Cozy Mystery/Amateur Sleuth
Short Story Contest
And You Press announces our tenth (!!) short story contest.
The winners of this contest will be published in an upcoming anthology to be released in Fall 2026. Please see below for the prompt and rules for submission.
Edited by Courtney Umphress
In this cozy mystery anthology, small-town charm meets corruption, and justice is served by the most unlikely person.
When a crime—murder, arson, kidnapping, theft, fraud, etc.—rocks a small, close-knit community, an amateur sleuth must set out to uncover the truth.
This sleuth can be anyone in the community, and they’ll use their unique interests, skills, and perspective to piece together clues, solve the mystery, and return the town to its former charm.
Rules
Deadline to submit: June 30, 2026
No prior publishing experience necessary. However, please submit as close to ready-to-pub as possible. If chosen for publication, edits will be performed as needed, but please don’t submit your first draft.
Open internationally to writers 18 and older
Specs
Word Count: 3,500 to 10,000
Target audience: age 18+
Limited cursing and gory descriptions
No graphic content or sexual assault or sexual abuse; all violence should occur off the page.
Characters and towns featured in previously developed series are welcome, but the stories must be able to stand on their own.
Submission fee: $10 per story
You CAN submit more than one story, but only one will appear in the anthology.
All who submit will receive feedback from professional editor(s).
Stories written using AI or suspected of being written using AI will be rejected.
Why am I paying a fee?
This is small business, and your fee will go toward the cover design, publication, and marketing of these anthologies. To show our appreciation, you will receive professional feedback on your submission, even if you are not selected for the anthology.
Other FAQs (Updated 3/27/26)
Do you have a short story or novella but it doesn’t quite work for this anthology’s theme? Don’t forget that Attic Ebooks is open to submissions right now! Check it out!