Want the chance to win a short story contest?

Short story submissions are open! There will be 5 winners for issue #2 of Absurd Anthology. Follow the guidelines, give it your all, & submit a story.

Information

There will be 5 winners of this story contest. Each will feature in issue #2 of Absurd Anthology. This is a short story contest meant to inspire & entertain creatives & readers alike! Submissions will be open from April 1, 2026-May 1, 2026. Winners will be announced May 10, 2026.

Best of all, each winner will receive a limited physical copy of issue #2 of Absurd Anthology as a thank you. Good luck!

Guidelines

• Genre: Fantasy; this can be Epic Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Romantasy, or any other fantasy subgenre you can think of. Have fun with it!
• Word Count: Stories should be a minimum of 2,000 words & a maximum of 2,500 words.
• Format: Double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman, 1-inch margins, with page numbers and story title in header. Name, phone number, and address on the first page, along with the story title and word count (Include social media handle/username for Facebook and/or Instagram if you would like to be credited via social media, NOT REQUIRED.).
• File Type: The only file types that will be accepted are .doc or .docx, as they give easy access to edit formatting.
• Language: Frequent, moderate profanity is allowed (e.g., “sh*t”, “b*tch”, etc.), along with up to 5 occurrences of the “f-word”.
• Violence: Can be intense, featuring “blood and guts” or harsh battle sequences, but should not be consistently graphic, excessively gory, or depict explicit torture.
• Sexual Content: Covers strong innuendos, romance, and some discussion of sex, but generally, scenes are “closed-door,” brief, or focus on tension/kissing rather than explicit detail.
• Substances: Alcohol, tobacco, or drug use may appear, often in a non-gratuitous manner.
• Information: Do not include personal information within the short story itself.
• Content: Only original, previously unpublished work. (Stories will go through a plagiarism and AI checker.)
• Restrictions: No poetry or non-fiction. There is a ZERO tolerance policy for slurs, derogatory terms/language, or otherwise oppressive content (no homophobia, transphobia, racism, sexism, etc.). This is a safe environment.

Following the guidelines will solidify your chances of winning!

How to Submit

*Disclaimer: By submitting your story to the email below, you agree that you have read the Privacy Policy and understand that any information you give within your submission will potentially be available publicly to anyone who purchases the Absurd Anthology magazine. You also understand that if you provide your social media handle/username within your submission, you will be credited (and congratulated) on Facebook and/or Instagram on Absurd Architect social media pages.

Send your short story to me at ajah.absurd@gmail.com!