Short Story Competition

Cathartic Joy in the Post-Woke Era - Short Story Competition

What does joy look like when the slogans fade and the hashtags fall silent?

Step into the next chapter of cultural imagination with our provocative short story competition: Cathartic Joy in the Post-Woke Era. This is your invitation to explore how we heal, laugh, reconnect, and reclaim our messy, human selves in a world emerging from ideological intensity and moral certitude.

Whether you're writing with irony, sincerity, rebellion or tenderness-this competition celebrates complex joy: the kind that blooms from contradiction, forgiveness, freedom, and emotional release. 

✍️ Your Story. Your Voice. Your Era.

We’re looking for original short fiction (max 3,000 words) that captures catharsis: personal, political, emotional, or aesthetic. In a society learning to breathe again. Submit characters who are liberated from their past scripts, stories that resist dogma and delight in the unexpected. Allow yourself to write exactly what you want, prioritising authentic expression above any societal boundaries. 

🏆 Awards & Recognition

• 1st Prize: £300 + featured author interview

• 2nd Prize: £50 + author interview

• 3rd Prize: £50 + author interview

• All prizes include bonus detailed feedback (if not already purchased). 

📅 Key Dates

• Submissions Open: Now

• Deadline: 30th October 2025

• Winners Announced: November 2025

🎯 Who Can Enter?

Open to writers globally, aged 18+. All genres welcome—literary fiction, satire, speculative, surrealism. All entries must be written in English and not have been published or entered into any other competitions.  Bring us your edge, your humour, your raw truth. We ask that you do not employ professional editorial services or use third parties to edit your submissions unrecognisably. You have a voice and a story that we want to read. 

📝 Types Of Entry

Being a writer can be like screaming into the void. Thats why we are offering 4 categories of entry. Simple entry is £10 and you will not receive any feedback unless you are shortlisted. However we have 3 options of guaranteed feedback! 

• Woke Score receive your scoring from our grading sheet. How woke is your writing? Best for: a bit of fun. 
•  Basic Feedback receive the exact feedback given when we evaluated your piece against our core criteria. Best for: affordable feedback for writers on their journey to betterment. 
• Premium Tailored Feedback receive our notes when considering your piece. You can also submit questions with your submission to get tailored feedback on the points you would like to raise. E.g. How could I make the characters more personable ? Best for: serious writers looking to develop their writing through feedback. Limited to 20 entries.