Fiction | The Adrift Short Story Competition

Timeline

• Submissions will be open from March 1st to July 15th.
• Stories are considered by Driftwood editing staff (no outside readers); guest judge reads finalists.
• Throughout the process, readers will be notified if their story is passed on or reaches the finalist pool. This often results in a quicker response than other contests, where writers often have to wait until everything has been decided.
• The winner will be announced in November 2026.
• The winning short story will be published in the 2028 anthology.

Guidelines

• Fiction only.
• 1,000-6,000 word limit.
• A standard, 12-point font is preferred. 
• The work must not have been previously published.
• Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please update your submission to "withdrawn" within Submittable if your work is accepted elsewhere.
• Submit works written in English only, no translations.
• Please submit your manuscript in a .doc, .docx, or PDF format.
• We read submissions blind, so please do not include your name, email, or any identifying characteristics on the manuscript itself.
• Submission fee is $30.00 USD. Each submitter will receive a free copy of a Driftwood Press fiction title of their choosing in the mail. 

Awards

• The winner will receive $500 dollars and five copies of the anthology in which the story appears. The winner will also have the opportunity to be interviewed about their work; the interview will be published alongside the story.
• If a runner-up is chosen, their work will be offered publication, an accompanying interview, $200, and five copies of the issue in which their work appears.       ​

Guest Judge  Beth Nguyen is the author of the memoirs Owner of a Lonely Heart and Stealing Buddha’s Dinner, and the novels Short Girls and Pioneer Girl. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and an American Book Award, and her work has appeared in publications including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Time, and Best American Essays. Nguyen is a professor of creative writing at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.