Short story length: 3000 to 5000 words.

Submission method: Please email your submission as a Word document or PDF attachment to theaprilcentaurprize@gmail.com. Include a five-line bio in the body of the email. Only previously unpublished works would be reviewed and considered.

Multiple submissions: We only accept one submission per person, so send in your best work.

Run-time: The contest starts May 1st and ends July 1st. The shortlist will be released in mid-October, and the winners will be awarded on November 1st.

Response: We aim to start responding by mid-August. If you do not get a response after this month, you can ask for an inquiry under the email containing your submission.

Revision: When you make it to the longlist, you will receive short directions on what to improve in your work. Please be ready to work through the revisions recommended by our editors. They help us maintain a gemstone quality.

Benefits: The structure and share of the prize money will involve two selections picked by the judges from the shortlist and two others selected for the number of comments under their work. The judges’ selection would each earn $1000 and $500. The stories with the highest comments will each earn $300 and $200 respectively. However, from the fifteen shortlisted writers, six will be selected to work on an anthology together, with contracted pay, and an opportunity to earn lifetime royalties.

Rights: We ask for the first serial rights of shortlisted stories. Rights revert to you after publication. If you reprint your work elsewhere, we ask that you acknowledge us as the first publisher.

Age limit: All participants must be between 16 and 30 years old. This is because of our focus on growth and will to move forward continually with the artists we encounter.

Restrictions: There are no restrictions involving thematic expressions. Write any story that makes you glisten with joy at the genius of your work. Feel free to break genre restrictions as you wish. We appreciate fluidity as much as we value ingenuity.

Good luck, we wish you our best.