I am excited to serve as a volunteer judge for the 2026 History Through Fiction Short Story Contest, a competition dedicated to short historical narratives from emerging and established writers. Subs open June 15 – August 15.

The contest will open for submissions on 15 June 2026, with entries accepted via Duosuma and Submittable. Writers are invited to explore historical moments through fiction, with emphasis on voice, authenticity, and narrative craft.

Visit the History Through Fiction official competition page for competition details as well as Duosuma and Submittable submissions links.

Contests such as this continue to offer space for emerging voices in historical fiction. For writers, they are less about competition and more about conversation—between past and present, fact and imagination.

I look forward to reading the range of interpretations this year will bring—those quiet, bold, strange, and carefully constructed attempts to translate history into story as well as providing feedback alongside a panel of prestigious judges.

Good luck to all entrants and, most of all, enjoy writing your story: it will show!

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Historical fiction, at its best, does not only carry the weight of the past. It also allows for unexpected tonalities—irony, wit, even humour—threads that keep history human as I showed in How Humor Finds a Voice in Historical Fiction which I previously wrote for History Through Fiction.