{"id":7364,"date":"2025-09-11T13:09:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T17:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anovelapproach.ca\/submission_calendar\/?post_type=tribe_events&p=7364"},"modified":"2025-09-11T13:09:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T17:09:10","slug":"f-the-writers-college-short-story-competition-theme-all-the-things-we-didnt-learn","status":"publish","type":"tribe_events","link":"https:\/\/anovelapproach.ca\/submission_calendar\/event\/f-the-writers-college-short-story-competition-theme-all-the-things-we-didnt-learn\/","title":{"rendered":"F – The Writers College Short Story Competition. Theme: “All the things we didn’t learn”"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Competition Rules<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

Who Can Enter<\/strong><\/h4>\n

This competition is designed to support beginner writers aged 16 and up from any country. We accept entries from writers who:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Have never been published\u00a0or<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Have been published\u00a0fewer than four times<\/strong>\u00a0in any genre (fiction or non-fiction), in any publication (paid or unpaid).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \nIf you have had more than four pieces published, you are\u00a0not eligible<\/strong>\u00a0to enter.<\/p>\n

    Not eligible:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Journalists, copywriters, web writers, or content writers.<\/li>\n
    • Writers who have ever earned a living from writing, even if it was decades ago.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n


      \nExceptions:<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      • Unpaid articles for community or workplace newsletters or blogs with a circulation of\u00a0under 5,000<\/strong>\u00a0do not count as published work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n


        \nWhat to Submit<\/strong><\/h4>\n
          \n
        • Story length:<\/strong>\u00a0Maximum\u00a02,000 words<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
        • Word count limit:<\/strong>\u00a0If your story exceeds the word count by more than 50 words, it will not be considered.<\/li>\n
        • Theme for 2025:<\/strong>\u00a0All the things we didn\u2019t learn<\/em>.\n
            \n
          • Writers are free to interpret the theme in any way they choose.<\/li>\n
          • The exact phrase\u00a0\u201cAll the things we didn\u2019t learn\u201d<\/em>\u00a0must appear somewhere in the story.<\/li>\n
          • Writers must create their own title.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
          • Genres accepted:<\/strong>\u00a0All genres are welcome (literary, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, speculative fiction). However,\u00a0literary fiction<\/strong>\u00a0tends to perform best with our judges.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Entry Requirements<\/strong><\/h4>\n
              \n
            • Only\u00a0one story per entrant<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
            • Entries must be written\u00a0in English<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
            • Stories must be\u00a0original and unpublished<\/strong>\u00a0(including online).<\/li>\n
            • Entrants must have written the story 100% themselves.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              <\/h4>\n

              Competition Timeline<\/strong><\/h4>\n
                \n
              • Free entry deadline:<\/strong>\u00a030 June 2025 (midnight, UTC)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
              • Paid entry period:<\/strong>\u00a0After 30 June, an\u00a0\u00a3 8.00 entry fee<\/strong>\u00a0applies.<\/li>\n
              • Final deadline:<\/strong>\u00a030 September 2025<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
              • Longlist announcement:<\/strong>\u00a031 October 2025<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
              • Winners announced:<\/strong>\u00a015 November 2025<\/strong>\u00a0(published on our website).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                <\/h4>\n

                Prizes and Publication<\/strong><\/h4>\n
                  \n
                • Winners will be notified by\u00a0email<\/strong>\u00a0and announced on our website.<\/li>\n
                • Prize money will be paid via\u00a0electronic transfer or PayPal<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
                • Writers\u00a0retain copyright<\/strong>\u00a0but grant permission for their story to be published on our website and in an anthology.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  <\/h4>\n

                  Important Notes<\/strong><\/h4>\n
                    \n
                  • The judges\u2019 decision is\u00a0final<\/strong>. No correspondence will be entered into.<\/li>\n
                  • If you do not receive an\u00a0entry confirmation within three working days<\/strong>, please re-send it. Your submission may have been lost in transit.<\/li>\n
                  • No generative AI<\/strong>\u00a0(ChatGPT, etc.) may be used. If a story appears to be AI-generated, it will be disqualified, and the author will be banned from future competitions.<\/li>\n
                  • Submission fees are\u00a0non-refundable<\/strong>. Please ensure you wish to enter before submitting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                     <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

                    \n
                    \n
                    \n
                    \n
                    \n

                    How to Submit Your Entry<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
                    \n
                    \n

                    We only accept\u00a0email submissions<\/strong>. Follow these steps to ensure your entry is correctly formatted and considered for judging.<\/p>\n

                      \n
                    1. Email Submission Guidelines<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                        \n
                      • Copy and paste your story into the body of the email AND attach it as a Word document (.doc or .docx).<\/li>\n
                      • Use the subject line:\u00a0The 2025 Writers\u2019 College Short Story Competition.<\/strong><\/li>\n
                      • Once you have paid the entry fee, you will receive the submission email address.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                         <\/p>\n

                          \n
                        1. Entry Requirements<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                            \n
                          • Title your story uniquely<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 do not use the competition theme as your title.<\/li>\n
                          • In your email, include:\n
                              \n
                            • Your story\u2019s title and your name (e.g.\u00a0Once Upon a Time<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 by John Smith).<\/li>\n
                            • The following declaration:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                              \u201cI declare that this is my own work, 100% unassisted by generative AI (such as ChatGPT etc.), and I have been published in a mainstream print or online publication fewer than four times.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

                                \n
                              • \n
                                  \n
                                • Your\u00a0word count<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                                    \n
                                  1. Formatting Guidelines<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                                      \n
                                    • Do not include your name<\/strong>\u00a0anywhere in the story document \u2013 entries are judged blind.<\/li>\n
                                    • Use a\u00a0readable font<\/strong>\u00a0(Arial or Times New Roman, size\u00a012 or larger<\/strong>).<\/li>\n
                                    • Line spacing should be\u00a01.5 or double<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
                                    • Instead of indenting paragraphs, leave a\u00a0clear line between them<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
                                    • If a formatting detail is not specified here, it means we\u2019re flexible \u2013\u00a0story quality matters most<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
                                    • Winners will be required to provide\u00a0valid proof of identity<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                                        \n
                                      • Make sure your story has been edited and polished according to tips and guidelines provided on our college site under \u201cWriting Resources\u201d, or on our webzine. Read these:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
                                        \n
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                                        <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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                                        \n
                                        \n
                                        \n
                                        <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
                                        \n
                                        \n

                                        You will be directed to the Submissions page once your tranaction has been completed. Remember to make a note of your transaction number or proof of payment, this is required when you make your submission.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

                                         <\/p>\n

                                        Entry fee: \u00a3 8.00<\/strong><\/h4>\n

                                         <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                        Writers are free to interpret the theme in any way they choose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_tribe_events_status":"","_tribe_events_status_reason":"","footnotes":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":""},"tags":[],"tribe_events_cat":[3],"class_list":["post-7364","tribe_events","type-tribe_events","status-publish","hentry","tribe_events_cat-contest","cat_contest"],"ticketed":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anovelapproach.ca\/submission_calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events\/7364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anovelapproach.ca\/submission_calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anovelapproach.ca\/submission_calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/tribe_events"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anovelapproach.ca\/submission_calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/anovelapproach.ca\/submission_calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events\/7364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7367,"href":"https:\/\/anovelapproach.ca\/submission_calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events\/7364\/revisions\/7367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anovelapproach.ca\/submission_calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anovelapproach.ca\/submission_calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7364"},{"taxonomy":"tribe_events_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anovelapproach.ca\/submission_calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events_cat?post=7364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}