Superlative - submit a short story to the open journal (£50 prize)

Upon acceptance, Superlative will publish the contributor's short story in our international online journal, share bio and social media handles, and pay a £50 contributor prize. We also nominate contributors for major prizes (Pen America, Pushcart, Best of the Net, etc) and continue to promote contributors after publication. Submitted work should be:

  • Fiction of any genre.
  • Up to 5,000 words.
  • Previously unpublished.
  • Your own - not written by any kind of AI software.
  • Edited and formatted correctly in standard British English.

 

 Additional information:

  • Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.
  • We respond to every submission and, for open journal submissions, aim to do so within 1-3 months.
  • We encourage transgressive and experimental work.
  • We accept extracts from longer pieces of work, provided they still meet the submission criteria and stand as a comprehensible piece of writing in their own right.
  • The editors' decision is final.
  • Submission fees are purposefully nominal, and only cover the journal's running costs and competition prize money.
  • If you are unsuccessful, please do not be deterred from submitting new work in future! We receive a lot of submissions, and standards are always very high. Please persevere!

 

 Click here to go directly to Superlative's website

  • Superlative, The Literary Journal, is edited by Ross Turner, Gemma Mainwaring, Rachel Fennell, Daniel Chesmore and Holly Joyce, illustrated by Orlaith Stratford, and marketed by Hannah Darby.
  • We publish short stories and poetry.

 

 

Superlative accepts open submissions, and runs monthly feature competitions and annual competitions.

Superlative's annual competition schedule is:

  • Submissions accepted: 01 January - 31 August 
  • Judging: September
  • Longlist Contacted & Announced: October
  • Shortlist Contacted & Announced: November
  • Winners Contacted & Announced: December

 

  • The theme for Superlative's 2026 annual writing competition is GROWTH.
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