NEXT DEADLINE: CLICK HERE for currently open themes and deadline date.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, IN SHORT:
- New fiction, i.e. unpublished (print/web/audio)
- Stories which are on-theme
- Anonymised (no name on the document)
- Word count: STRICTLY 800-2000
- Send to: [email protected]
For currently open themes & deadlines, click here.
Stories must be
1. Unpublished (in print or online), unbroadcast, and not a prizewinner in any previous competition.
2. Between 800-2000 words long.
3. Submitted to [email protected] by 11.59pm (UK time) of the deadline day for the theme in question. Deadlines and monthly themes can be found here.
4. Submitted as an MS Word (.doc, .docx) or .rtf document, ideally with 1.5 or double spacing. NO PDFs PLEASE.
5. Attached to an email which has the story title, the month of the event and the theme in the subject header: e.g. Love Story, February, He & She. Please put your name at the bottom of your email but NOT on your story, as we prefer to judge anonymously.
6. A prose short story. This means no poetry, no scripts, no non-fiction. We’ll look at novel extracts, but only if they work as stand-alone pieces.
7. ON-THEME. This means that there should be a traceable link to the theme, or that the theme should be invoked or interpreted as a central part of the story. Simply featuring a bar called "Duck & Dive" if that's the theme is not enough; but make your main character a dodgy dealer in stolen goods, and we'll be interested.
Writers must be
1. Willing to have their name and the text of their story up on this site if they win.
2. Willing to be paid for their work in kind. Unfortunately, Liars' League does not currently pay contributors in $ or £. However, if your story is chosen, you will benefit from the following:
- Publication of your story on this site: it will also be considered for future print anthologies published by our partners Arachne Press
- Free drinks all night (if you are able to attend the event). Teetotallers will be fed.
- A reading of your work by a professional actor (CLICK HERE to see a blog post on what that's like, written by five-time winning author Mike Clarke)
- An MP3 and a link to a YouTube video recording of the reading
- SUBMITTING FROM ABROAD? If you *cannot* attend the event, due to living abroad or some other obstacle, we will send you a free book to thank you for your contribution, as drinks are rather messy to post. You can choose your favourite title from our selection of four anthologies (one award-winning!), or any book by any of our authors.
IMPORTANT: By submitting your work to Liars' League you are giving us permission to add your email address to our mailing list - this means we can inform you of the winning stories and send updates, links to our latest stories, and competition and submission opportunities approximately monthly. If you want to be removed from our mailing list you can email us at any time with Unsubscribe in the subject line. We'll never share your data with anyone else - promise.
Submission of your work also gives us permission to upload the text and an audio and video recording of your story (if successful) onto our website, YouTube channel and podcast so that everyone can enjoy it. If this is an issue just email and we're happy to discuss.
And finally ...
1. Please submit no more than ONE story per theme. This is for reading-time reasons.
2. Please don’t resubmit any story we have previously rejected unless we ask you to, however much it has changed.
3. Please don’t be discouraged. We really want to see your work – so send it in! For some further thoughts on what works for the League see this article by Liars' League regular Niall Boyce