Time-Travel Short Story Competition

THE WINNER OF THE TIME-TRAVEL SHORT STORY COMPETITION IS:

STARS AND SERPENTS BY BRANDON KEATON

The quality of the submitted stories was high, and the selection of a winner was very difficult. The following stories deserve special mention:

  • The Locket by A.J. Halpem
  • From Within These Familiar Walls by Rob Nisbet
  • By Choice by Stephanie Baker
  • The Observer Effect by Tim Collyer
  • By Choice by Stephanie Baker
  • Angie by Bridgette Portman
  • The Palm Reader by Cleve Lamison
  • Birthday Party by Lynette Huntley

What happens now??

Sunlight Books will contact all entrants over the next few weeks with feedback on their stories, with some authors being offered the opportunity to have their stories published in a time-travel anthology.

Thank you for your submissions. Sunlight Books hopes to read more of your stories in our future competitions.



ORIGINAL COMPETITION INFORMATION:

Do you have a story trapped in time, waiting to be told?

Sunlight Books invites writers from around the world to embark on a literary journey through time itself. Whether your tale bends the past, warps the present, or reshapes the future, we want to read it.

With £500 in prize money and the opportunity to be published in our exclusive Time Travel Anthology, this is your chance to write history—literally!

  • Deadline: 30 June 2025
  • Entry Fee: £18
  • First Prize: £500

Think you can master the paradoxes of time? Enter today and let your imagination defy the limits of the universe!


Competition Overview

  • This is a short story competition focused on time travel
  • Stories must fit within one of these two time-travel models:
    • Fixed timeline (events cannot be changed)
    • Changeable past affecting the future
    • Parallel universes or alternate realities do not count as time travel for this competition.
  • Open to writers worldwide, aged 18 and over
  • Genre is open—science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, literary fiction, or anything in between!


Important Dates

  • Competition Opens: 1 March 2025
  • Final Entry Deadline: 30 June 2025 (12pm London Time)
  • Results Announced: 1 October 2025
  • Prizes Issued: by 31 October 2025


Submission Guidelines

  • Word Count: 1,000 – 8,000 words
  • Format:
    • File Type: .doc or .docx (MS Word)
    • Font: 12pt, Courier or Times New Roman
    • Spacing: Double-spaced, with first line of paragraph indents
    • Title Page: Only the story title and a 1-3 sentence synopsis (no author name)
    • Language: English only.


Entry Fee and Payment

  • The entry fee is £18 GBP per story
  • Payments must be completed before the Final Entry Deadline for the submission to be valid
  • Refunds are only granted in exceptional cases, and must be requested before 30 June 2025


Prizes and Recognition

  • 1st Place: £500 and featured in Sunlight Books’ Time-Travel Anthology
  • Highly Commended Stories may also be considered for publication


Rules and Judging Criteria

  • Originality is key—entries must be 100% original and not generated by AI
  • Judging Breakdown:
    • 10% Formatting
    • 15% Spelling & Grammar
    • 25% Use of Time-Travel Concept
    • 50% Storytelling (Writing, Character & Plot Development)
  • Strict anonymity—your name must not appear anywhere in the document
  • Stories published elsewhere are NOT eligible until after the competition exclusivity period (30 days post-results)


Official Rules

You can download the full Official Rules here


Ready to Enter?

ENTRIES ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTED