Ink of Ages Update #9 📢 Submissions are open!

Welcome to the 9th issue of the Ink of Ages Update by me, Joanne Taylor, with a focus on writing, reading, and well ... more writing. Thanks for being here! If this email was forwarded to you, you can sign up here.

28 July 2025

Hello, writer

Submissions for the Ink of Ages Fiction Prize 2026 are now open! For your chance to win US $1,000 cash prize, custom artwork by our in-house cartographer and graphic designer Simeon Netchev, and other history-themed goodies, submit a short piece of historical or mythology-inspired fiction before 29 August 2025. It's free to enter and we accept submissions in English from anywhere in the world.

Entrants 18 and over, submit a story 1,500 to 2,000 words.

For entrants aged 13 to 17, submit a story 800 to 1,000 words.

Show me the rules →

Here's what some of our previous winners have to say about entering Ink of Ages:

"Just do it – what do you have to lose? The best thing is that someone will read your work, and you might even get some feedback, which is more than most literary magazines will do for writers." Read Anna McHugh's full interview →

"Treat it not like a contest but an opportunity! It was fascinating to learn more about my chosen topic, and even more so to read the stories that my fellow entrants had put forward." Read Senthan Thomas Sivasangar's full interview →

"I would urge anyone to consider always what they wish their story to be about. A long diatribe about the Court of Henry VIII might be historically accurate and immaculately crafted, but what is its message?" Read Richard Garcka's full interview →

We're also very excited to welcome our volunteer submission readers who are generously sharing their time and expertise with us this year! Would you like to join us if you're not entering a story this year? Our internship place has been filled but we have a few places left for volunteer submission readers:

Read and rate short stories with us during September and October. It's 1-2 hours per week and fully remote, with expert guidance and optional team discussions. (Apply before 31 July.)

Check details and apply →

We've had reports of some browsers having problems with cookies and getting an error message when visiting the Ink of Ages website. Clearing site cookies seems to do the trick in most cases, but we're currently working on moving the whole website over to a new site provider as a permanent fix. I'm sorry if you've had any problems accessing the site!

Best wishes,

Joanne Taylor

Proofreader & Editor

World History Encyclopedia

https://fiction.worldhistory.org/

PS. Thank you to everyone who sent in a writing craft question last email! They were fun to answer with my fiction editor hat on 🎩

Ink of Ages Fiction Prize is run by World History Encyclopedia and generously sponsored by Oxford University Press.