2017 Shooter Short Story Competition

NO THEMES

NO GENRES

NO LIMITS
(Well – 5,000 words max, actually.)

Welcome to the 2017 Shooter Short Story Competition, the literary contest that spotlights the best and brightest upcoming literary talent, with cash prizes and highlighted publication both in the pages of Shooter and online.

Submissions to the magazine are usually confined to a particular theme, but the competition offers a chance to write about whatever most compels you, in any style, to any length up to 5,000 words. We’re looking for imaginative, surprising, absorbing and beautifully written stories that bring characters to life and elicit an emotional response from the reader. In short, well written tales that appeal to both the head and the heart.

In return for the £7 entry fee, ALL ENTRANTS will receive an e-copy of Shooter’s summer 2017 issue, which will feature the winning story.
The winner of the 2017 Shooter Short Story Competition will receive £250, publication in the summer issue and on the website, and promotion on Shooter’s social media.
The runner-up will receive £50, publication on Shooter’s website, and promotion on social media.
All entrants will receive an e-copy of Shooter’s summer issue.
Stories may be any theme or genre, and any length up to 5,000 words.
The competition is open to entries through April 16th, 2017.
All proceeds from entry fees go toward prizes, contributor payments and Shooter’s production costs, supporting our mission to promote the best new writing and encourage the principle of paying writers for their work.

To enter, please email your story (as a .doc, .docx, .rtf or .pdf file) to competition.shooterlitmag@gmail.com by the deadline of April 16th, 2017. Include your name, title of story and exact word count in the body of the email, with no identifying information on the story itself. Multiple entries are accepted but please pay one entry fee per story and submit each story in a separate email. The winning writers will be notified in May/June and a public announcement will be made soon thereafter. Please follow Shooter’s website or Facebook/Twitter to receive announcements.

Entry fees can be paid via the following link (card payments are accepted in addition to PayPal):


Shooter holds a poetry competition during the second half of the year, with the winning entry to be published in the winter issue. Details for poets will be announced in August 2017.

Please email shooterlitmag@gmail.com with any questions. We look forward to reading your entries – good luck!