We invite writers to submit to the 2026 Uncharted Reprint Prize from September 01 to September 30, 2026.

We want to celebrate the stories that may have gotten lost in the shuffle, or are stuck in the limbo of shuttered literary magazines! We know that excellent and exciting stories are published every day, but no one can keep up with them all. This contest is an opportunity for these stories to reach new readers and to live on in excellence on our website. We want to bring light to those lost pieces—the stories that you love but feel are no longer receiving the attention or recognition they deserve.

This award is for all of our genres: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller/Mystery/Horror, Young Adult, and Dystopian.

The Uncharted team of readers and editors will choose the three winning stories from our shortlist. We’re excited to offer the first-place winner of this contest $1,000 and publication, while the second- and third-place winners will receive publication and $300 and $200, respectively.

GUIDELINES

• The deadline for entry is September 30, 2026. We will announce the shortlist within 12–14 weeks of the contest’s close. All writers will be notified when the results are in.
• Your $20 reading fee allows ONE short story or novel excerpt of 1,001–5,000 words per entry.
• We encourage multiple submissions—each story should be a separate submission accompanied by a reading fee.
• Writers from historically marginalized groups can submit for free until we reach our cap of twenty-five free submissions. No additional fee waivers will be granted.
• Please submit short stories or novel excerpts—5,000 word count maximum.
• We only consider unpublished work for contests—we do not review reprints, including self-published work (even on blogs and social media). Reprints will be automatically disqualified.
• Simultaneous submissions are okay—please notify us immediately and withdraw your entry if you find another home for your writing.
• All entries will also be considered for publication in Uncharted.
• Double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12 (or larger if needed).
• Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history (if applicable).
• Please include a content warning to help safeguard our staff (if applicable).
• We only read work in English, though some code-switching/meshing is warmly welcomed.
• We do not read anonymous submissions. However, shortlisted stories are sent anonymously to the judge.
• Work generated by AI will be automatically disqualified.

Some Submittable Hot Tips:

• Please be sure to whitelist/add to contacts this email address so notifications do not get filtered as spam/junk: notifications@email.submittable.com.
• If you realize you sent the wrong version of your piece: It happens. Please DO NOT withdraw the piece and resubmit. Submittable collects a nonrefundable fee each time. Please DO message us from within the submission to request that we open the entry for editing, which will allow you to fix everything from typos in your cover letter to uploading a new draft. The only time we will not allow a change is if the piece is already under review by a reader.

OPTIONAL FEEDBACK ON YOUR WRITING

You may choose to receive editorial feedback on your piece. We will provide two-page global letters discussing the strengths of the writing and the recommended focus for revision. Our aim is to make our comments actionable and encouraging. These letters are written by editors and staff readers of Uncharted. A significant portion of the editorial letter fees goes to our feedback editor. Should your story win, no feedback will be offered, and your fee will be refunded.