Claret Press 2027 Short Story Competition
Following the splashing success of their 2026 Short Story Competition, they are thrilled to announce that the contest is back.
Claret Press is open for stories that reflect today’s politics. This is a big topic. Considering the salience of certain issues, they are encouraging entries that relate to:
- Immigration
- Asylum-seeking and the climate
- Access to healthcare
- LGBTQ+ issues
- Still, they are open to any other theme within the broad umbrella of contemporary politics.
Prizes:
Three winners will be chosen, all of them being published on the Sip of Claret News newsletter, which has an audience of over 800 highly-engaged subscribers. Only the first prize will be posted on the Claret Press website. (RIGHTS: The three winning authors will grant the publisher the exclusive right to publish their stories in the Claret Press Newsletter, Website, and Substack for promotional marketing purposes, for the duration of the year of 2027, after which all rights go back to the author. )
Additionally, each winner will receive a cash prize:
- First Prize: £50
- Second Prize: £30
- Third prize: £20
Entry Requirements:
- You should be subscribed to the ‘A Sip of Claret News’ mailing list. They send out a newsletter once a month with special offers, news, events and updates.
- You should keep your story below 5 000 words. If your submission runs over the word limit, it will be discarded unread.
- They are looking for creative prose only. Please do not submit essays or poems.
- FORMAT: Your story should be submitted as a .docx file. Submissions will be judged anonymously, so please do not include your name anywhere on the document or in the file name. Additionally, include the word count and page number in the header.
- Your story should be your own, and can not have been published elsewhere.
- All genres and styles of writing are welcome—you can write anything from horror to slice-of-life, and your tone can be as earnest or satirical as you’d like.
Submission fee: £5
Submission fee with feedback: £35 + £5 (This offer is available only for those who submit a short story. This offer is not available to the general public.)
Submission deadline: 1 February 2027