Historical & Mythological Short Fiction

Ink of Ages Fiction Prize

World History Encyclopedia's international historical and mythological short story contest

The 2025 Prize Longlist

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

The 2025 Youth Prize Longlist

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


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We're determined not to charge writers entry fees.

International

Open to entries in English from anywhere in the world.

Run by volunteers

A small but dedicated team of WHE staff, judges, and translators.