Rules & FAQ · The Quarry Press

The short version of how every contest works. The binding version is the Terms of Entry; how we look after your details is in Privacy.

The beta

Until the first contest opens January 1, 2027, a short beta round runs every week, on the same rules as the real contest.

It's free. Checkout is in Stripe's test mode: pay with card 4242 4242 4242 4242, any future date and any CVC. Nothing is charged, and a real card won't work.
Beta rounds pay no prize. Winners and runners-up are still published in that week's issue.
Jonathan reads every story and picks the winners. Feedback isn't promised in the beta; from the first real contest, every entry gets written feedback.
Jonathan enters some of his own stories, openly and under his own name, so every round has a few entries. They go through every step, but they never place.
Beta credits end when the beta does. Everyone who entered a beta round gets one free entry into the first real contest.

The rules

Open to residents of the United States, 18 or older.
Each contest sets its own terms: how many entry credits it takes, its word limit, file types, prize, how many stories it takes, and its dates. You'll find them on the contest's page, on Enter, as soon as it's announced.
A story file can be up to 2 MB. A story's text needs far less than that: a 1,000-word Word file or PDF is usually under half a megabyte. A bigger file almost always has images or scanned pages in it, so upload a text version instead.
$15 buys one entry credit, usable in any contest; most contests take one credit, and a contest that takes more says so before you enter.
One story per entry. Enter as many times as you like. Entry credits never expire.
Your story must be your own work, in your own words, and not published anywhere before, including on a blog or social media.
Each contest's word limit is a hard limit. The title doesn't count. The count the upload page shows is the official one: it counts anything between spaces as a word, so it may differ a little from Word or Google Docs.
Leave your name off the file: no byline, header or footer with it. Judging is blind, and each story is read only by its entry number. An entry that includes your name is disqualified, and the credits it took are returned so you can enter again.
Fiction of any kind and any genre. Profanity, sex, violence and dark subjects are all fine.
Every deadline is in Eastern time.
Every story is read and judged by Jonathan. Claude, an AI assistant, also reads each entry to help him write feedback. Entries are never used to train AI models, and an AI never decides who wins.

How a contest runs

Coming soon. The contest is announced with its dates and terms. The prompt stays hidden.
Open. The prompt goes up, and you can enter until the deadline.
Closed. Jonathan reads every story.
Results. Every writer hears privately how their story placed, with written feedback on it.
Published. The winner and runners-up appear in the next issue, and their placings become public when it comes out.

Questions

Can I enter more than once?

Yes. Each story is its own entry, paid for with the contest's credits, and you can enter as many stories as you like in the same contest. Each one is read and gets its own feedback.

Can I send my story somewhere else at the same time?

Yes, simultaneous submissions are welcome.

What if my story is accepted elsewhere?

Congratulations. Tell us before results come out, and we'll withdraw your entry. The credit isn't returned, because the reading has already begun. A story that's already been published, anywhere, can't be entered.

Can I use AI?

The story has to be your own words. Spelling and grammar tools are fine, and so is talking ideas through or getting feedback on a draft, from a person or an AI. What isn't allowed is prose an AI wrote or rewrote. When you upload, you'll confirm the story is your own words. It's an honor rule: we don't run AI detectors.

Can I write about anything?

Almost. Three things are out: sexual content involving minors; real private people portrayed in a way that defames or harasses them (public figures in obvious fiction or satire are fine); and fan fiction, so the world and characters must be your own. Everything else is up to you, and the judging is about the writing. We may decline to publish a story that places.

What if I make a mistake?

Honest mistakes happen, like leaving your name in the file or uploading the wrong one. Before a contest closes you can replace your file. If a mistake gets an entry disqualified, the credits it took come back so you can enter again, in the same contest too if it's still open. Breaking the rules on purpose is different: an entry with AI-written prose, a plagiarized story, one that was already published, or one entered under false eligibility is disqualified with no credit back, and we may refuse that writer's future entries. When in doubt, we treat it as an honest mistake.

Can I get a refund?

An unused credit can be refunded for 30 days after you buy it; just ask. Once you've used a credit on a story, you can still ask for a refund until that contest closes, and your story is withdrawn. After a contest closes, entries in it can't be refunded.

How is the prize worked out?

Each contest's page says what its prize is. It can be a fixed amount, a share of that contest's entry fees, or whichever of the two is greater. The entry fees are what writers paid for the credits spent on its entries. When the prize depends on the entries, it's worked out from the stories entered when the contest closes. The prize goes to the winner; runners-up are published alongside them.

How do prizes get paid?

By PayPal, or by Wise if PayPal doesn't work for you. We'll only ask for a tax form (a W-9) if your prizes from us in one year would reach the amount the IRS asks us to report.

What rights do I keep?

All of them, unless your story places. If you win or are a runner-up, you give us the right to publish your story first, online, and to keep it on the site and include it in our yearly anthology. For 90 days from the day the issue comes out, the story is ours alone to publish; after that you're free to publish it anywhere, and we ask that you credit it as first published in The Quarry Press. After those 90 days you can also ask us to take it off the site at any time. We'll ask you before your story goes in a printed anthology, and you can say no. If your story doesn't place, you give us nothing, and you're free the moment results are out. The details are in the Terms of Entry.

Can I use a pen name?

Yes, for your byline when we publish. Enter under your real name and email, though: we need them to pay a prize.

How do I contact you?

Email hello@thequarry.press. Jonathan reads every message.