I recently returned from the AWP Conference in Chicago. Wondering if there might be an edgy sense of competition amongst the nearly 10,000 participants, I found only camaraderie. What a thrill it was to be engaged with a large community of writers who share the same passions and focus. I came away from it inspired about the many ways to fashion a writing life. Aside from attending 9 out of 10 informative panel sessions, I meandered through the marketplace with hundreds of literary journals, creative writing programs and independent presses represented. I brought home 17 back issues of prominent journals (each less than $2, often free), and sorted through a pile of flyers and postcards for submissions and contests. Here's a list of 25 contests with rich rewards. Check back soon for a listing of literary journals, as well as conference notes on sessions such as Teaching & Writing at a Literary Center and WPA for the 21st Century.
The Art of Omission Contest (Missouri Review’s Texbox)
March 9
Using only the words in the excerpt, write a short short story or a poem.
Rearrange and repeat the words at your pleasure, but NO OUTSIDE WORDS ARE ALLOWED.
Each entry must be 50 words or fewer.
Enter as many times as you like.
Camera Obscura: Journal of Literature and Photography
June 1 summer publication date
$1,000 to the writer of a story selected for publication in each issue
No fee
Glimmer Train: ongoing awards in fiction
Standard: publication (no fee) + $700—under 12,000 words
Very Short Fiction Award: 1200 + pub/$500/$300—under 3,000 words
Short Story Award for New Writers: $1200+ pub./$500/$300—under 1200 words
Fiction Open: $2000 + pub/$1000/$600—under 20,000 words
Family Matters: $1200 + pub/$500/$300—under 12,000 words
Arts & Letters Annual Prize Contest
Feb. 1-March 15
$1,000 + pub—fiction, nonfiction, poetry & drama; prose 20 pages max
$15 fee
Tusculum Review Fiction & Poetry Prizes
March 15
$1,000 + publication
$15 fee
The Pinch Literary Awards
March 15
$1500 fiction—under 5,000 words; $1,000 poetry
$20 entry fee
Wabash Prize (Sycamore Review)
March 15—fiction; Oct. 1—nonfiction; Nov. 1—poetry
$1,000 + publication
$15 reading fee
Fourth Genre Steinberg Prize for Nonfiction
Jan. 1-Mar 16
$1,000 + publication—nonfiction essay or memoir
$20 entry fee
Diagram Innovative Fiction Contest
March 30
$1,000 + publication
$15 entry fee
Sonora Review Nonfiction Essay & Flash Fiction Contests
April 1
$1,000 + publication—essay up to 20 pages or fiction up to 1,000 words
$15 fee
Chautauqua Flash Writing Contest: Journeys and Pilgrimages
Feb. 15-April 15
$1,000 + pub—flash fiction, micro-essays, prose poems up to 750 words
$20 fee
Spoon River Poetry Review Editor’s Prize
April 15
$1000 + publication—winner; $100 + pub. for two runners-up
$20 fee includes 1-year subscription
Beacon Street Prize
Feb. 15-May 30
$500 + publication—best poem and best fiction story
$15 entry fee
Emerging Writer’s Contest
Feb. 1-April 2
$1,0000 + publication—all genres (prose under 5,000 words)
$20 entry fee
Copper Nickel Literary Contest
Feb. 21-April 21
$1,000 + publication—fiction or poetry
$15 fee
Nimrod Literary Awards: Poetry & Fiction
Jan. 1--April 30
$2,000 or $1,000—one long poem or selection of poems; prose 7500 words max
$20 entry fee
Thomas A. Wilhelmus Award for Creative Nonfiction: Southern Indiana Review
June 1
$1500 + publication—up to 35 pages
$20 fee
Fineline Competition: Short shorts & prose poems
June 1
$1,000 + pub—500 words or less
$10 fee
MacGuffin’s Poet Hunt Contest
April 2-June 4
$500
$15 fee
The New Guard Literary Review
March 1-June 18
$1,000 each—narrative or experimental poetry/literary or experimental fiction (7500 words max)
$15 entry fee
Robert Watson Literary Prizes: The Greensboro Review
May 1-Sept. 15
$1,000 each—fiction (25 pgs. max) or poetry
$14 entry fee
Jeffrey E. Smith Award: Missouri Review
Oct. 1
$5,000 each—fiction, poetry, essay, 25 pages max
$20 fee
$1200 + pub.1st prize, $250 + pub. 2nd prize--short story (under 5,000 words) or poetry
$17 fee
Rose Metal Press Short Story Chapbook Contest
Rose Metal Press Short Story Chapbook Contest
Nov. 1-Dec. 1
Chapbook publication—25-40 pages; short stories under 1,000 words
$10 reading fee
Cream City Review Literary Contests
June 1-Dec. 31
$1,000 + publication—all genres
$15 entry fee
And a bonus for 2013:
Iowa Review Awards
Jan. 31. 2013
$1500 + Publication ($750 + pub. runners up)—poetry, fiction, nonfiction
$20 fee
1 comment:
This post is a treasure-trove for writers. Thank you for sharing these so lavishly.
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