Entry Deadline:
Friday, May 09, 2025

Welcome, writers! If you need assistance uploading your file or have any other questions about the contest, please contact us at shortstory@paweekly.com.

Contest Rules & Guidelines

Entry Requirements

• One submission per writer
• Stories must be 2,500 words or fewer
• Adult entry fee is $20; Young Adult and Teen entry fee is $10
• Entries must be original and unpublished
• AI assistance is not permitted. Writers are responsible for the integrity of their submissions and may be disqualified if AI tools are used

Format Requirements

• Submit stories as PDFs that include:
  
  • A title
  • Page numbers
  • Double-spaced text
  • 12-point Times New Roman font
• Do not include:
  
  • Author's name (all stories are judged anonymously)
  • Artwork

Eligibility Criteria

• The contest is open to anyone who lives, works or attends school in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton, Redwood City, Stanford, Portola Valley, Woodside, Mountain View, Los Altos, or Los Altos Hills
• Children under age 12 may enter the contest and will be judged in the Teen category
• High schoolers who are 18 may enter either the Young Adult or Adult category

Prizes

Note: All fields are required

Name

Email Address

Address

City

Zip

Phone Number

School or Work Location

(If your home address meets the eligibility criteria, you may skip this question by typing "n/a")

Story Title

Exact Word Count

Category

Teen (age 12-14)

Young Adult (age 15-17)

Adult (age 18+)

Upload Your Story

Accepted file type: PDF There is a 20MB total file size limit.
Please do not include your name or any identifying information on your submission. For assistance, please email shortstory@paweekly.com

Payment Information
$20 entry fee for Adult stories; $10 entry fee for Young Writers under 18

Your First Name

Your Last Name

Address

City

State

Zip

Credit Card Number

CVV Number

Month January February March April May June July August September October November December

Year 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041 2042 2043 2044 2045

By checking this box, I verify that this story is my original work and I received no assistance writing it. It complies with all the rules above and does not contain any machine-generated text. I understand the Palo Alto Weekly reserves first publishing and online rights to winning entries. Judges' decisions are final. Palo Alto Weekly employees, freelancers and their immediate relatives are not eligible to win.

Submit