Superlative 2021
Issue 2 - Scapes
 

Superlative, The Short Story Literary Journal, was founded by Ross Turner in 2020. It is edited by Ross Turner, Gemma Mainwaring and Rachel Wollaston, and illustrated by Orlaith Stratford. 

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We publish quality work by emerging short story writers, in order to promote new, developing authors and the art of the short story to readers worldwide. We are delighted with every piece we publish, but our main aim is to nurture emerging talent and newly-established writers, to keep writing alive for future generations.

Our print journal is published annually, available each year from November.

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We also nominate our contributors (where applicable) for multiple awards and prizes.

Our judging process is completely anonymous.

PLEASE READ BACK ISSUES OF THE JOURNAL BEFORE SUBMITTING, TO GET A FEEL FOR THE TYPES OF PIECES WE PUBLISH.

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Submit to the journal here.

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Submit to a competition here.

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Submit a feature piece here.

SUBMISSIONS 01 Jan - 31 July

The theme for the 2022 edition of Superlative is:

FUTURES

Please think about the theme 'FUTURES' as widely as possible. Here are a few ideas, although by no means is this list exhaustive: your plots' and characters' futures, what your characters want in the future, potential future societies, utopias, dystopias, evolution, devolution, transhumanism, posthumanism, the future of fiction, the future of our planet, the future of our species, and, of course, science fiction!

Superlative is committed to being eco-friendly. We only print our journals sustainably, using recycled materials – we want to keep costs down for our readers, and for the planet, from our paper to our packaging. We work closely with eco-conscious printers to ensure that our journals are of the best quality and value, but also that they are made from and delivered in solely sustainable materials.

Contributors will receive a free copy of the Superlative issue in which they have been published.

In a bid to keep our journal affordable, our editors are unpaid and our fees only cover printing and postage costs. Additional money from subscriptions and competitions is reinvested into competition prize funds and we hope, in future, into paying Superlative contributors.​

Awards & Nominations

Faraaz Mahomed's short story Mockingbirds

Published in Superlative's 2020 'New Beginnings' Issue

Nominated for the AKO Caine Prize for African Writing

Liz Ainsbury's short story Dream

Published in Superlaitve's 2021 'Scapes' Issue

Nominated for the Pen America Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers