>anon kindly links me to a list of short story competitions happening this year
>there are entry fees
>the entry-fees are sometimes as high as £20 ($30)
>most of these websites are look like shit, with basic HTML and CSS

So this is basically a scam, right? Shouldn't short-story competitions be free? Didn't they used to be?

True, there are cash prizes for winners, but most people would be happy enough just to see their work published.