Although campuses are most certainly looking a bit different this semester, let's not forget: it's the students who make the school.

It's your voices, your self-expression, and your dialogue with one another that spark creativity, intellectual discussion, and last but not at all least, school spirit.

flying man short edition
canon short edition

Through this creative writing contest, we hope to offer a place -- online and eventually in our Short Story Dispensers -- to share your stories, publishing them alongside those of fellow students both at home and across various campuses around the world.

Starting October 5th, Short Edition invites students from all participating universities to submit your short stories, poetry, and creative nonfiction of 8,000 characters or less, entering into our first ever inter-university contest, Long Story Short Award 2020.

moon short edition writing contest

During these unprecedented times, connection and self-expression are important, more so than ever when we're at home, isolated from our normal social lives. With this contest, we hope, in our own small way, to contribute to a sense of community for students who are experiencing a very different kind of "campus life" this year. Let's even take it beyond the one campus, creating a bridge between thousands of students around the world.

"I love short stories because they are the way we live. They are what our friends tell us, in their pain and joy, their passion and rage, their yearning and their cry against injustice."

- Andre Dubus

Contest Timeline

Submissions open on October 5th at 12:00 a.m. EST and close on November 19th at 11:59 p.m. EST. The editorial board will select 15 finalists in each category (short fiction, poetry, CNF), and the public will select 15 finalists in each category by voting for their favorite submissions online.

All 30 finalists in each category, making a total of 90 finalists, will be announced on December 3rd. Once the finalists have been announced, the online community votes will be reset to zero and the public will again be invited to participate in the selection of the Public Winner and two runners-up in each category by voting for their favorite finalist(s) from December 3rd through December 17th. During this time the final jury will also read the final submissions and select one Juried Winner and two runners-up in each category.

The winners and runners-up in the short fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction categories will be announced on December 17th!

Winners and Prizes

The Juried Winner and Public Winner in each category will be awarded $500 each. The Juried and Public first runners-up will be awarded $300 each. The Juried and Public second runners-up will be awarded $200 each. All winners and other selected works will be published across participating campuses in their Short Story Dispensers, and the University with the most student submissions will win a free Dispenser! In addition, Short Édition will be considering all submissions for international publication in their 300+ Dispensers worldwide.

Recap

Submissions
Finalists
Winners
Oct 5th to Nov 19th
Dec 3rd to Dec 17th
December 17th
  • Submit your short story, poem, and/or creative nonfiction of maximum 7,500 characters (spaces included)
  • All qualifying submissions will be published on the contest webpage shortly after receipt
  • December 3rd: Announcement of finalists
  • 15 works in each category selected by the Editorial Team as finalists
  • 15 works in each category selected as finalists based on the highest number of votes from the online community
  • All finalists are set back to zero votes
  • One winner and 2 runners-up in each category selected by the final jury
  • One public winner and 2 runners-up in each category selected by the online community
  • December 17th: Announcement of winners

Submission Guidelines »

Universities in the competition...

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