Submission Guidelines

2026 Submission Guidelines:

1. Stories must be submitted in English only
2. Stories must not have previously won any other short fiction competition
3. Stories cannot exceed 7,500 words in length
4. Submissions must be formatted in Times New Roman (12-point font size), double-spaced and following standard margins
5. Authors can submit multiple entries. Each entry must be submitted individually, and each entry is subject to the $20 entry fee
6. Entry deadline is January 26, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. (MST). Entrees submitted after the deadline will be disqualified
    

The Bridge Prize reserves the right to disqualify entries that do not meet the above criteria. Stories previously published in print or online are considered ineligible.

The authors advancing to the Short List will have their student status as of the Jan. 26, 2026 entry deadline verified prior to advancing their stories to the Main Jury for final adjudication.

Authors are encouraged to review their submissions carefully to correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes prior to submitting their story. Stories are evaluated on their merit and authors should strive to remove any errors that will distract from the reading experience of the jurors.