Deadline: December 1, 2025
Applications are open for the One Teen Story Teen Writing Contest 2025. For they One Teen Story contest, writers ages 13-19 are requested to enter their original, unpublished fiction. One Teen Story is interested in great short stories of any genre about the teen experience—literary, fantasy, sci-fi, love stories, horror, etc. What’s in a great short story? Interesting teen characters, strong writing, and a beginning, middle, and end.
Benefits
- The contest winners will receive $500 upon publication.
- The winning stories will be published on the One Teen Story website.
- The contest winners will also have the opportunity to work with a One Teen Story editor prior to publication.
- Honorable mentions will be chosen in three age categories: 13-15, 16-17, and 18-19, and each will be announced on the website, by email announcement, and on social media.
Eligibility
- You must be between the ages of 13-19 as of December 1, 2025.
- Short stories should be between 2,000 to 4,500 words and be the writer’s own original, previously unpublished work.
- Previously published stories and stories forthcoming at other publications cannot be considered. This includes stories that have been self-published online on personal websites or other publishing platforms, including blogs and school publications.
- By submitting your work, you are acknowledging that it is your own creation, that it has not been borrowed from any other person’s work (including film, video, and online content), that it has not been created with any assistance from AI tools or software, and that the characters and situations are of your own invention.
- Stories should have teens as their main characters and be about the teen experience.
- Only one submission per person.
- One Teen Story reserves the right to approve all final, edited content.
- A parent or legal guardian must sign a consent form for One Teen Story to publish the names of winners and honorable mentions who are under the age of 18 on their website and social media platforms.
- Proof of age must be provided by all winners and finalists.
Application
When you are ready to submit, go here and select One Teen Story Contest followed by your age group (13-15, 16-17, 18-19). You will receive a confirmation email upon submitting. This is also where you can view the status of your submission or withdraw a submission.
For more information, visit One Teen Story Teen Writing Contest.
