The W.S. Porter Prize is awarded to recognize a masterfully written short story collection, while also honoring William Sydney Porter, a native born son of North Carolina and an accomplished short story writer who wrote under the pseudonym O. Henry.
Accepting submissions for the 2024 W. S. Porter Prize from September 1, 2024 – December 1, 2024.
We are delighted to introduce a guest judge for our 2024 W. S. Porter Prize: Heather Bell Adams
Heather Bell Adams will select a winner for the 2024 W.S. Porter Prize on February 15, 2025.
Winner Receives:
Book publication by Regal House Publishing in 2026/7 and $1000 prize
The Timeline
The editors at Regal House Publishing will announce their longlist on January 30, 2025, and our judge will select a winner on February 15, 2025.
Previous winners:
2023 Winner of the W. S. Porter Prize: Stephen Pett for This Impossible Vertical World
The 2022 W.S. Porter Prize winner: Robert Shapard for Bare Ana and Other Stories
The 2021 W.S. Porter Prize winner: Nina Schuyler for In this Ravishing World
The 2020 W.S. Porter Prize winnner: Lisa Cupolo for Have Mercy on Us
The 2019 W.S. Porter Prize winner: Louise Marburg for No Diving Allowed
Electronic Submissions
Submissions are invited only through Submittable. We do not have the staff capacity to read or respond to manuscripts that are submitted by fax or email.
*Submission fee: $25
*Please note that, without the submission fee, we would not be able to accept contest submissions, or to offer a $1000 prize to the winner. As Regal House Publishing is a small press with limited staff capacity, contest submission fees allow us to maintain sufficient editorial resources for careful review of each and every manuscript. We understand that submission fees can be difficult to accommodate, but rest assured that because of them, your submission will be carefully read, reviewed, and considered for this prize. Thank you for your understanding.
Eligibility:
Entrants must be at least 18 years of age.
Previously published and collaborative manuscripts are not eligible.
Employees and volunteers of Regal House Publishing, Pact Press, Fitzroy Books or The Regal House Initiative, their partners or spouses, their immediate families, or immediate family of the judge are not eligible.
Manuscript Format:
- Minimum of 100 pages, maximum of 350 pages.
- At least 11pt. font
- The entries will have a blind reading, so please do NOT include name, address and telephone number anywhere in the body of the manuscript. DO include it in the Submittable cover letter form.
- Do not send artwork or photographs.
- Paginate consecutively and include a table of contents
- Attach publications acknowledgments, if any.
- Please adhere strictly to contest dates. Neither late nor early manuscripts will be accepted.
- Contestants may submit the manuscript elsewhere simultaneously, but must notify Regal House Publishing immediately if a manuscript is accepted by another publisher.
- Once submitted, manuscripts cannot be altered. Winner will be given the opportunity to revise before publication.
- Contestants may submit more than one manuscript, but a separate entry fee and entry form must accompany each manuscript.
Answers to FAQs:
- The winner will be announced on February 15, 2025.
- The winning manuscript will be published in 2026/7 in hardcover, paperback and ebook editions.
