Share your stories with the world!
New publication opportunities
We’re always coming up with new ideas and ways for you to share your words with the world so there is a change coming to the WestWord Prize for next year, and more new submission opportunities as of now!
Hopefully the number of stories we receive for the rolling submission categories will keep growing and when they do, we will increase the author compensation amount that selected writers receive.
We have added submissions to Story Sunday, Short Story Spotlight and Flash Focus to the Founding Member paid subscription level. For just £175 for the year you’ll get 12 Zoom workshops, 12 craft articles, and submissions to every themed edition, monthly feature spot, and entries to all of the competitions. Plus entry to the new competition (info on this below!) have been added to the monthly and annual subscription packages too.
To celebrate all these new ways to bring your stories to the world, we’re offering a 10% discount on new subscriptions until the end of August. Upgrade your subscription now!
Existing monthly, annual and founding member subscribers also get the new submissions included with their subscription, and as you didn’t get the 10% discount when you signed up, you get free ebooks of my novella-in-flash, Pressure Drop and the anthology of flash fictions, Ten Ways The Animals Will Save Us, which was published in 2012 to celebrate the 10-year birthday of Retreat West. They will be emailed to you soon.
With love,
2025 WestWord Prize
Now that there are new rolling submission slots for Story Sunday and Short Story Spotlight (submissions to these have now been added to the Founding Member level subscription), the WestWord Prize will be different in 2025.
This year, there were three separate deadlines for micro fiction, flash fiction and short story (still open until November!) and three separate editions published of the winning stories.
In 2025, there is just one deadline in March. The word count limit for all stories is 1000, up to 20 stories will be published, and the prizes are:
First prize: £400
Second prize: £250
Third prize: £100
Shortlisted: £25
The entry fee is £10. There is no theme. Stories will be published in June 2025. The judge will be announced and submissions will open soon…
New publication opportunities
We have a brand new contest and a new rolling submission opportunity for you…
Folktale Flash Contest
This annual competition is for folktale-inspired flash fiction stories. Send us your modern, surreal, ancient and brilliant takes on the myths that capture your mind.
Flash Focus
On the first and third Fridays of every month, we’ll publish a flash fiction story in this new ongoing submission slot. Every writer selected will also have an interview about the development of the story to run alongside it.
