Future Stories 2026 Short Story Writing Competition with a Trip to Dubai

Dubai Future Foundation invites writers and creatives from around the world to participate in Future Stories 2026, an international science fiction short story competition held as part of the Dubai Future Forum.

The competition aims to encourage participants to imagine the future of the world through creative stories that explore technology, humanity, nature, health, and future transformations, while presenting new visions of what life may look like in the future.

Competition Themes

Participants may write a short story inspired by one of the following future-focused themes:

Futuring Nature
Empowering Generations
Optimising Health
Transforming Humanity

Participants must also choose one of the opening or inspirational sentences specified in the application form and incorporate it into the story, whether at the beginning, middle, or end.

• An opportunity to participate in an international writing and science fiction competition.
• The first-place winner receives a trip to Dubai to attend the Dubai Future Forum.
• The first-place winner receives a certificate of achievement.
• The first-place winner receives a 6-week story/novel writing course, along with 3 months of writing mentorship.
• The second- and third-place winners receive a trip to Dubai to attend the Dubai Future Forum.
• The second- and third-place winners receive a certificate of achievement, a 6-week writing course, and a mentorship session.
• The winning stories will be published on the official website and shared as part of the forum.
• The top 10 participants receive a digital certificate of achievement and a 50% discount on the story/novel writing course.

All participants receive a 50% discount on the story/novel writing course.

Awards in the Future Stories 2026 Competition:

• First-Place Winner:

A trip to Dubai to attend the Dubai Future Forum.
A certificate of achievement.
A 6-week story/novel writing course.
3 months of writing mentorship.
Publication of the story on the official website and sharing it as part of the forum.

• Second- and Third-Place Winners:

A trip to Dubai to attend the Dubai Future Forum.
A certificate of achievement.
A 6-week writing course.
A writing mentorship session.
Publication of the story on the official website and sharing it as part of the forum.

• Top 10 Participants:

A digital certificate of achievement.
A 50% discount on the story/novel writing course.
Publication of the story on the official website and sharing it as part of the forum.

• All Participants:

A 50% discount on the story/novel writing course.

• The competition is open to participants from all around the world.
• Applicants must be 18 years old or above.
• Submissions may be made individually or by co-authors.
• The story must be written in English.
• The story must be original, distinctive, and not copied.
• The story must not rely entirely on content generated by artificial intelligence.
• Participants must follow the competition themes and formatting requirements.
• The story file must not include the writer’s name within the text; the name should only be mentioned in the file name.

Story Requirements

• The story must be written in English.
• The maximum word count is 2,500 words.
• Times New Roman font must be used.
• The required font size is 12.
• Line spacing must be double-spaced.
• Margins must be 1 inch.
• The story must be uploaded in PDF format only.
• The writer’s name must not appear inside the story file.

See also: Various and Outstanding International Awards and Competitions

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