Ironclad Short Story Competition - Spring 2026
We are looking for short stories that respond in any way to the PROMPT:
RESERVED
The Ironclad Creative Short Story Competition is for both published and unpublished writers.
We aim to run four short story competitions each year.
Prize winning and shortlisted writers will be published in our April 2026 anthology.
We accept any length of story up to 6k words.
Don't use the word RESERVED in the title unless it’s alongside a sub-heading or with other words or phrases. You may use the word in the body of the text, but you don’t have to.
What we expect is that your work to be inspired by the word in some way. Any way. A way that might be unexpected. Or entirely expected, but the story takes us somewhere interesting, and grips us.
We’re looking for writers who have exciting voices and can move us - that can happen in any genre of prose.
Please make sure you've read the terms and conditions carefully as we have changed them!
For example, submissions now must NOT have your name in the document, even in the file name.
DEADLINE:
23:59GMT - 31st January 2026
ENTRY:
£9.75 per story
PRIZES:
First Place writer will be offered a prize of £100 and publication
Second Place writer will be offered a prize of £50 and publication
Third Placed writer will be offered prizes of £25 and publication
The shortlisted writers will be offered publication too.
https://www.ironcladcreative.org/shortstorycompetition
