July 1-31, 2025
Fairfax County Public Library and the Fairfax Library Foundation invites school-age youth (grades 3-6), teens (grades 7-12) and adults (18+) to participate in our third annual "The World We Write" short story writing contest. Use one of the prompts to write a 250-word story.
Stories should be submitted online. Winners will be notified by August 22.
Writing Prompts
- It all started when he regifted his great-aunt's fruit cake.
- The kingdom was like a quilt.
- A singer finds inspiration in a surprising place.
- Green is the scariest color.
- She stepped into the ballot box for the first time, and saw...
Award
Three winners from each age group (grades 3rd - 6th, grades 7th-12th and adults) will receive a $25 gift card and a certificate signed by Eric Carzon, our Library Director, and Lisa Bryant, Executive Director for the Fairfax Library Foundation. We will feature these short stories on our website.
Rules and Guidelines
- Participants in 3rd-12th grade or adults who live, study or work in Fairfax County are eligible for the contest.
- One story per person is permitted.
- Stories must have a title.
- Stories cannot exceed 250 words and the font has to be Aptos, Times New Roman, Cambria or Calibri, font size 12, double-spaced.
- Stories must be uploaded as a PDF or Word document.
- Stories will be judged on:
- Creative Expression: Is your story original? Does it have an identifiable conflict? Does your story engage the reader?
- Storytelling: Is your story well organized? Does it have a strong sense of tone and theme?
- Technical Aspects: Do your word choices enhance the story? Is your sentence structure varied and purposeful?
- Stories should be submitted through our online submissions form.
Writers are not reimbursed for submittals.
Writers own the rights to their work.
Cosponsored by the Fairfax Library Foundation
