The Creative Writing Ink Short Story Competition 2026 is open for entries.

The deadline for receipt of all entries is September 30th, 2026, at 5 pm (GMT)

Entries will only be accepted through Subfolio.

Entries can be on any subject, theme or genre.

Entry fee: £12 per entry. You can submit multiple entries as long as each entry is paid for individually and includes a separate entry form.

Maximum word count is 3,000 words.

All entries are judged anonymously. Please do not include your name, address, phone number, email, website, social media details, etc. on the short story document or in the file name as this will result in disqualification.

Formatting your short story:

Your story must be written in English. A maximum of 3,000 words. No minimum. Title not included in the word count.

Please submit a typed story in Arial or Times New Roman, 12pt, black. Double spaced.

Include a front page which details the title of story and the word count ONLY. The author’s name should not be included anywhere in the document or the file name.

No illustrations.

Save as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx). We also accept file types .rtf, .pdf, with the

Short Story title as the file name. Please do not include the author’s name in the file name, or it will be disqualified.

Final Judge: Daragh Fleming

Daragh Fleming (author of A Brief Inhalation and Lonely Boy) is a writer from Cork, Ireland. He has work appearing in many literary magazines including Southword, Crannóg, Stand, Gutter, and more. He was highly commended for both the Patrick Kavanagh Award and the Fool For Poetry Prize in 2023, and shortlisted for the Alpine Fellowship Poetry Prize in 2024. He won the From The Well Competition in 2021 and the Ducairn Flash Competition in 2024. Daragh was also shortlisted for two Mental Health Media Awards for his TEDx Talk on using creativity to enhance and maintain our mental health.

Full Terms & Conditions here.

FAQ here.

Entries will be accepted through Subfolio only. If you have questions about Subfolio or are having technical difficulties submitting your work, please contact Subfolio Customer Support at https://subfol.io/submitters/support

Submit Here