Fiction

Prize

2021

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This Prize has now closed.

First Prize

The Rollick Magazine Fiction Prize is valued at $1,000 and is awarded for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000–6,000 words).

Rollick’s mandate is to attract cutting-edge, quality stories that inspire real engagement. We will consider work that express unique and original thought. Ideally, we want you to share stories that let us explore the world through your eyes. 

Stories Worth Telling. Rollick.

Entry Criteria

The Prize is open to writers of any nationality writing in English aged 16 and over at the time of the closing date.

Entries must be entirely your own work. Any evidence to the contrary will result in immediate disqualification.

Entries must not have been published, self-published, published on any website, blog or online forum, broadcast, have won or been placed (2nd, 3rd, runner up etc) in any other competition.

If your entry has been long-listed or shortlisted in other competitions, and provided it has not won a prize or been published, it is eligible.

Simultaneous submissions are allowed but will become ineligible should they win a prize elsewhere or be published prior to the date of prize giving. Entry fees will not be refunded.

You must inform us immediately should your entry be published or win a prize elsewhere.

Entries submitted posthumously are not eligible.

You can send in a range of writing that aligns to the broader category of fiction: Short stories, poetry, memoirs, confessionals, experimental writing, and anything else in between.

  1. All entries must be received by midday EAST on 31 December 2021.
  2. The competition is open to anyone aged 16 years and over.
  3. Entries will be accepted from anywhere in the world.
  4. Stories must be a minimum of 2,000 words, but no more than 6,000 words.
  5. Stories must be written in English.
  6. Stories must be typed, double-spaced, and in a readable, 12 point font.
  7. Stories must not have been published, self-published, published on a website, broadcast or featured amongst the winners in another competition.

To understand more about how we work, please see our FAQs.

We accept simultaneous entries, meaning that your work can be offered elsewhere during the judging of the Rollick Prize.

However, if any entry is selected for our longlist, the entrant will have 24 hours to decide if they wish to withdraw their story or remain in contention for the Rollick Prize.

In order to be eligible to progress to our shortlist, all works must remain exclusive to the Rollick Prize.  

Fiction

One

I can feel the evening sun, warm on my face, but the chill of the wind coaxes me to pull my coat tighter around me. 

Hurricane

hurricane Syllables [hur-i-keyn, huhr– or, esp. British, -kuh n] –noun After a couple weeks sentence of staying in some foreign place with trees, she came back home and Miami

Ride the Peter Pan

There were times when it seemed like all the beauty was sucked out of my life. This was one of them. It was cold and

Treading The Fire

maybe beauty will remain an abstract dirge; a mantra to be ruminated over like a submerged leek becoming tender in warm water. as it seems

Upon Impact

In the bedroom they used to share, the real estate agent opens the blinds, letting in the mid- morning sun, then walks toward the desk

The Bricks are Shrieking

Cal Jacobs sat in an uncomfortable rolling chair made of plastic and polyester, staring out the tenth floor window of his high-rise.

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