Announcing the 2025 Desperate Literature Prize for Short Fiction

Judged by Mariana Enríquez, Henry Hoke, and Ottessa Moshfegh

Hello all! We're Desperate Literature - an independent bookshop nestled in the heart of Madrid. We're delighted to announce the launch of the 2025 Desperate Literature Prize for Short Fiction, which will be accepting submissions through April 13th.

Our 2025 Jury is, we think, one of our best yet:

Mariana Enríquez, Henry Hoke, and Ottessa Moshfegh

First Prize:

• €2000

• A week’s residency at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation

• A manuscript assessment with The Literary Consultancy

• Meeting with literary agent Ed Wilson from The Literary Consultancy

Other prizes include: 

• €1000 (two prizes available)

• Publication in a limited edition book made by ourselves and launched at the Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize Salon, Madrid

• Publication with one of our partner journals: Helter Skelter, The London Magazine, Prototype, Tenement, Gorse, Kill Your Darlings, Minor Literature[s].

• Participation in Desperate Literature Prize Salons in Madrid and at Burley Fisher, London.

• Will be invited to participate in the European Writers Salon in Brussels (EU writers only)

• Will be offered a 10-day stay in our in-house residency, Madrid. The residency includes a travel stipend of 100€.

Entry fees:

• €20 for the first entry

• €10 for every further entry (max. of five entries per person)

Entrants will retain copyright of their work. However, in submitting work, authors give permission to Desperate Literature to publicize and promote the work if appropriate and to use author names and story titles in publicity.

Submission guidelines, sponsored entries, and more at https://desperateliterature.com/prize/ !

About Desperate Literature:

Desperate Literature is an international bookshop in the heart of Madrid, founded in 2014. We sell books in English, French, and Spanish, working to build a literary community around and through these literatures. We run weekly events with authors from around the world, and in 2019 hosted Spain’s first English-language poetry festival. We are currently in the process of relocating to Calle de la Cava Baja 8 after being forced out of our previous premises, with the move set for April 2025

We first launched the Desperate Literature Prize for Short Fiction Prize in 2017.

We’re open every day 11h – 14h30 & 16h – 21h. You can contact us by email or on social media. Better yet, stop by the shop and say hi or give us a call at +34 911 88 80 89.

We sell books. Real books. Desperate ones. Paper and glue.