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P=Poetry, N=Nonfiction, F=Fiction

 
 
 
 

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F – The 2025 HG Wells Short Story Competition. Theme: The Middle Ground

July 8, 2025 @ 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Winners to be announced on Sunday November 16.

  • Please ensure you DO NOT have your name or address ANYWHERE in your uploaded document: we judge all entries “blind” and including your name or address will invalidate your entry. To be safe, do not even use your own name as a character name.
  • The closing date is Tuesday 8th July 2025 and entries will be accepted up to 11pm (BST) on that date.
  • There are no entry fees for those aged 21 years and under on Tuesday 8th July 2025. Over 21s must pay an entry fee of £10 or £5 for those with student id. Details for payment are shown on the entry form. Each story must be submitted on a separate entry form and accompanied by a fee where appropriate.
  • Proof of age and / or student id may be required for any entry entered in the Under 22 or at the reduced student price. This proof may be requested by email after the close of entries and prior to the publication of a short list.
  • All submissions must be made online, with all required fields completed.
  • All submissions should be the writer’s original work. You should not submit the work of others, either in part or in translation.
  • Stories should be the sole work of the one submitted author. Co-authored stories are not accepted.
  • Copyright remains with the author.
  • The story may not be published, or accepted for publication, elsewhere including for other publications by the shortlist announcement date (Saturday 21st September).
  • The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence can be entered into.
  • Judges reserve the right not to award a prize.
  • Entry implies permission for your story to be published in the annual HG Wells Short Story Competition Anthology, and used for Competition publicity purposes.

Contacting You ↗

  • By entering the competition and providing your details, you are consenting to us contacting you by email, post or phone about the 2024 competition and related events. We may do so to give more information, update you on shortlisted entries, let you know about available training courses, invite you to the November awards ceremony or even let you know if you have been shortlisted.

 

  • We will ONLY contact you about the H G Wells Short Story Competition in future years if you specifically agree to us doing so by giving us your consent to do so when entering.

 

  • We will not share the contact details of entrants with any other organisation without the consent of the entrant.

Entry to the competition are online only

Entrants must submit their story (as a PDF or text document) and any fee as appropriate via our entry form

Useful Info ↗

  • Entries must be in English.
  • The length is 1,500 to 5,000 words.
  • Double quotation marks should be used for speech and single quotation marks for other appropriate purposes.

 

Hints & Tips!

As one of the aims of the competition is to promote literacy, the judges will include in their criteria the following:

  • Accurate use of spelling, grammar and punctuation
  • Use of imagination
  • Originality of thought and interpretation of theme
  • Entertaining content that is thought provoking, intriguing, moving and, above all, enjoyable!

Entry fee: £10

Details

Venue

  • The HG Wells Short Story Competition

Organizer