Contest Rules

The Serbian Classics Short Story Contest accepts submissions of short stories about the lives of Serbian émigrés and their descendants in the worldwide Diaspora.  Stories may be in Serbian, English, or any other relevant language.  We welcome worldwide submissions, which for 2027 may be submitted from June 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026.

Authors retain all rights.

Entry Fee

There is no entry fee.

Submission Rules

All submissions must have a Serbian theme or characters. The author must be of Serbian descent, or the story must deal with members of the Serbian diaspora. 

All submissions must be the sole creative work of the submitting author.

Only stories that have never been published elsewhere are eligible.

Stories written with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence are in-eligible.

Each submission must be written as fiction, even if the events described have documentary sources.

The maximum word count is 5,000 words.

Multiple submissions by a single author will be accepted.

Simultaneous submissions (stories sent simultaneously to other contests or for publication) will be accepted.  Please notify us if your story is accepted for publication elsewhere before the end of the contest.

By entering the contest, the author grants Serbian Classics first publication rights if the story is selected for publication.

The author grants Serbian Classics the right to use the name and likeness of the author on its website, social media, and publicity.

Each submission must adhere to standard manuscript formatting: 12 point font, double spacing, 1” margins, indented paragraphs, and no blank lines between paragraphs.

Entries should be submitted in Word format.  Please do not paste your story into the body of the email.

In your cover email, please include the following information:

Title of Story

Email address

First Name, Last Name; Nom de plume (if applicable)

Mailing Address, Phone Number

75-word bio

Entries that fail to adhere to these rules will not be accepted.

Please use the Contact page to submit entries.

Deadline

December 31, 2026

Judging

Awards are based upon various criteria as well as the judges’ decisions are final. Judges do not provide written reviews of the short stories that are entered.

Prizes:

First Prize: $500

Second Prize: $250

Third Prize: $100
Thematic Prize (best short story about a mixed marriage):  $150
Honorable Mention: $50

Winning entries will be published in
Stories from the Serbian Diaspora—2027.

Editorial Board

Slavisa Stepanovich
Milo Yelesiyevich
Violeta Dimitrijević

Please use the Contact page to submit entries

Website:  www.serbianclassics.com