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2024 Short Story Contest
Welcome to the 7th Annual Short Story Contest, sponsored by the Friends of San Diego Central Library. The Short Story Contest, a part of the Local Author Program, continues the support that the Library provides to local writing, and shines a spotlight on local authors who craft short stories.
Begins Monday, February 26th at 7:00 p.m.
Closes after 100th submission
We have reached the maximum number of submissions. The form is now closed.
Quick links:
Rules & Guidelines
- All entries are submitted online during a prescribed schedule set by the San Diego Public Library.
- The contest is open to original, published or unpublished stories.
- Stories that have won and/or placed in other writing contests are not eligible.
- Stories submitted to this contest in previous years are not eligible.
- Simultaneous submissions are allowed. You may submit a new story to our contest while it is also being considered for other contests, so long as it has not won or placed at the time of submission.
- Stories should be suitable for a general audience.
- Authors must live in San Diego County.
- Only one (1) story per author.
Submission guidelines - Any deviations from these instructions may result in the disqualification of the short story from the contest.
- The manuscript must not have the author’s name anywhere on its pages - the author's name should be in the file name (see below).
- The manuscript must be double-spaced and not exceed 3,000 words.
- Pages must be numbered, and the page number must appear in the footer of each page.
- The manuscript title must appear in the header of every page.
- The manuscript file name must be saved and submitted in this format: “Story Title – Author Name” (Ex.: Librarians in Love – Elsee Dewey).
- Standard fonts such as Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, or Georgia in 12 point font size must be used.
- Authors must submit their stories in electronic format using the link indicated above - we will not accept any paper submissions or submissions by email.. Acceptable formats are: .docx, .pdf, or .rtf.
Prizes
- 1st Place – Publication on the website of the San Diego Public Library and $300.00 first place award.
- 2nd Place – Publication on the website of the San Diego Public Library and $200.00 second place award.
- 3rd Place - Publication on the website of the San Diego Public Library and $100.00 third place award.
- Public reading of the 3 winning stories at a special program honoring the winners.
- Winners announced at the awards event on May 21.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the SDPL Short Story Contest? The Short Story Contest is a short fiction competition open to all writers residing in San Diego County. All genres of fiction are acceptable including: literary, mystery and crime, thriller, suspense, science fiction, fantasy, horror, romance, mixed-genre, and experimental.What is the goal of the Short Story Contest? The goal of the Short Story Contest is to nurture and foster local writing talent, and to provide a platform for the promotion and publication of short form fiction in the area.
Who’s eligible to enter the Short Story Contest? All writers in San Diego County age 18 and older are eligible to enter the Short Story Contest. San Diego Public Library staff and members of affiliated organizations such as the San Diego Public Library Foundation, Friends of San Diego Public Library, and the Board of Library Commissioners are not allowed to participate in the contest.
How many short stories will be allowed to participate in the contest? A maximum of 100 short stories will be accepted, based on a first come first served basis. Registration will automatically stop after the 100th author registers their manuscript.
Who will judge the Short Story Contest? A committee of judges selected from library staff and associations affiliated with the library will judge the contest. Judging will be anonymous. When you enter the contest your story will be assigned a number. Judges will identify your story by title and number only.
Does it cost anything to enter the Short Story Contest? There’s no fee to participate in the Short Story Contest. However the public library is always in need of support from the community that it serves. To support the library please visit the website of the Friends of San Diego Public Library and the San Diego Public Library Foundation.
What is the deadline to enter the Short Story Contest? The Short Story Contest submission form will be available online at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, February 26, 2024. Submissions will remain open until we receive 100 stories - registration and submission will shut down after we’ve received the 100th submitted story, whenever that occurs.
Who owns the rights to the submitted stories? Authors retain all rights to the stories they submit. May I use A.I. to help generate my short story ? Stories generated using A.I. programs are not eligible for the SDPL Short Story Contest. A.I. stories are automatically disqualified.
