Have a fresh, exciting story that’s longer than a flash fiction piece, but shorter than a long short story? A story that weighs in at 1,500 words or less? If so, then you might want to kick off the new year by polishing it until it sparkles — and consider entering it in the Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Competition. The early bird deadline: January 14, 2019.

The winning entries will all be featured in the upcoming Annual Writer’s Digest Competition Collection. In addition:

The First Place Winner will receive: $3,000 in cash and have his/her short story title published in Writer’s Digest magazine. The winner will also receive a paid trip to the upcoming Writer’s Digest Conference, along with helpful writing resources.

The Second Place Winner will receive: $1,500 in cash and have his/her short story title published in Writer’s Digest magazine.

The Third Place Winner will receive: $500 in cash and have his/her short title published in Writer’s Digest magazine.

Your entry must be original, in English, unpublished, not accepted by any other publisher at the time of submission. Any piece posted online, anywhere other than a personal blog, is considered published. Writer’s Digest retains one-time nonexclusive rights to the stories.

If you submit, be sure to double-check your word count. Any stories over 1500 words will be disqualified. When you enter your story, type the exact word count (every single word, except the title and contact information) at the top of the manuscript.

For more information, visit: http://www.writersdigest.com/writers-digest-competitions/short-short-story-competition. And write on!