• First Prize £50.00 and your winning entry published by the BFS.
  • Runner-up prize of £25.00 and publication by the BFS.
  • Deadline: 31st August 2008.

If you are a budding writer, having had no more than three pieces of fiction previously published, and are keen on horror, fantasy or science fiction, the BFS Short Story Competition is for you. The rules are straightforward and are outlined below.

The deadline for entries in this year’s BFS Short Story Competition is 31st August 2008. The stories will be read by a panel of judges with expertise in genre writing and editing, and the winner will receive a prize of £50.00, plus their story will be published in the BFS journal, Dark Horizons or New Horizons. The runner-up will receive £25.00 and publication in Dark Horizons or New Horizons. The competition is open to members and non-members of the society, but non-members must pay a £5.00 administrative fee to qualify for entry. The full rules of entry are as follows:

  • Submissions must be in the genres of fantasy, science fiction or horror.
  • Stories must not exceed 5,000 words.
  • Only one story is permitted from each entrant
  • To be eligible, the writer must not previously have had more than three stories published in either paying or non-paying markets.
  • Manuscripts must be typed and submitted in the standard manner: Double-spaced text, with left and right hand margins of at least 2cm. Please use 12pt font. The first line of paragraphs should be indented. Pages should be numbered, but with no other text in the footer or header. The title page should contain the title of the story, but not the author’s name or address. Failure to submit manuscripts in this manner will disqualify the entry.
  • Manuscripts submitted will be deemed to be disposable and will not be returned to the sender.
  • The decision of the judging panel will be final and if it is deemed that no suitable story is submitted no prize will be awarded.

How to submit:

  • By post, send to BFS Short Story Competition, 194 Station Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham, B14 7TE, UK. Please enclose a covering letter with your name and address, title of the story and word count. Remember do not put your name or address on the manuscript itself. If you are not a BFS member, enclose a £5.00 cheque made payable to ‘The British Fantasy Society’.
  • By email, head your email "BFS Short Story Competition". Attach your story as a Word or rtf file. In the body of the email give your name, title of the story and the word count. Remember do not put your name or address on the attached document itself. Send to: comp@britishfantasysociety.org. If you are a non-member submitting by email, please send your £5.00 payment via PayPal below: