The Short Story Prize

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About This Journal

From 1990 until 2014, the biannual journal Short Story published a grab bag of short stories, critical articles, essays, interviews, and book reviews. It represented a unique contribution to the literary world. Well, it’s back—with a new look and vision under the auspices of the North American Review.

For a time, the two publications shared an institutional home at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and after a more than decade-long hiatus, the NAR is reviving its sister journal as an annual to make a home for an eclectic range of short fiction, craft essays, and other story-related material.

Over the last few decades, creative writing workshops have been a place for young writers to showcase a variety of speculative work, from high-immersive fantasy to language driven metaphoric dystopias. To reflect this shift the NAR re-launched its Kurt Vonnegut Fiction Prize in 2018 with a focus on speculative fiction. In order to create an even wider space for a range of different kinds of stories, Short Story returns with an eye toward plot and a strong narrative arc and an emphasis on entertainment. Our promise is to be a venue open not only to literary stories, but also westerns, rom-coms, thrillers, horror stories, crime stories, sci-fi stories, tales, yarns, and other narrative modes, forms, and genres. All finalists for our annual Short Story Prize will be published.

View the archived back issues of Short Story in UNI Scholarworks. 

 

2026 Contest Information

  • Contest Opens: December 1, 2025 at 12:00 am CST
  • Contest Closes: April 1, 2026 at 11:59 pm CST
  • Entry Fee: $23.00 USD
  • Entry Length: 2,500–7,500 words
  • Winner’s Prize: $1,000 USD
  • Finalists: $100 (upon publication)
  • Contest Judge: Molly Antopol

 

The Judging Process

  • Contest is strictly for works of short fiction. Do not submit craft essays or critical essays to the contest.
  • All submissions to The Short Story Prize will be handled through our online submission system, Submittable.
  • Simultaneous submission to other journals or competitions is allowed, but withdrawal expected, should your story be accepted elsewhere.
  • Work previously published online or in print is ineligible for submission.
  • Submissions are gathered through Submittable and packaged by the Contest Manager, who may not serve as a Contest Reader or Coordinator.
  • Submissions are read by the Contest Coordinators, who are NAR Editors, as well as by fifteen or more Contest Readers.
  • Contest Readers receive the initial entries and select a slate of semifinalists.
  • The Contest Coordinators then reduce the semifinalist list to a pool of finalists; these pieces are sent to the Prize Judge.
  • The Contest Judge selects a Winner, Runners-up, and possibly a number of Honorable Mentions from the pool of finalists.
  • All finalists will be published in the annual journal. 

 

Manuscript Preparation Rules

  • Each entry can consist of only one file.
  • Preferred file types are Microsoft Word (.docx) and Google Doc (.doc) files; but we do accept PDFs.
  • Remove all identifying information from the document: no names, addresses, or other identifying information should appear anywhere on the manuscript.
  • Remove all pagination as we have an internal system for managing page numbers.
  • Do not include a cover page.
  • If possible, please use single-spaced Times New Roman 12pt font with one inch margins.
  • If possible, center and bold the title at the top of the page using Title Case.
  • Entries under 2,500 or over 7,500 words are ineligible, and please note we determine word count using Google Docs, which may yield a different—usually smaller—count than other programs, and here’s why.
  • These rules allow for a consistent double-blind reading and management of the contest, which reduces the possibility of unconscious bias.
  • Disregarding these rules may result in disqualification; no refund will be offered.
  • Should you have questions or concerns about your submission, please send a message via Submittable or contact the Contest Manager at nar@uni.edu.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

  • All contact with writers will be managed through Submittable and the NAR email account, nar@uni.edu.
  • We will accept multiple submissions, but each submission will incur the $23.00 entry fee.
  • We will accept submissions from domestic and international writers.
  • We will accept novel excerpts so long as they stand alone as a complete short story with beginning, middle, and end.
  • Current University of Northern Iowa students are ineligible to submit.
  • Friends of the Contest Judge are ineligible to submit.
  • The Entry Fee includes a copy of the annual issue (a $15 value) in which the Winner will appear. If you submit multiple times, we will send you subsequent issues, rather than multiple copies of the same issue.
  • The Contest Coordinator may offer publication—in a future issue of North American Review or on Open Space—to any notable work submitted to the contest.