The Tough Guy Book Club Short Story Competition is open to attending members of Tough Guy Book Club.
All entries must be original work, written by the entrant, and must not infringe on the rights of any other person.
By submitting, you confirm that your story is your own, that it has not been previously published or awarded elsewhere, and that you hold full rights to the work.
Stories must be written in English and have a word limit of between 3,000 and 5,000 words.
Each person may submit only one entry, and it must be submitted as a .doc or .docx by the closing date of the 31st of October.
Late, incomplete, or incorrectly formatted submissions may not be accepted.
There is no entry fee.
Entries will be read by a judging panel chosen by Tough Guy Book Club.
The judges’ decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into about the outcome.
Winners will be notified by email and announced on official TGBC channels.
Details of the prizes will be set out in the competition announcement.
Prizes are not transferable and no cash alternatives are available.
By entering, you grant Tough Guy Book Club a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to publish, reproduce, distribute, and communicate your story in print, online, or in other media formats connected with the competition.
We may also use your work, in part or full, to promote the competition and related activities.
Copyright remains with you, the author, at all times.
If your story is published or showcased by TGBC, we ask that any future publication acknowledges its first appearance in the Tough Guy Book Club Short Story Competition.
Winning and shortlisted stories may appear in print or digital anthologies, on the TGBC website, or in promotional material.
Apart from corrections to spelling, grammar, or formatting, we will not alter your text without your consent.
All entries must be created entirely by the entrant without the assistance of artificial intelligence tools, including but not limited to AI text generators, editing software that produces substantial rewrites, or automated story creation platforms.
Stories found to contain AI-generated content, in whole or in part, will be disqualified and because it will be seen as lying to and betraying the club we will call you names until you die.
Entries that break these rules, contain offensive or plagiarised material, or fail to meet the requirements may be disqualified.
Tough Guy Book Club is not responsible for technical issues, lost or late entries, or any problems outside of our control.
Entrants are responsible for making sure they hold the rights to everything included in their submission.
By submitting a story and ticking this box, you agree to these terms and conditions.
Tough Guy Book Club reserves the right to amend the competition or these terms at any time without notice.