Undergraduate and grad student writers take note: The Atlantic is welcoming submissions for its annual poetry, fiction, and nonfiction competitions until December 1. The winners each will receive one thousand dollars, and second- and third-place prizes will also be awarded. The Atlantic doesn't mention publication as part of the prize, but works by past winners of the contest have appeared in the magazine.
In order to enter, one must be enrolled full-time at an accredited U.S. college or university. The submitted work—one to three poems or up to 7,500 words of prose (fiction or a personal or journalistic essay)—should be previously unpublished, but the guidelines state that pieces that have previously appeared in student publications are still eligible. There is no fee for submission, but only one entry per genre is allowed.
In order from first place to third, the 2008 winners in poetry are Diana Chien of Princeton University, Adam Nunez of College of Idaho, and Luke Johnson of Hollins University. In fiction, the winners are Jonathon Walter of the University of Arizona, Marjorie Celona of the University of Iowa, and Shelley Scalleta of Columbia University. The nonfiction recipients are Danielle Luther Luebbe and Kelly Grey Carlisle, both of the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, and Simon Tudiver of Yale University. The titles of their winning works have not been announced.
A list of the current contest's winners will be published in the May 2010 issue of the Atlantic, after honorees are contacted in March.