This exciting short story competition is part of Virago’s 50^th birthday celebrations – and the chance to be published in an anthology alongside bestselling, award-winning writers including Margaret Atwood and Kamila Shamsie.

 

This spring we published Furies, a 50^th anniversary short story collection from today’s most exciting and bestselling authors, including Margaret Atwood, Helen Oyeyemi, Kamila Shamsie, Chibundu Onuzo, and many more, who have written their stories around a synonym of ‘virago’.

 

 This prize will be awarded to the best original short story which fulfils the same brief we set our Furies writers: to write an original, feminist short story inspired by a synonym for ‘virago’.

 

 Virago has always championed writers from underrepresented backgrounds. This Competition is open to people of underrepresented genders and women who are from Black, Asian, Mixed Heritage, and multiple-ethnic groups; part of the LGBTQIA+ community; neurodiverse; have a disability; self-identify as working-class individuals; or are from a working-class background. Entrants must be aged 18 or over, resident in the United Kingdom and must not have an agent at the time of entering the Competition or have had any book or short story previously published by a publisher or self-published in whole or in part in any format or be under a contract to have their work published in any form or format. The Competition is not open to employees of the Publisher or United Agents Limited, their families, or to anyone professionally connected to the Competition or connected to the judges either themselves or through their families.

 

The winner of the Virago 50th Furies Short Story Competition will be published alongside the existing Furies authors in the paperback and ebook editions, as well as receive a cash prize and an hour-long mentoring session with a Virago editor.

 

Click here to enter.

 

Other entry requirements can be found in the Terms & Conditions.

 

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THE JUDGES

 

Monica Ali, Virago author

Claire Kohda, Virago author

Kirsty Logan, Virago author

Laura Macdougall, literary agent at United Agents

Sarah Savitt, Virago Publisher

Alexa Allen-Batifoulier, Virago Assistant Editor

 

Good luck!

 

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T&Cs Apply

Closing date: Saturday, 1^st July 2023

Submission must be an original work that has not been published anywhere.

Graphic story submissions will not be accepted.

All stories must be written in English. Maximum of 4000 words.