You have just one month left to submit your murder mystery with a fun twist for the Mysterious Murders Short Story Competition.

It’s free to enter and open worldwide for original work of up to 3,000 words written in English, with a top prize of £3,000. Entries are due by the end of September, so it’s time to put pen to paper, fingers to keyboards, and have some fun!

All the details are on the competition website, mysteriousmurders.com, so be sure to investigate for yourself and share with any writers you think might be interested!

Why was the competition created?

The late Anja Boersma had a deep love of writing and the Mysterious Murders Short Story Competition was created in her honour to help nurture that same passion in others.

The competition was co-founded by Anja’s husband Jeroen and Angela C. Nurse (my friend, fellow mystery author, and a creative writing coach).

Who are the competition judges?

Angela C. Nurse is the author of the Rowan McFarlane Detective Mysteries and the DI Ravenscroft & Professor Laing Thrillers. She will be judging the entries alongside four other authors, including…

Mark Stay, author of The Witches of Woodville and The End of Magic, screenwriter of the 2023 Warner Bros. horror movie Unwelcome, and the co-presenter of the award-winning Bestseller Experiment podcast.

Rupa Mahadevan, winner of the 2024 Joffe Book Prize, her debut novel The Goddess of Death is out September 2025.

T.E. Scott, author of The Wronged Women’s Co-operative, a mystery series set in the fictional Scottish town of Invergryff, currently with ten books to get into.

And then there’s the final judge: G.B. Ralph (that’s me!). I am currently documenting the increasingly implausible series of murders sweeping an enchanting small New Zealand town in cosy mystery series The Milverton Mysteries, once described as “Agatha Christie, but make it gay.”

So, what’s next?

Now it’s time for you to get writing! We can’t wait to read your entry.