or ‘A Tenuous Grip on Reality’

– Submissions have now closed –

Following the success of our previous publication – Dark and Light – a collection of submitted short stories, we have decided to create another publication along the same idea, only this time the theme or title is ‘Hamster Stories for Adults’ or ‘A tenuous Grip on Reality’. (If Shakespeare can use double titles so can we). And why hamsters I hear you ask? Well, because they’re cute and sometimes bite. What started as a joke has turned into an idea with legs (sorry).

Submission details

• No entry fee
• Short story writing
• 3,000 words maximum
• Microsoft Word format

Timescale

We’ve revised the deadline for this so that more people can get their story in to us.

• 1 January 2024 – submissions open
• 5 April 2024 – submissions close
• 1 May 2024 – publication
• Shortlisted and selected entries will be notified ASAP

Theme

We’re looking for any short story that has a direct or indeed tenuous link to hamsters, something humorous, emotional, dark or just plain silly. Go for it!

Prizes

First, second and third prize winners can choose from the the following:

• Book cover design
• Development edit of 3,000 words
• Copy-edit of 3,000 words
• Proofread of 3,000 words
• Mentoring session for 3,000 words