Prize will be charged a submission fee of $20 per Literary Prize Entry.
After the Literary Prize deadline, the Reedsy team will review all eligible entries and create a longlist, from which the winner and runners-up will be determined. The winning Literary Prize Entry (Literary Prize Winner) will be determined based on the quality of the submission. The Literary Prize Winner will be announced by July 15, 2026; featured on Reedsy Prompts; and awarded $1,500 USD. In addition, the runners-up (Literary Prize Runners-up) will receive a year-long Reedsy Learning membership (2nd place) and Reedsy Marketplace credit worth $100 (3rd place).
To participate in the Literary Prize, you must sign up at: https://reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/
Reedsy is not responsible for the content submitted to the Literary Prize.
3. The Prizes
The Contest prizes are:
for the Contest Winner: $250 USD, to be delivered via PayPal
for the Contest Runners-up: $25 of coupons for the Reedsy Marketplace
publication on Reedsy Prompts, where it will be highlighted as a winner or runner-up, as applicable
publication in our curated Short Stories directory.
There are no alternative prizes and prizes are not transferable. We may alter arrangements or prizes at our sole discretion and we may cease the Contest at any time.
Winning Contest Entries may also have their stories included in a Reedsy published anthology. No additional compensation shall be owed for such publication unless otherwise agreed.
The Literary Prize prizes are:
for the Literary Prize Winner: $1,500 USD; publication on Reedsy Prompts, where it will be highlighted as winner; story feedback from the Literary Prize's guest judge; publication in our curated Short Stories directory; and publication in a Reedsy published anthology
for the Literary Prize Runners-up: a year-long Reedsy Learning membership (2nd place); Reedsy Marketplace credit worth $100 (3rd place).
There are no alternative prizes and prizes are not transferable. We may alter arrangements or prizes at our sole discretion and we may cease the Literary Prize at any time.
4. Entering the Contest
Prompts go out every Friday. The deadline for submissions in response to those prompts is the following Friday at 11.59 PM EST (the Closing Date/Time). Only Contest Entries that are submitted on Reedsy Prompts before the Closing Date/Time will be eligible for the Contest. All Contest Entries will be published on Reedsy Prompts, unless the Reedsy team decides otherwise. We reserve the right not to publish stories and/or to remove stories from Reedsy Prompts at any time, without warning to the author.
The steps for submitting a Contest Entry are:
● Sign up for a free Reedsy Prompts account: https://reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/
● Select one of this week's five prompts from the top of the page.
● Enter the story title and story, and select "Submit story."
● If you are entering our Contest, you will need to pay the $5 entry fee.
All Contest Entries must be new, original, and standalone work written by the user submitting the story, must be written in English in response to the user's selected prompt, must not have been previously published elsewhere online and/or in print, and must not infringe the copyright or intellectual property rights of any other party. The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) or other assistive technologies to create, draft, or revise stories is not permitted for our Contest. Reedsy accepts no responsibility if entrants fail to abide by these Terms of Use, and entrants agree to indemnify Reedsy against any claim by any third party arising from any breach of these terms of use.
While submissions can include mature themes and language, submissions must not contain defamatory, obscene, graphic, explicit, offensive, or any other such unsuitable material, as well as any form of promotion of a product, company, or service not owned by Reedsy. Reedsy reserves the right to disqualify and remove Contest Entries, as well as user comments on Contest Entries, containing such matter. Reedsy also reserves the right to remove users from Reedsy Prompts at any time, without prior warning, should they violate any of the aforementioned terms.
5. Entering the Literary Prize
The deadline of the inaugural edition of the Literary Prize is May 31, 2026, at 11.59 PM EST (the Closing Date/Time). Only Literary Prize Entries that are submitted on Reedsy Prompts before the Closing Date/Time will be eligible for the Literary Prize. Literary Prize Entries will not be published on Reedsy Prompts, unless the story is the Literary Prize Winner. We reserve the right to disqualify or remove stories from Reedsy Prompts at any time, without warning to the author.
The steps for submitting a Literary Prize Entry are:
● Sign up for a free Reedsy Prompts account: https://reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/
● Go to the Reedsy Literary Prize page (https://reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/reedsy-literary-prize/), click "View contest," and select the current prompt.
● Enter your title and story.
● Click “Submit to contest ($20)” and follow the onscreen instructions to enter your payment details.
All Literary Prize Entries must be original and standalone work written by the user submitting the story, must be written in English in response to the current Literary Prize prompt, must not have been previously published elsewhere online and/or in print, and must not infringe the copyright or intellectual property rights of any other party. The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) or other assistive technologies to create, draft, or revise stories is not permitted for our Literary Prize. Reedsy accepts no responsibility if entrants fail to abide by these Terms of Use, and entrants agree to indemnify Reedsy against any claim by any third party arising from any breach of these terms of use.
