Competitions Policy & Rules - Competitions : Mslexia, a magazine for women's writing and women who write.

Read our competition rules before submitting; and if you require more information on eligibilty, guidelines, how to submit and more, visit our Entry Instructions page.

Fiction Competition 2026 Rules & Prize Terms

All categories

Adult Novel Competition: for novels of at least 50,000 words, for adult or young adult readers.

Short Story Competition: for complete fiction texts of up to 3,000 words.

Flash Fiction Competition: for complete fiction texts of up to 300 words.

All entries

Please submit your work typed, double-spaced, on A4 pages, single sided, with pages numbered.
Your entry will be judged anonymously, so do not put your name on the text pages of your entry.
If entering by post, please print out and complete the submission form
No alterations may be made to your entry once it has been submitted.
Your entry will not be returned, so do keep a copy. If you require confirmation of receipt of a postal entry, enclose an SAE labelled ‘Acknowledgement’.
No entrant will win more than one prize in any one competition.
All entrants will be notified of the outcome of their entry via email. Notifications will be sent to Short Story and Flash Fiction entrants in November 2026; to Novel entrants in January/February 2027.
The winners and finalists of the Adult Novel Competition will be announced in the June 2027 edition of Mslexia.
The winner and three finalists of the Short Story and Flash Fiction competitions will be published in the December 2026 edition of Mslexia.

The full shortlist of 12 entrants for each of the Short Story and Flash Fiction competitions will be announced in Mslexia magazine and on the website, and published in the ebook anthology Best Women’s Short Fiction 2026 on 1 December 2026.
Copyright of any entry remains with the author, but Mslexia has the unrestricted right to publish the winning entries or extracts in its magazine and on its website, plus unrestricted rights to use the winning entries and any related material for PR purposes.

Eligibility

The competition is open to all women, of any nationality, from any country, provided you're writing in English (or associated dialects)
Entries should not have been published or accepted for publication in print or online by a third party.
Entries that have won other competitions are not eligible.
The Adult Novel Competition is for unpublished novelist only. Women who have had a text novel published by a mainstream or independent publisher, for any age group, in any country, are not eligible.
All or part of self-published manuscripts with sales of fewer than 500 copies are eligible.
Entries should not be a translation of another author’s work.
You do not have to subscribe to Mslexia to be eligible.
Employees of Mslexia are not eligible.
AI-generated entries are not eligible. You may not use Artificial Intelligence, or the AI tools of other apps, to aid in any part of the story's creation. Spellcheckers and word processors are permitted. By submitting, you are formally declaring that no AI has been used.

For a more detailed explanation of 'published' visit our Entry Instructions page.

How to enter

All competition categories open for entries on 1 June 2026 and close at 23.59 GMT on 21 September 2026.
You may enter online or send your entry by post. If entering online, there are full instructions on the website.
If entering by post, please print out and complete the submission form on our website, mark your envelope ‘Mslexia Fiction Competition’ and send it to: Mslexia Publications Ltd, PO Box 656, Newcastle upon Tyne NE99 1PZ.
If entering by post, please pay by cheque (payable to Mslexia Publications Ltd.) or by debit/credit card (phone +44 (0)191 204 8860 with your details).
You may enter as many competition categories as you like, with as many submissions as you like, but you must enter each submission separately, accompanied by a separate fee.
Entry fees must be in pounds sterling. For overseas entries, international online card payments are accepted.

Prize Terms

Novel Competition

Manuscript feedback from The Literary Consultancy is optional. Practical arrangements should be agreed between the finalists and TLC.
The pitch training is a day-long professional workshop in Newcastle upon Tyne. The personal introduction to agents and editors will take place at a Talent Party in central London. Both events are arranged in partnership with New Writing North. These parts of the prize are also optional. Mslexia will contribute a total of £100 towards each finalists’ travel expenses.
These additional prizes must be taken before 30 September 2026.

Short Story Competition

Payment for each of the eight additional shortlisted stories, that will be published along with the four winners in the ebook anthology Best Women’s Short Fiction 2026 is £75.

Flash Fiction Competition

Payment for each of the eight additional shortlisted flash fictions that will be published along with the four winners in the ebook anthology Best Women’s Short Fiction 2026, is £50.

The closing date for all three fiction competition categories is 21 September 2026.

Every year Mslexia helps Arvon reach an engaged, diverse and vibrant community of writers. It is without a doubt a core part of our advertising campaign.

Arvon Foundation

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