Do you have a story trapped in time, waiting to be told?
Sunlight Books invites writers from around the world to embark on a literary journey through time itself. Whether your tale bends the past, warps the present, or reshapes the future, we want to read it.
With £500 in prize money and the opportunity to be published in our exclusive Time Travel Anthology, this is your chance to write history—literally!
- Deadline: 30 June 2025
- Entry Fee: £18
- First Prize: £500
Think you can master the paradoxes of time? Enter today and let your imagination defy the limits of the universe!
Competition Overview
- This is a short story competition focused on time travel
- Stories must fit within one of these two time-travel models:
- Fixed timeline (events cannot be changed)
- Changeable past affecting the future
- Parallel universes or alternate realities do not count as time travel for this competition.
- Open to writers worldwide, aged 18 and over
- Genre is open—science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, literary fiction, or anything in between!
Important Dates
- Competition Opens: 1 March 2025
- Final Entry Deadline: 30 June 2025 (12pm London Time)
- Results Announced: 1 October 2025
- Prizes Issued: by 31 October 2025
Submission Guidelines
- Word Count: 1,000 – 8,000 words
- Format:
- File Type: .doc or .docx (MS Word)
- Font: 12pt, Courier or Times New Roman
- Spacing: Double-spaced, with first line of paragraph indents
- Title Page: Only the story title and a 1-3 sentence synopsis (no author name)
- Language: English only.
Entry Fee and Payment
- The entry fee is £18 GBP per story
- Payments must be completed before the Final Entry Deadline for the submission to be valid
- Refunds are only granted in exceptional cases, and must be requested before 30 June 2025
Prizes and Recognition
- 1st Place: £500 and featured in Sunlight Books’ Time-Travel Anthology
- Highly Commended Stories may also be considered for publication
Rules and Judging Criteria
- Originality is key—entries must be 100% original and not generated by AI
- Judging Breakdown:
- 10% Formatting
- 15% Spelling & Grammar
- 25% Use of Time-Travel Concept
- 50% Storytelling (Writing, Character & Plot Development)
- Strict anonymity—your name must not appear anywhere in the document
- Stories published elsewhere are NOT eligible until after the competition exclusivity period (30 days post-results)
Official Rules
You can download the full Official Rules here
Ready to Enter?
Submit your best time-travel story before 30 June 2025 and be part of a timeless literary competition!
Questions? Please use the contact form
