Literature (Short Story) is a written-work discipline of an international Games for French-speaking countries: one artist aged 18 to 35 submits a short story that a jury of five judges and ranks, with three winners and two mentions.
Literature (Short Story) is one of the ten disciplines in the cultural programme of the Francophone Games, an international event in which French-speaking countries send young artists to compete in singing, storytelling, dance, digital creation, the visual arts and acting. It is the programme’s only discipline for the written word, and it is decided by reading rather than by watching a performance. The programme sets the entry at one competitor, so every story has a single author, and entrants must be over 18 and under 35 during the Games. The discipline is open to men and women.
The general rules name the discipline but do not define it. The Games’ detailed rules for it (the word limit, the language or languages accepted, whether there is a set theme, how the manuscript is submitted and anonymised, and the judging sheet) are a separate document that eTalenter does not hold. This page therefore does not claim that any particular length, theme or format is required. In general, a short story is a complete piece of fiction that opens a situation, develops a character or conflict and reaches an ending within a small number of pages, so it is judged as a finished work and not as the first chapter of a longer one.
Entry to the Games is not open to the general public. Each artist is put forward by a member state or government after a national pre-selection, and an international pre-selection then limits the number of artists per discipline. Judging is by a jury of five, one president and four members, who rank three winners and two further mentions; gold, silver and bronze medals go to the top three. Because the rules print no points for placings, no marks and no time limit, the eTalenter template installs the item as an Individual entry scored out of 100, with First, Second and Third at 0 points and no criteria set.
Organisers run a short-story class because it needs no stage, no sound system and no equipment, and it reaches entrants who would never enter a performance. A coordinator running the same class at a school, college or regional event usually decides in the entry notes the word limit, the language, whether a theme is set, whether the story must be original and unpublished, and whether entries are written on the day or submitted beforehand. Those choices change the competition far more than any scoring detail, so they are worth fixing before registration opens.
Where Literature (Short Story) is run
The title Literature (Short Story) appears in one eTalenter template, the cultural competitions of the Francophone Games, where it is one of ten disciplines for artists aged 18 to 35 and is installed as an Individual item in the literacy category. Other templates carry Short Story, Short Story Writing and Story Writing as separate items with their own age groups, word limits and languages, usually in school and youth festivals; those are not the same class, and this page speaks only for the Games’ discipline.
- Francophone world (member states and governments of the Francophone Games)
Key facts
- Individual item: one competitor, one author per story
- Open to men and women aged over 18 and under 35 during the Games
- The only written-word discipline among the ten in the programme
- Judged by a jury of five, one president and four members; the jury ranks three winners and two mentions
- Gold, silver and bronze medals; the rules print no points for placings, so the template installs First, Second and Third with 0 points
- Installed out of 100 with no printed judging criteria, word limit or language, because the programme’s general rules do not print them
- Entry is through a member state’s national pre-selection, with an international pre-selection to limit the number of artists per discipline
On eTalenter, Literature (Short Story) is filed under Literacy and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Literature (Short Story) is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100.
The scoring method the templates attach to this item, and what that scale means. The category this competition is filed under when a template is installed. Others in this category: Essay Writing, Story Writing, Poetry Writing, Book Review, Letter Writing, Calligraphy, Translation eTalenter matches an item to its criteria on the words in its name, and creates exactly these when the template is installed.How it is scored
Where it sits
Judging criteria installed for it
What judges look at in Literature (Short Story)
What a Literature (Short Story) panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- The printed rules give no criteria for this discipline, so this list is general advice drawn from how panels usually read a short story, not a sheet taken from the Games
- Story and structure: a clear beginning, a turn or conflict that matters and an ending that feels earned, all inside the length allowed, with nothing left hanging by accident
- Character and voice: people who feel specific, whose choices drive the plot, and a narrative voice that stays consistent from the first line to the last
- Originality: a fresh situation, angle or image rather than a familiar plot retold; a well-known theme can still win if the treatment is new
- Language and style: precise word choice, varied sentences and good control of grammar and punctuation in the language of the entry; ornate writing that hides the story loses marks
- Impact: whether the ending stays with the reader, and whether the piece respects the theme and length rules if the organiser sets them
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Literature (Short Story) under Scoring Setup, or start from how story and essay competitions are judged.
How to prepare for Literature (Short Story)
How entrants and their teachers usually get Literature (Short Story) right on the day:
- Ask the organiser first for the points the rules leave open: the word limit, the language, any set theme, whether the story must be unpublished and how entries are submitted
- Pick one idea and one central character before writing; a short story that tries to hold three plots runs out of room before any of them lands
- Write the ending early, even as a rough sentence, so the whole story is aimed at it and does not drift
- Draft in one sitting, then leave it for a day or two and cut; most short stories improve most by losing their opening paragraph and their last explanatory sentence
- Read the story aloud to find clumsy sentences, repeated words and dialogue that no one would say
- Check the length against the limit in the last draft, not the first, and keep a clean copy that follows the submission format exactly
- Have someone who has not heard the idea read it and say, in their own words, what happened and how it ended; if their version differs from yours, the story is not yet clear
- Ideas, not rules: a story told through a single object passed between people, one set in the last hour before a journey, or one where the narrator is slowly revealed to be unreliable
Events that run this (1)
Ready-made templates that already include this competition. Installing one sets it up for you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Literature (Short Story) judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
How many people can enter Literature (Short Story)?
The Games’ rules set the entry at one competitor, so each story has a single author. The template therefore installs the discipline as an Individual item.
How long can the story be?
The programme’s general rules print no word limit or page count, so none is asserted here. That detail sits in the discipline’s own rules, which eTalenter does not hold; a coordinator running the class should state it in the entry notes.
Which language is the story written in?
The general rules print no language for this discipline, so the template installs it as Any/NA. A school or club running the same class can set the language or languages it accepts.
Is it the same as Short Story Writing or Story Writing?
The idea is similar, but those are separate items in other templates with their own age groups, time or word limits and languages. This page describes only the Games’ discipline for artists aged 18 to 35.
How is it marked?
The general rules print no marks or criteria. The template installs the item out of 100 so a coordinator can set the sheet; the Games itself ranks three winners and two mentions by jury decision.
Similar competitions
Items whose names share a word with this one — usually the same discipline in another form.
Want the full judging picture? Read how story and essay competitions are judged, or browse every literacy competition item.
Try Literature (Short Story) in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Literature (Short Story), and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
See where Literature (Short Story) is used
Was this guide useful?
