Contest Rules

• Originality: Submissions must be original, unpublished works of fiction or creative non-fiction of up to 500 words.

• Unpublished Work: Entries must not have been previously published in any form, including online platforms like blogs or social media.

• AI Policy: Any and all use of generative AI tools to prepare your submission is strictly prohibited. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, the use of ChatGPT, Claude, and other LLM-based tools to generate, edit, revise, summarize, or otherwise assist in preparing your submission. By agreeing to continue, violators will be removed from the contest and their submission fees will not be refunded. Further, violations in our AI policy will prohibit the inclusion of future submissions to all gritLIT writing contests.

• Formatting: Submissions should be double-spaced and use a standard 12-point font (e.g., Calibri, Arial, Times New Roman, or Courier).

• Form Completion: All sections of the submission form must be completed.

• Entry Fee Processing: Authors will receive a PayPal invoice for the entry fee. Entries are not officially submitted until the fee is paid. Please allow time for processing due to our small administrative staff.

Writing Stages

Stage 1: The Hook or Setup

• Concept: Think of the contest as crafting a three-act story.

• Initial Submission: Your first piece (up to 500 words) serves as the “hook” to engage judges and earn an invitation to the next stage.

• Judging: All entries are judged anonymously by at least two preliminary judges. 20 entrants will be longlisted.

• Guildelines: No part of your story may have been published in any medium, physical or otherwise, prior to this contest. New content only. Do not include your name anywhere in your story file as we blind-judge all contestants.

Stage 2: The Midpoint or Confrontation

• Announcement: Longlisted authors will be announced on our social media channels and website.

• Expansion Prompt: Longlisted entrants will receive by email a prompt to expand their existing stories by (up to) 500 words to a maximum of 1000 words total. During this stage, you must maintain the original theme and incorporate a new integral theme that will be provided to you (such as an obstacle, a focus on a specific sense, or an emotion).

• Guidelines: Build upon your Stage 1 submission without altering it and ensure your initial entry leaves room to grow.

Stage 3: The Finale

• Shortlisting: From the longlist the top 10 stories will be shortlisted and announced as before.

• Final Prompt: Shortlisted authors will receive a final theme prompt to further expand their stories and the final maximum word count will be shared.

• Final Judging: Final submissions will be evaluated by our 2027 gritLIT Short Story Contest Judge, Jaclyn Desforges.

• Notification: Winners will be contacted by March 15, 2027.

• Publication Rights: Winning authors agree to have their stories published on the gritLIT website. Copyright reverts to the author thereafter.

Happy Writing!