The SECRET IDENTITY

Short Story Contest:

A just-for-fun short story contest for young writers, ages 9-16.

Are You Ready to Submit Your Story?

Entries close on Monday, November 25th, 2024. Due to many of our contestants being in the United States, entries will remain open until 11pm Pacific Time. (Which is 6pm, Tuesday 26th in NZ)

Entry Form Below!

Prompt #1

Prompt #2

Prompt #3

Send Us Your Entry!

Congratulations on finishing your story! That’s an awesome accomplishment, and you should feel very proud. 🙌 Submit your story via the form below. (Can be anywhere from 700-1,000 words.)

Your Name *Doesn't have to be your real name. (This is the author name that will be shown on the winning entry)

Email Address *This is the email address we will contact if your entry wins.

Which book would you be most interested in winning? *1. Keeper of the Lost Cities2. On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness3. The False PrinceIf you already own it, we'll give you the option to choose another book from the same series instead.

What is your Country? *

What is your age? *910111213141516

Which picture prompt(s) do you choose? *#1#2#3

Story Title: *

Your Story *(Maximum 1,000 word limit)0 / 1060

I've read and agree to the privacy policy and terms and conditions. *

Yes, I agree with the privacy policy and terms and conditions.

You agree that you are either 13 years old or older, or have the permission of a parent or guardian to enter this competition. *

Yes, I am 13 years or older, or I have obtained permission.

Please do not fill in this field.

If you’re having technical issues submitting your entry via the form here, please try again using a different device if possible. You can report any problems by emailing us directly at: [email protected]

Important Details & Conditions of Entry

The winners of our three age categories will get to CHOOSE their prize out of three incredible options:

Prize Choice #1: Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

Prize Choice #2: On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson

Prize Choice #3: The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Entry Conditions:

Entries are open internationally.
Entries are open to young writers who are 9 to 16 years old and must be their own original work. No AI stories permitted.
If you are under 13 years old, you must get the permission of a parent or guardian to participate.
Only one entry per person. (However, siblings who enter may use the same email address.)
Entries close on Monday, Nov 25th, 2024. The winners will be announced on Nov 30th.
Entries must be between 700-1,000 words.
To enter this competition, you must agree to both these entry and prize conditions, as well as our Privacy Policy and our website Terms & Conditions.

Prize Conditions:

The book you choose for your winning prize will be a paperback copy. Cover may vary although we’ll try to keep it to what’s pictured above.
If you already own the first book in the series, winning writers will be given the option to request another book from within the same series as their prize instead.
We’ll announce the winners via email on November 30th, and the winning stories and any ‘Honourable Mentions’ will be posted here on our website.
The winners will be personally notified by email (and we’ll need to ask for their postal address).

The Storylights Team:

Amy Bryant

…an award-winning writer of Children’s & YA Fantasy Adventure (coming soon), who loves cheering on young writers.

Thor the Viking Sheep

…Chief Bodyguard and Mascot of Epicness, who dauntlessly watches out for enemies and gives well-meaning (if unhelpful) advice.

Josh Bryant

…master of fancy website stuff, who raises 4 little hobbits with his lovely wife Summer and gives much better advice. (Don’t tell Thor.)

“It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does.”

– William Faulkner

Privacy Policy

The Storylights

Firstly, we'll never sell or share any of your personal information with anyone else unless we're required to by law, and we only collect the minimum personal data that we need to run our services. For example, we need your name and email address so we can notify you if your competition entry has been selected for a prize, or to send you details about our next competition.

Secondly, any original story material that you send to us, either as part of a competition or not, remains your own personal intellectual property. However, by submitting your story to us, you grant us the right to display it on on our website, and we agree to always credit it to you the author. You retain full rights to your story, including the right to reuse it or resubmit it to any other competition or publication.

Terms & Conditions

The Storylights

By using this website, (for example, by submitting a form, or entering a competition or giveaway), you agree to be bound by and follow these terms and conditions:

You agree that you are either at least 13 years old, or you have the permission of a parent or guardian to use this website.
We understand that the name you choose to use on our website or submit with a competition entry, may be an alias or pen name (for young authors, this can be a good way to help protect your privacy), but you understand that we will treat that name like your real name, including when we provide credit to the author of a winning story.
You agree that any written work that you submit to us as part of a competition or giveaway, is your own original work, written by you and not copied from or written by another person. (No AI work permitted.)
You agree to not submit any written work to us that promotes or encourages violence, racism, self-harm, or any other activity that is either illegal or potentially damaging to other people.
You keep all intellectual property rights to any of your own written material that you submit to us, but you agree to give us the right to display your work on our website as part of the services we provide. (For example, displaying competition winners and honourable mentions.)
We reserve the right to judge competition entries at our sole discretion, and will award the winning entry based on whatever criteria we think to be fair.
We reserve the right to exclude from competition, any entry that we feel goes against the spirit of the competition, or breaches one of our other conditions, like plagiarism.