November Writing Contest

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This Year’s Writing Challenge

Wellesley Free Library is hosting a Short Story competition from October 31 to December 1st for the Short Story Dispenser! The Short Story Dispenser, located in the Commons, is a simple device with three illuminated buttons: 1 minute, 3 minutes and 5 minutes. Press one and out rolls a long strip of paper, randomly generated by the machine from its online bank of original and classic stories or poetry.

Learn More About the Short Story Dispenser

Submission can be any flash fiction. We welcome entries in English, Chinese, and Spanish.

Who Can Enter?

Entries can be submitted in three age groups: 5 – 11, 12 – 18, 18+

What Can I Win?

We will be awarding 9 prizes for the most notable entries! Each age group will have a first, second, and third place winner. Winners will receive a special certificate and a gift card to a local Wellesley business. Winners’ certificates will highlight what was special about their entry and made it stand out, such as “Most Surprising Plot Twist” and “Best Fact-Finding.” All participants in the contest will also be included in the Wellesley Authors Zine, which will be added to the Wellesley Authors’ and Illustrators collection

Getting Started

Our contest judges will be looking for entries with creative and original ideas, here are some prompts to get you started!

Prompts

Official Guidelines

• All submissions must be emailed to welsubmissions@minlib.net as a PDF, doc, or docx
• Submissions are accepted October 31st – December 1st
• In the body of the email, please include name or pen name, age range, length of story, and contact information should your submission be selected as a winner
• Please select the appropriate length of your story using the following guidelines
• 1-minute story (100-300 words)
• 3-minute story (300-600 words)
• 5-minute story (600-1,000 words)
• Winners will be announced on December 19 and contacted to collect their prize!
• Winning submissions will be added to the Short Story Dispenser and ALL submissions will be bound into an official Wellesley Author Zine
• Stories will be accepted in English, Spanish, and Chinese

Contest Rules

• All submitted work must be the artist’s original work, and must not violate the rights of another party or entity.
• The use of Large Language Models or generative A.I. models does not qualify as original work for the purposes of this contest. Submissions that are deemed to use these models will be disqualified.
• Submissions containing hate speech, and or hateful discourse, will be disqualified.

*By entering the Contest, you are agreeing to the terms of these official rules and guidelines.

Programs

If you’re still not sure what you want to write, attend one of our programs for inspiration!