2026 ANTHOlOGY ANNOUNCEMENT

Inkwells & Anvils is proud to announce our third annual anthology short story contest.

THE SIMPLE & THE STUBBORN: An Inkwells & Anvils Anthology

(Releasing Fall 2026)

Embracing the wide tapestry of human experience and the universal truths that point to the Truth, the theme for Inkwells and Anvils’ third-annual anthology is "The Simple & The Stubborn."

In this anthology we seek to craft engaging and creative tales that identify the prevailing truths and explorations of the human condition present in the human family as expressed in the variety of folklore across times and cultures.

The world and all that is in it is created, ordered, and sustained by our God, and as such, any element of truth in it belongs to Him, even if it is revealed in a secret irregularity such as a folk superstition or regional story. We cannot conform truth to our ideas of it, nor do we attempt to fit it into a specific box. As Catholics, our great privilege is the ability to open ourselves to truth wherever we find it, to take what is there for the taking.

This means we're asking you, writers, to use folklore as your short story's foundation this year.

That's right: Your task?

What is folklore, exactly? It's more than just a simple retelling of folk-tales or fairytales. While many people rightfully associate stories with folklore, true folklore touches every aspect of the human experience: from work, leisure, food, architecture, language, customs, and the stories we tell to explain it all.

We’re looking for stories that include elements of lore present in the world, and stories that go beyond simple adaptations of tale types and stories that have already been commodified or engrained into popular culture.

We seek stories that engage with folk practices, customs, or tales to explicate truths about who we are and what we are made for.

After all: the folklorist’s job is not to attempt to debunk nor to ask ‘is this folklore scientifically or literally true’. The folklorist’s job is to ask ‘why do these practices and tales continue to live loud within us? Why is it that these things are spread and why is it good to believe this? What truth does this convey?’

We want stories that are straightforward and transparent in their veracity (simple), but crafted with care, skill, and without didacticism or patronizing moralism (stubborn).

And we want stories that include lore that you, dear writer, have a connection to. We invite you to take an element of folklore from your roots and draw it out to explore what it reveals about the human condition, both simple and stubborn.

With that in mind, it is our pleasure to open our doors and encourage all tellers of tales to consider submitting a story for our anthology this summer. Full details on submissions and judging below!

SHORT STORY CONTEST SUBMISSION DETAILS:

Entrants:

• Must be members of I&A Discord Community

• Must have level 4 or higher in Discord Community when they submit

• Must meet and abide by all I&A rules within our community, as are detailed on our Discord Server

• Must abide by the Inkwells & Anvils AI Policy

Dates & Deadlines:

• Submission Form Opens: June 21st

• Submission Form Closes: July 5th

• Potential Inclusion Authors Contacted: by August 22nd

  • We will reach out to authors whose stories have been selected and discuss with them any necessary revisions that they must agree to make by a given deadline in order for their story to be published in the anthology, before we formally announce the winners on September 12th. Contacted authors are under no obligation to accept if they disagree with or do not wish to make revisions. For more details, see our post on Conditional Acceptances in Inkwells & Anvils Discord

• OFFICIAL Winners announced by: September 12th

• ANTHOLOGY RELEASE DATE: Tentatively November 1st. This exact date may shift a bit as different things take time and some things are outside of our control.

Submissions:

Your Assignment:

• Include the elements (described below):

  • Folklore that you have a regional/cultural connection to,

  • exploration of the human condition

  • a short write-up (not counted in your word count) about the folklore you chose & how it connects to you.

• Be between 3,000 & 5,000 words.

• Must not include or have been aided by any generative AI usage.

  • if we ever find out or are made aware that there was AI used in the generation of your story, you will be banned from future contests & your story may be pulled from future printings of the anthology.

• Submit through official submission form & follow submission instructions given for formatting, document type, etc.

