World History Encyclopedia is inviting submissions to win the Ink of Ages Prize.
The contest is open to history and mythology writers worldwide. It is divided into two categories – main adults and teenagers. Entrants 18 and over are required to submit a story between 1,500 words and 2,000 words. Entrants aged 13 to 17 must submit a story between 800 and 1,000 words.
The contest is free to enter and accepts submissions in English from anywhere in the world. It ‘s sponsored by Oxford University Press.
The winning short stories will be published and promoted to over 7 million monthly readers around the globe. The first place winner in the main adult category will also receive a $1,000 USD cash prize.
The winner of the youth category will recieve custom artwork inspired by their story from World History Encyclopedia‘s in-house cartographer and graphic designer, Simeon Netchev. Other prizes include promotion on World History Encyclopedia to millions of readers, newsletter subscribers and social media followers, merchandise and a Lifetime WHE membership & World History Insider magazine subscription.
Genre Guidelines
This contest accepts historical and mythological short stories. Submissions must follow the guidelines below:
Historical Fiction
A story set at least 50 years ago, which takes the social, political, and cultural atmosphere of that past time into consideration during the writing process. Alternative history, events that could have happened, is allowed, but no time travel.
Mythological Fiction
A story set in the past, at least 50 years ago, but not necessarily be set in the time or place of the original myth. It should be adequately clear which myth or mythological character a submission is based on, e.g., Circe from Greek Mythology, or Ravana from Southeast Asia. Fantasy elements are allowed, but stories that are pure fantasy without being rooted in genuine mythology are not accepted.
Excluded Topics
No time travel or stories set in the present day that discuss events or people in the past. No content that is religiously, politically, or otherwise offensive. No gory content.
Submissions must meet the following criteria to be considered:
- Only previously unpublished stories are eligible (publications on persona blogs or social feed are acceptable).
- Entrants must be 18 or older for the main adult contest. Youth entries age 13–17 must be accompanied by parental consent.
- The story must be the author’s sole work; no plagiarism or AI such as ChatGPT, Claude or any other Large Language Model will be accepted.
For the full list of rules and eligibility criteria, please visit https://fictionprize.worldhistory.org/rules
For more information on the prize and to submit stories, please visit https://fictionprize.worldhistory.org/