While submissions can include mature themes and language, submissions must not contain defamatory, obscene, graphic, explicit, offensive, or any other such unsuitable material, as well as any form of promotion of a product, company, or service not owned by Reedsy. Reedsy reserves the right to disqualify and remove Literary Prize Entries, as well as user comments on Literary Prize Entries, containing such matter. Reedsy also reserves the right to remove users from Reedsy Prompts at any time, without prior warning, should they violate any of the aforementioned terms.
6. Use of Submissions
Each entrant retains the copyright to their entry but grants to Reedsy a non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, publish, edit, and otherwise use the entry on our website(s) and platform(s) to publish all or part of your entry and in all media now known or hereafter discovered at our discretion.
You agree that such use by Reedsy may include editing and publishing your entry, including within a compilation together with others, into a book format (or any other format) which may be published and sold or provided free of charge at Reedsy’s discretion. No compensation shall be owed for such publication unless otherwise agreed.
If your story is selected as Winner (and even if you are not selected as a Winner), you may still publish the story elsewhere, but the publication must include:
the relevant prompt;
acknowledgment to Reedsy.com for providing the prompt that inspired the story.
This acknowledgment should be in the form of a mention, and in the case of a digital publication, a “dofollow” link back to https://reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/.
By submitting an entry, you agree that Reedsy may at its sole discretion edit, adapt, abridge, or translate the entry for the purposes listed in these terms and conditions.
You grant permission to Reedsy to use your name and entry for promotional purposes without additional compensation, and to publish all or part of your entry in all media now known or hereafter discovered, worldwide and on the Internet and World Wide Web, without notice, review, or approval.
7.Eligibility
The Contest and Literary Prize are open to all writers over the age of 18.
By entering the Contest and/or the Literary Prize, you confirm that you are eligible to do so and eligible to claim any prizes you may win. Reedsy may require you to provide proof that you are eligible to enter the Contest and/or the Literary Prize.
For the Contest, multiple Contest Entries per person are permitted (even in the same week). Contest Entries may refer to one or more prompt. The same author may win the Contest on multiple occasions, even sequentially.
Contest Entries and Literary Prize Entries not submitted in accordance with these terms and all other rules and directions given by Reedsy, or Contest Entries and Literary Prize Entries that are incomplete or illegible (as determined in our sole discretion), will not be eligible.
8. Judging
The Contest judging panel is comprised of Reedsy employees, contractors, and our registered reviewers, though it may also include Reedsy partners or any other people as determined by Reedsy at our sole discretion.
The Literary Prize judging panel is comprised of Reedsy employees and contractors, though it may also include Reedsy partners or any other people as determined by Reedsy at our sole discretion. The Literary Prize Winner and the Literary Prize Runners-up will be determined by the Literary Prize's guest judge, as appointed by Reedsy.
The decision of the judging panels are final, and at their sole discretion. No correspondence or discussion will be entered into by us in relation to that decision.
Contest Winners are notified via email sometime in the two weeks following their submission. The winner of the inaugural Literary Prize (Literary Prize Winner) will be notified via email by July 15, 2026.
We will make all reasonable efforts to contact the Contest Winners and Literary Prize Winner. If a Contest Winner and/or Literary Prize Winner cannot be reached within a period of one week following the first attempt, Reedsy reserves the right to withdraw the prize from the original winning entry and to award the prize to another eligible entrant. Reedsy does not need to remove the original winning story from publication.
9. Privacy and Use of Information
We will use any personal information that you give us in accordance with the law and our Privacy Policy, for the purposes of the Contest and the Literary Prize, in the ways described in these Terms of Use, and for any marketing or other purposes you may indicate your consent to.
You agree that we may also share your details with our judging panel, with your consent. As described above, winning entries may have their name publicised for promotional purposes.
10. All the Rest
These terms constitute the entire agreement between Reedsy and entrants relating to the Contest and the Literary Prize.
Submission of an entry does not guarantee publication, judging, or selection for any prize. We are not liable for any damage, loss, or disappointment suffered by you taking part or not being able to take part in the Contest and/or the Literary Prize, or from being unable to claim your prize.
There will be no refund if you delete your story or want to withdraw your story from consideration for the Contest and/or the Literary Prize. If you choose to delete or withdraw a story and then re-enter, you will need to pay the entry fee again.
In the event of unforeseen circumstances, we may alter, amend, or stop running the Contest and/or the Literary Prize without prior notice. We reserve the right to change these terms at any time.
Our general user terms (https://reedsy.com/about/tou) will continue to apply to your use of the Reedsy platform, in addition to these specific Contest terms and Literary Prize terms. If you have any questions or concerns about these Terms of Use, please contact us at prompts@reedsy.com