• Must keep to a PG-13 / TV-14 / or below rating:

  • mild swearing (Use swears or vulgarities the way you use bay leaves in cooking, not the way you use salt), mild gore, violence, etc., is permitted. Excessive adult content will disqualify you. If you have questions about this, ask a mentor.

• Must not currently be in print somewhere else

  
  

Required Elements [Fuller Descriptions]:

• Folklore from your roots:

  • We want you to include lore from a place, culture or folk-group (ie religious group, occupation, or cultural organization) that you have a personal and regional/cultural connection with. Not a connection of just mere interest (sorry anime fans; unless you’re from Japan Japan is off limits), but a connection with real roots attached: geographical or genetic ties. This is a time for you to explore the lore and culture that shaped your ancestors or your region, and not simply lore that you find intriguing or fascinating for its own sake (perhaps one day that will be its own Anthology).

  • This folklore must be central to the story and/or part of the overall plot

  • Can be speculative (fantastical) in nature or completely contemporary/realistic fiction. Not everything has to be set in the Disney-fied Medieval World!

• Exploration of the human condition:

  • Looking for the good, true, and beautiful in all places: even if the story or custom involves pagan practices/gods/world-view, we are looking for stories that point to a deeper exploration of truth that is also reflected in the Christian world-view. You may go for one of either approach below, or combine them:

    • Simple: the truths can be straight-forward and universally accepted still today - what is good is good, what is true is true, what is beautiful is beautiful.

    • Stubborn: the truth in question can offer us a window in an alternate perspective/understanding of the cosmos/world/ human person that is less pervasive in our modern age of science and ‘enlightenment’, but still lives loudly in our consciousness/cultural fabric.

• An additional (250 words max) paragraph explaining your connection to the folklore you chose & a little about why you chose it.

  • This does not count against your wordcount for the contest

  • This will not be shown to the judging panel, so your story will remain as anonymous as possible but will be included in the anthology. You can write this while revealing as little as possible about yourself, but we want readers to understand some about why each story is included in this roots-based anthology.

    
    

For all of the above elements, we encourage creativity & subtlety.

Bonus (and important) Information:

"How do I know if what I want to write about is folklore? Does what I want to write about count?"

Remember: Folklore doesn’t just have to be stories, it can be:

• Folk customs/traditions (like the Welsh Mari Llwyd, the Alaskan Iditerod, the Nova Scotian Twelfth Night wassailing, the Corfu Botides, or Mexican Dia de las Muertos) to name a few.

• Folk practices surrounding human mile-stones like the birth of a child, coming-of-age ceremonies, weddings, and funerary rites. Centering an original story/plot around a folk practice or custom/tradition is perfectly acceptable!

• Can include stories (and the retellings of) such as:

  • folktales: stories that have recurring motifs, structures, and symbols that impart a truth or lessons

  • legends: a traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but unauthenticated.

  • myths: stories that explain the genesis or origin of a group of people or element of the natural world

  • onomastic tales: a story that explains how a geographical place got its name

  • fables: a short story, typically with animals as characters, or archetypal figures used to convey a moral

  • urban legends: a humorous or horrific story or piece of information circulated as though true

What we're NOT looking for in this Anthology:

• Personal stories/life experiences and tales based on that. We're looking for broader lore, that goes beyond what is just known by you.

• Creepypasta such as Slenderman & other Internet folklore is not applicable [may be folklore in some ways but it's not your culture, not your regions]

• Pure retelling of something from Brothers' Grimm or Hans Christian Anderson. While these are within the realm of folklore, know that the more mainstream the story is, the higher the expectations for your take on it will be. Use them as inspiration if they're part of your culture & regional heritage, but branch out from Cinderella or Snow White & The Seven Dwarves if you can!

• Retellings of Greek or Roman myths. Also are examples of folklore, but unless you're Greek or Roman by culture/habitat - that's not what this anthology is for. Save your retelling of Hercules for another one!

For more questions & answers, more information, and details about things like critique swaps, mentors, conditional acceptances, and who knows what else - join our Discord Server!