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Fall Short Story Writing Contest 2025
Competition Opens: Sat, Nov. 1, 2025
Competition Closes: Sat, Jan. 31, 2026
Winners Announced: March 2026
Theme: Cake!
Cake is used as a metaphor for many ideas such as love (babycakes), life lessons (can’t have your cake and eat it too), and tasks we undertake (piece of cake). For this contest, we invite you to find creative ways to weave the icing, the slice, the hotcakes, and the fruitcakes into your short story.
Sign-up to let us know you are interested and to receive the submission link.
Contest Details
- Genre: Fiction
- Length for Youth (under 18): 1,000 words or less
- Length for Adults (18 and older): 3,000 words or less
- Language: English or French
- Eligibility: Open to all ages. You must know one of the judges or know someone who knows one of the judges.
- Number of Entries: One entry per person
- Submission Format: Word document or text file. Double spaced. Include the title and page number on each page. DO NOT include your name on the submission.
- Original Work: All entries must be original works by the submitter. Plagiarism is not allowed. Your ideas should be of your own creation.
Review Criteria
- Theme: The story addresses the theme of the writing contest in an interesting way.
- Mechanics: The writer follows basic rules and conventions of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and sentence structure. Please note that we are open to all varieties of English and French. We just ask that you are consistent in the language system(s) you use in your story.
- Writing quality: The writer uses language in an engaging way that is clear, focused, and coherent. The writer’s unique voice is consistent throughout the story. In a word, the writing is eloquent.
- Story structure: The plot is organized in a comprehensible way. Please note that we are open to storytelling traditions and structures from around the world (read more here).
- Reader engagement: The story pulls readers in and they don’t want to put it down. The story leaves a lasting impression on the reader.
- Creativity: The author takes a unique approach in their use of mechanics, writing quality, or story structure to effectively enhance the story.
Prizes
Winners in the youth category and the adult category will each receive $25.
Judges
The judges for this contest are: Aleata Hubbard, Elizabeth Harris, and Joel Cheuoua.
History: The Magnolia Tree Review launched its inaugural writing contest in summer 2025. The writing competition serves as a creative outlet for the amateur writer, because we believe that every person has a story to tell. It is our aim to elevate voices from around the world so that more people see themselves reflected in the stories they read.
Inspiration: “I read many great novels and stories and did not see myself or my people in any of them. It was then that I tried to write.” Ernest Gaines
General Inquiries: To contact us with any questions about The Magnolia Tree Review or the Writing Contest, please use the general contact form.
Aleata Hubbard Cheuoua, Ph.D. 