Our contests have been running since 2015. Our next contest is The Summer 2024 Screw Turn Flash Fiction Competition, for sudden stories of 1,000 words or fewer. You’ll find our guidelines here.
Happy writing, happy reading.
As we’ve done every spring and fall since 2015, The Ghost Story is running a competition for full-length short stories on a supernatural or magic realism theme—and we are now accepting submissions.
The winner receives $1,500 plus publication, and we also publish two honorable mention pieces, the authors of which each get a $300 cash award.
If you’re thinking of entering, please read the complete guidelines. The guidelines page also includes a link to our electronic submissions system.
And, if you’d like to read some of our past winners and honorable mentions, they’re all available for your reading pleasure here.
Cheers — The Editor
As promised, here is the winning story, accompanied by three honorable mentions, in the latest running of The Screw Turn Flash Fiction Competition. We think you’ll find that, unlike a lot of ghost stories, three of our four award-winning pieces contain elements of humor—which we think is especially welcome in midwinter, and at a time when so much of the world seems to be shadowed by gloom. And our winning piece, a dark and twisted—but also funny—romance is especially appropriate for today’s romantic holiday. Happy reading—and Happy Valentines Day.
WINNER
“He Loved His Mamma And His Mayonnaise” by Gerard J Waggett
HONORABLE MENTION
“Keep Your Head On” by Robert Garner McBrearty
HONORABLE MENTION
“The Rocking Chair” by William Weissinger
HONORABLE MENTION
“Storm And A Lonely Headstone” by Ash Kennedy
On February 14, we’ll be posting a whole new set of stories to read as we announce—and publish—the winner and honorable mentions in our Winter 2024 Screw Turn Flash Fiction Competition, which closed to submissions just two days ago. Come back then and give them a read.
The very next day, on February 15, we’ll be OPENING submissions to the Spring 2024 Ghost Story Supernatural Fiction Award contest, for full-length short stories on a supernatural or magic realism theme. If you’re a writer, you may want to take a look at our complete guidelines.
Happy reading—and exciting writing. — The Editor
Volume II of our print anthology, “21st Century Ghost Stories,” has just been published. It contains all of our Summer 2018 to Summer 2021 winning and honorable mention stories from The Ghost Story Supernatural Fiction Award contest and The Screw Turn Flash Fiction Competition—30 fine supernatural short stories in all!
