Pangyrus invites you to submit to a Fiction Contest! The contest winner will be awarded a cash prize of $1,000 and publication. Second and third place winners receive $250 and publication.
We are thrilled to have novelist Marjan Kamali as our guest judge. Marjan is the author of three novels including The Lion Women of Tehran (2024). You can read more about Marjan’s work on her website: https://www.marjankamali.com/
Submissions open April 1 and close on April 30, 2025 at midnight. The submission fee is $20.
All submissions should be made through Submittable here.
Guidelines. The guidelines and requirements are as follows:
1. Pangyrus seeks short stories with a word length of no more than 7,000 words. We’re looking for your best fiction with writing that sings and a story that transports us. There are no rules, no boundaries for this contest. Write on any topic, any theme, and from any point of view.
2. There are no citizenship requirements or limitations. Online submissions are accepted from around the world.
3. Short stories must be in English, although it is perfectly acceptable to include some text in other languages.
4. Short stories must be original. Absolutely no stories generated by AI will be accepted.
5. Short stories must be previously unpublished. We do not accept work that has already appeared in a publicly available outlet.
6. Simultaneous submissions to other contests and multiple submissions to this contest are perfectly acceptable. You DO need to notify us if your story is taken elsewhere.
7. All submissions must be at least 12 point type, double spaced, and in a standard and readable font such as Times New Roman.
8. If you are submitting a short story that includes photographs or other graphic images please request additional guidelines by sending an email to pangyrus@gmail.com.
9. Revisions are not allowed to a short story after it has been submitted to the contest.
10. “Family members” or “close friends” of the judge and editors are NOT ELIGIBLE. Email us if you need clarification on any of these terms!
11. If the contest entry fee of $20 represents a hardship, please email us at pangyrus@gmail.com. Our donors have generously offered to help.
12. The judge’s verdict is final. No correspondence will be entered into.
13. Entry is taken to be acceptance of these rules.
14. The prizes will be awarded upon publication of the fiction collection.
15. Pangyrus holds publishing rights for one year after publication, after which publishing rights revert to the author. (Please acknowledge Pangyrus in any subsequent publications.)
Errors in Your Submission. If our staff find a serious error in your entry (your submission file won’t open, is locked so we cannot remove identifying info, is unreadable, or is missing pages, or your credit card info is incorrect or your payment is missing, etc.) we will contact you to obtain a correction at no cost to you, so your error will not disqualify you.
Thank you! We look forward to reading your work.