Historical & Mythological Short Fiction
World History Encyclopedia's international historical and mythological short story contest
At World History Encyclopedia, we've enjoyed reading all 404 adult and 107 youth submissions this year! Each story was read by at least two reviewers from World History Encyclopedia. It's a delight to read stories from all over the world inspired by such a range of history and mythology, and even those stories that did not make the longlist this time were read and enjoyed by the team.
Thank you to everyone who shared their creativity with us.
Jump to the Youth Prize longlist ↓
Listed in no particular order:
Crimson Trails – J Mildanoff
The Women of Margate Go Beneath the Earth to Converse with the Dead – Harriet Matthews
The Invention of Beer – Omnologos
Armed With Affection – Christine Collinson
The Deluge – Abaan Zaidi
The Shower – Janine Pietsch
Mercy From Wolves – Kathleen Mikos Mason
Bronze Petals – Paige Elliott
Confessions of a Shipwrecked Sailor – E V Wallace
The Indian and the Greek – Sanjeev Ghotge
But A Ribbon Round It – Denarii Peters
Echoes of Hunger and Hope – Lara Mennel
Destined to Lose – Jeff Meade
Encrusted – Michael Kowalczyk-Barker
The Last Lament of Orpheus – Phoebe Bush
Olympus Inc. – AJ Coates
Møya – Senthan Thomas Sivasangar
The Last Stand of the Goddesses – Amy Cantrill
Bane of Legions – Vijay Hare
Nilus, Savior of the people – Philina Becker
Eurylochus, Shepherd Once More – Margaret Spencer
In This Garden – Samantha Williams
Death Makes An Artist – Pax Europaea
A Husband's Favor – Lixin Foo
Michael and the Bear – Achim Hanne
The Visitor – Amrita Dhillon
The Letters of Mathieu Telier – E. E. Skinner
Awakening of the Bagh – Maryam Zahid
No Place Like Home – Jaime Gill
The Wendigo Tale – Mark Willis
Shining Light – Richard Garcka
Shrouded Thebes – Loïs Raoult-Sambourg
Thankful – Hilary Smith
Unniyarcha's Victory – K. E. Priyamvada
The Walls of Roxburgh Castle – Brian Lowrey
The Night of Victory – Alistair Nash
The Air Raid – Paul Whittington
Dust and Letters – Annabelle McGrane
A Silent Meal of Forgiveness – Kaylee Gabriel
Fable – Sarveen
How the Brisingamen Came to Midgard – Gregory Amato
The Protective Circle – Joeyta Dutta
A Daughter of France – Freda Lynne Quarrell
The Twilight of the Tuatha Dé Danann – Kyenna Jensen
A Man’s World – Bethany Royle
Becchino – Matthew Ewan Thomas
The Curse of Silence – Charlotte Hall
Perun's Retribution – Patrick Crawford
The Anchor – Monique Hayes
Moon and stars – Tabitha Parrish
King Minos And The Daughters of King Cocalus – Thomas Malloch
Letter To Home – RJ Balzer
Ladies Who Wait – Nancy Edwards
Mictlantecuhtli – Emma Boxer
Fidelity – Morna Sullivan
The Monk, The Abbot, The Emperor – C. J. Thomas
Havens – Joanne W. Kline
Gord Afarid – Faezeh Nadimi
Zannanza – Anna McHugh
A Cataclysmic Folly – James D. Best
The Price of Gold – Sanya Dimova
Derailing Leon – William Leonard
The Diary – Matt Roberts
Rabbit's Foot – David Mathews
Where Hyacinth Blooms Unbidden – Trais Pearson, PhD
Strangers in a Strange Land – Alyson Serena Stone
An Enthusiastic Rage – Chris Hudson
Scales of Justice and Retribution – Aliya Drake
Roric's Bridge – Garth Pettersen
Above the Eastern Sea – Stephany Zoo
Bubblegum's Brief Foray into the Black Market – Katie Thorn
