THE MOTH SHORT STORY PRIZE 2022 IS NOW OPEN!
ABOUT THE PRIZE
The Moth Short Story
Prize is an international prize, open to anyone from anywhere in the world as
long as their story is original and previously unpublished. The winners are
chosen by a single judge each year, who reads the stories anonymously.
‘A total pleasure
judging this. This was an exceptional set of stories.’ Ali Smith, 2021
judge
‘The Moth Short Story Prize is hugely important to me. Short stories give
writers and readers the opportunity to experiment with all kinds of approaches
and effects that might not work over the sustained length of a novel, and
sometimes to talk about things that we might not be able to approach in any
other way. The Moth is a fantastic champion of
that.’ Owen Booth, 2020 winner
‘To see my story in a
publication that has done as much for writers as The Moth is
the most astounding and
unexpected affirmation I could have imagined.’ Conor Crummey, 2019 winner
‘This seal of
approval is superglue for the sanity! I am mighty grateful.’ Caoilinn
Hughes, 2018 winner
Previous judges include Mike McCormack, Belinda McKeon, Donal Ryan, Kit de Waal, Kevin Barry, Mark
Haddon and Ali Smith.
THE JUDGE
The Prize will be
judged this year by
Sarah Hall, the prizewinning author of three short story
collections and six novels, her most recent being
Burntcoat. She is
a recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters E. M. Forster Award and
Edge Hill Short Story Prize, among others, and the only person ever to have won
the BBC National Short Story Award twice. As well as teaching creative writing,
Sarah has judged a number of prestigious literary awards, including the Man
Booker Prize and the Sunday Times (EFG/Audible).
‘A writer of
show-stopping genius’ Guardian
HOW TO ENTER
The Prize is open to
anyone (over 16), as long as the work is original and previously unpublished.
There is a word limit of 4,000.
The entry fee is €15 per story.
You can
ENTER ONLINE or send your story along with a cheque or postal order
made payable to ‘The Moth Magazine Ltd.’ with an
ENTRY FORM or a cover letter with your name and
contact details and the title of your story (or stories) attached to: The
Moth, Ardan Grange, Milltown, Belturbet, Co. Cavan, Ireland H14 K768.
Please note: If you are at all concerned about the formatting of your story
online, please send a copy of the story (or stories) in a word doc to enquiries@themothmagazine.com,
along with your entry number. Payment can be made via PayPal to
enquiries@themothmagazine.com.
Please remember to read the
rules of the competition before you enter.
CLOSING DATE 30 JUNE 2022
The winners will be announced in September 2022 and all three stories will
appear in the autumn issue of The Moth.
With thanks to Circle of Misse (www.circleofmisse.com) for the superb
second prize of a week-long writing retreat in France and a travel stipend of
€250. Their house rests on the banks of the Thouet River (a tributary of the
Loire), ‘thouet’ being the ancient Gallic word for ‘tranquil’.
Call 00 353 87 2657251 or email enquiries@themothmagazine.com for more
details