Previous Winners
A.K. McCutcheon began crafting tales of magical realism to entertain her younger siblings. She set storytelling aside for an office administration career in radio broadcasting, magazine publishing, and theater management. Following her recent retirement, her passion for writing reignited with membership in writer’s communities online, where she advocates fiercely for Oxford commas. A.K. and her husband Dan enjoy movies, travel, and browsing used bookstores.
Tammie Rue Elliott always dreamed of writing. She has published one novel, short stories in literary magazines, and is a repeat contributor to the Chicken Soup series. She currently resides in San Diego, where she is working on completing the myriad of half-finished novels which reside on her computer.
Janice L. Newman is the author of the acclaimed science fiction and fantasy romance collection “At First Contact” and, under the name Laura Weyr, the Rainbow Award-winning fantasy romance, “The Eighth Key.” She has contributed to both volumes of “Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women,” and is currently working on more thrilling science fiction and fantasy romances.
ShuJen Walker Askew writes short stories, poems, scripts, and plays in various genres. Her works can be viewed in college and professional San Diego anthologies. She is currently working on her first novel, Across All Skies. ShuJen is an Electrical Engineer by trade, mother of two, and enjoys writing.
Susan Gembrowski Baker is a member of the Dramatists Guild and of Around the Block Playwrights. The group showcases its work in staged readings at San Diego venues. She is a board member of San Diego Writers Ink and her short stories have been published in “A Year in Ink.”
Anna Glynne started writing short stories in 2020. Her story, "The Sea is a Deceitful Thing," was published by the San Diego Decameron Project. When she's not writing at her kitchen table in La Jolla, Anna enjoys hiking on the trails in Idyllwild with her husband and two college-aged daughters.
Regina Morin’s first published poem appeared in a 1954 high school anthology. Since then she has written articles, plays and one musical. Her poems have appeared in several volumes of “A Year in Ink” and the “San Diego Poetry Annual.” “Name Your Poison” is her most recent foray into fiction.
John R. Morris, a native Californian, enjoys surfing, skiing, and traveling. He’s been writing since the 1980s and is a longstanding member of the Spring Valley Writers Group. His debut novel, “The King's Steel,” was released in 2022. John’s currently working on his second novel entitled “Planet in a Box.”
Deb Nordlie has taught English since dinosaurs ruled the earth. After a lifetime of writing assignment sheets, she’s branched into writing life stories, believing “we are all anthologies filled with short stories and poems.” Occasionally though, she pens uncharacteristic oddball lit. A teacher of writing in adult school, she still continues to scribble away at the Great American Novel. You can view her work in the Chestnut Review, San Diego Poetry Annual, Coffee + Crumbs, Reminisce, Crown City Magazine, the San Diego Reader, and the Scapegoat Review.
Nick E. K. Tran is a San Diego native who graduated at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in marketing. He helps market beer during the day and writes at night. He likes to write short stories, poetry, and is currently writing his first novel.
David J. Schmidt is an author, podcaster, multilingual translator, and homebrewer who splits his time between Mexico City and San Diego, California.
Schmidt has published a variety of books, short stories, and articles in both English and Spanish, including Three Nights in the Clown Motel, a book of “non-fiction horror,” as well as the series Gone Viral: Urban Legends of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Schmidt is the co-host of the podcast To Russia with Love. He speaks twelve languages and has been to 33 countries. He received his B.A. in psychology from Point Loma Nazarene University.
Website: www.holyghoststories.com
Sara Wilczyńska was born and raised in Warsaw, Poland. She graduated in computer science and works as a software engineer at Google. After living in Barcelona, Edinburgh, London, Zurich and New York, she settled in San Diego. She teaches yoga and meditation and is a sound healing practitioner. She explores sticking words together into sentences, and presently flirts with short forms. Her work was published in Helikopter literary magazine.
Translator’s bio:
Kate Webster is a Polish-to-English literary translator living in London, UK. She has translated short stories and essays by Joanna Rudniańska, Marta Kisiel and Agnieszka Graff, among others. Examples of her work can be found on the websites of Przekrój, Switch on Paper and Eurozine. Her translation of Barbara Sadurska's novel The Map is due to be published in 2021.
For questions or further clarification regarding the rules and guidelines, please contact us at: sroman@sandiego.gov.