The Night When Mau Came Home – T. Mak
Marcus Tullius Cicero my first trial – Simona Rotella
Crab Village – Otancia Noel
Bog Child – Mairi McCurdy
Federico – Joao Costa
Rules of Engagement – Wally Smith
Irk Bitig – DW Draffin
Love-Back – Anna Agaronyan
A stained-glass heart – Julio San Román Cazorla
Sugar and Milk – Aditya Iyengar
A Bird’s Conscience – Wilson Knoll
A Perfect Art – Sarah Stook
The Silk Shoes – Julie Dron
The Last Song of Alexandria – Chinmay Khare
The Neophyte – Jonathan Smith
God of the Gallows – Jonathan McCallum
Drawing a Veil With Brooms – Anne Meale
Vienna, 1529 A.D., The Siege, and Turkish Soup – Charles Havens
Descendant – Rachel Atkins
Lamentations – Rebecca Hurst
A Mountain God's Dilemma – Paul Burdick
The Forgotten Song of Muthiwa – Black Author KPM
The Tale of Cwenhild – Matthew Llewelyn
Letters to Jane – Ella Cave
The Sleeping Beau – Katelin Tebbutt
Outlaw – Kayleigh Hunter
The sound of salt – Will Reardon
Calamachus – Peter Hajinian
Tides of War – Tracy Bradford
Medusa's lair – James Robert Clark
In the Name of Crow – Rick Duffy
The Bones – Amy Luxton
Ossuary, Sanctuary – Juliette Jarabek
The Miracle Thief – K. S. Dearsley
Sir Gawain and the Green Rhizome – Luca Scala
Home Front – Carolyn Owen
The Naiad – C S Firestone
To End a Nightmare – Miriam Culy
The Brave Solider – Archie Macpherson
This is the End of the World – Rhianna K. Clary
My Eureka Moment – Jane Jennings
The Salamander of London – Peter Hankins
The Red Painted Chamber – Zane Peterkovic
For entrants aged 13 to 17. At World History Encyclopedia, we've enjoyed reading all 107 youth submissions this year! Each story was read by at least two reviewers from World History Encyclopedia. It's a delight to read stories from all over the world inspired by such a range of history and mythology, and even those stories that did not make the longlist this time were read and enjoyed by the team.
Thank you to everyone who shared their creativity with us!
Jump to the adult prize longlist ↑
Listed in no particular order:
Homemaker – Bella Majam
Salem's Child – Anika Fairlie
Mora – Valerie Golebiewska
The Land We Dream Of – Tatiana Randjelovic
The Greatest Sin – Leah Rose Whitwham
Phraya Thaen, the Rain God’s Revenge – Saffron Martens
To Forget – Sophia Campbell
Red Squares and Unanswered Prayers – Justin Qin
The Daughter of Achilles and Her Final Fate – Elizabeth Daine
The Broken Rope – Tabitha Jorimann
Maidens, Men and Raging Seas – Prisha Roy Mahapatra
Our Worlds Align – Saleha
The Spinster – SomyaBride of the Mediterranean – Maya Ashoub
Wedding Flowers – Emily Peters
The Tortured Artist – Iris
When Going Green Goes Wrong – Olivia Tyrrell
How The Iliad Was First Written Down – Madeline Male
The Weaver – Jenna Davis
The Daughter of the Sun – Gautham Chunduri
A Dangerous Deal – Anastasia Currie
Follow Me Into The Dark – Vienna
The Creation of Us – Allison Arnett
Undying Flames – Zara Rowlatt
The People of Clay – C L
The Magic Of A Myth – Yau
The Sound of a Laugh – Sophia Reis
The Secret of the Louvre – Kayla Williams
Sweet Venom – R. M. Ahmed
Paris: The Final Gamble – Tan
Flickering Flames – Nhat Tran
The Defeat of the Emperor – Cassandra Hughes
Shattered Souls, Eternal Light – Faaris Jamali
From Merchant to Mathematician – Cameron Mostofi