Short Story Contest Hosted by Champaign Library

Short Story Contest, Writer’s Workshops at Champaign Library

Champaign Public Library launched the Writer’s Workshop series in spring 2019, combining hands-on workshops taught by experts and a Short Story Contest for community members.

Writer’s Workshops | Live Webinar Series

Sign up to get the Zoom link:
• Sep 1, Where to Begin, 7 pm
• Sep 15, Choosing Your Theme, 7 pm
• Sep 29, Plot Development, 7 pm
• Oct 6, Crafting Dynamic Dialogue, 7 pm
• Oct 20, Finishing Your Story, 7 pm
• Nov 3, Publishing Fiction in Literary Magazines, 7 pm
• Nov 17, Short Story Awards Ceremony & Reading, 7 pm

2021 Short Story Contest

Enter to win! Stories can be up to 2500 words. Entries due November 5, 2021. Guidelines + entry form »

Grand Prize – One-on-one consultation with Ted Sanders, Director of Creative Writing in the Department of English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Professional headshot for your author’s portfolio. An annual membership to MasterClass for access to online writing courses. Opportunity to read your story, or have an actor read it for you, at the Short Story Awards Ceremony, and have your story published on our website for the community to read.

2nd + 3rd Place – Opportunity to read your story, or have an actor read it for you, at the Short Story Awards Ceremony, and have your story published on our website for the community to read. One-year subscription to Writer’s Digest Magazine.

2020 Short Story Contest

Our 2020 Short Story Contest included entries from community members who participated in the Writer’s Workshops series. The top three stories were read publicly and the awards were announced at a ceremony in November. Congratulations to the winners!

• 1st Place Winner – Andrea Alghalith, “Lulu” | Read story »
• 2nd Place Winner – Bethan Owen, “Seashell Bones” | Read story »
• 3rd Place Winner – Louise Audrieth, “Sarah and Me” | Read story »