September 2026 Contest Submissions

Here's What I'm Looking For:

• Short stories,
• Flash fiction,
• Excerpts,
• Plays or scripts,
• Poetry,
• Comic books or webcomics,
• Essays on topics related to
  • "own voices" storytelling or
  • diverse representation in literature or the arts

Please note: Fanfiction is NOT accepted. Please submit original work only.

Submission Timeline

• Submissions Open: September 01, 2026
• Submissions Close: September 27, 2026
• Results Announced: Week of September 28, 2026

If I am ever late with the results announcement, I apologize. I have a baby at home, and I have several chronic conditions that I manage. If I'm ever delayed, there's a good chance it is due to one of these.

How to Submit

There are five ways to submit your work. Please pick the one that is most convenient for you. (Note: Neobook has periodic outages. If this is impacting you, I recommend submitting through one of the other options.)

• Via Email:
  • email your submission to contact.undergroundbookshelf@gmail.com
  • include the contest you are submitting to, the name you would like to be credited under, a brief bio, and your pronouns
• Via Neobook:
  • publish your completed work on Neobook
  • include the hashtag #flashfictionfun so that other participants can find and read your work
  • direct message the contest moderator (@LauraWrites), (include the contest you are submitting to, the name you would like to be credited under, and your pronouns)

• Via Booksie:
  • publish your completed work on Booksie
  • include the hashtag #flashfictionfun so that other participants can find and read your work
  • direct message the contest moderator (@LauraWrites), (include the contest you are submitting to, the name you would like to be credited under, and your pronouns)

• Via Wattpad:
  • publish your completed work on Wattpad
  • include the hashtag #flashfictionfun so that other participants can find and read your work
  • drop the link to your submission in the comment section of the appropriate chapter in the 2026 Writing Contests Book (or email me the link if you have difficulty posting the link: contact.undergroundbookshelf@gmail.com)
• Via Tapas:
  • publish your completed work on Tapas
  • visit the forums and toggle to events and challenges
  • select this month's contest from the list
  • follow the instructions to submit your work.
  • send me your bio, the name you would like to be credited, and your comic images or novel text separately (to contact.undergroundbookshelf@gmail.com) if you are among the winners.

Rules of Participation

• Be respectful of one another.
• Please no smut.
• Please submit work written in English or bilingual. For example, I've received some submissions written in Spanish and translated to English (or vice versa). I have released both as separate posts with links to the other post to read it in the other language.
• No AI generated stories.
• Your work must be complete at the time of submission.
• Winners: please include the name you would like to be credited under, your bio, pronouns, and content warnings (if applicable).
• Submissions should generally be under 2,000 words. I can be somewhat flexible on this, (up to around 3,000), but this allows me to make sure I have enough time to give every submission a fair shot.

Quick Notes

• You retain all the rights to the stories you submit to these contests. If your work is featured on this platform, you are still able to publish it in other formats (just be sure to check the submission/publishing rules for other platforms, publishers, etc.).
• Winners have the option to have their work featured on Underground Bookshelf. Please make sure I have the name you would like to be credited under, bio, pronouns, and content warnings (if applicable) so that I can assemble your feature.