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Current activities

The WORTPALAST is a vibrant community of literary creators and lovers of literature. We work to foster a diverse and inspiring culture within the German literary landscape and beyond.

Categories

Choose one of the following five categories for your short story:

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Changing Borders

Explore the dynamics of personal, social or political boundaries: where do they blur? Where are they broken? Where are new ones created? We look for stories that question traditional limitations - be it in a geographical sense, in interpersonal relationships or in one's own identity. Queer perspectives that challenge social norms are particularly welcome. Show us boundaries that do not separate but connect.

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Invisible Spaces

Lead us into worlds that exist in secret - places, identities and experiences that rarely come into the public eye. We look for stories that make the invisible visible, that bring marginalized perspectives to life and give us insight into what we overlook in everyday life. Experiment with form and language to make the unseen tangible.

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Solidarity of The Future

What could a society look like in which we are truly there for each other? We are looking for speculative stories that explore new forms of coexistence and mutual support. Design utopias or dystopias that challenge our current concepts of community, care and responsibility. In times of increasing polarization: What could real solidarity look like?

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Untold Stories

What might a society look like in which we are truly there for one another? We are looking for speculative narratives that explore new forms of coexistence and mutual support. Design utopias or dystopias that challenge our current concepts of community, care, and responsibility. In times of increasing polarization: What might true solidarity look like?

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Metamorphosis of The Ordinary

Transform the ordinary into something magical. We look for stories that give new meaning to the seemingly banal - an inconspicuous object, a fleeting encounter, an everyday moment that suddenly changes everything. Show us the wonders in the banal, the extraordinary in the ordinary. What happens when we see the everyday with different eyes?

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Conditions of Participation

  • Scope: 10,000 characters (±10%)

  • Language: English

  • Submission deadline: [DATE]

  • Unpublished, original works

WORTPALAST Verlag Berlin stands for literature that doesn't want to wait for big publishers. We publish stories that are written today because they are relevant today - no long queues, no painful gatekeeping. We look forward to your brave, unconventional, experimental stories!

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International Writing Contest 2025

  1. You can submit one text in each category, so a maximum of 5 texts per person.

  2. Each submission has to be sent as a separate email to the corresponding email address.:
    Texts for category 1 to: category-1@wortpalast.com
    Texts for Category 2 to: category-2@wortpalast.com
    Texts for Category 3 to: category-3@wortpalast.com
    Texts for Category 4 to: category-4@wortpalast.com
    Texts for Category 5 to: category-5@wortpalast.com

  3. Submission deadline is June 30, 2025, 11:59 p.m
    Submissions that are received after this date unfortunately cannot be considered.

  4. There is no prize money. The winners of the competition will be published in this year's anthology.

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Become one of the authors in the first international anthology of WORTPALAST

WORTPALAST Verlag Berlin is calling for an English writing contest for the first volume of our series of international stories. We're looking for short stories that are bold, profound and experimental - the theme is "UNWORLDS" , a term we chose to describe our mission as a publisher. You may interpret this word as you like, but keep in mind that we are not looking for romantic comedies :)

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