Archive October 2021

Deadline Approaches for the Red Hen Press Benjamin Saltman Poetry Award

There are two days remaining to submit to the Benjamin Saltman Poetry Award. Administered by Red Hen Press, the prize offers $3,000 and publication for an original collection of poetry. The contest boasts few limiting guidelines and only prohibits entries from writers who are already connected to Red Hen Press or the contest judge.

Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 96 pages with a $25 entry fee by October 31. Major Jackson will judge. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Red Hen Press is an independent publisher based in Pasadena, California. In addition to the Benjamin Saltman Poetry Award, the press offers several other awards, including a biennial novella prize and a biennial prize for prose by women writers. Anna V. Q. Ross won the 2020 Benjamin Saltman Poetry Award for her collection Milk Teeth, which is due out next year.

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

Kick off the beginning of a new month by submitting to one of the following six contests, which all share a November 1 deadline. Poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers will find an abundance of opportunities in these prizes, with two of the awards being given in all three genres. All contests offer a cash prize of $1,000 or more, with the chance for one lucky fiction writer to win $15,000 and book publication.

Briar Cliff Review Writing Contests: Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Briar Cliff Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $20 (includes a copy of the prize issue). 

Brick Road Poetry Press Book Contest: A prize of $1,000, publication by Brick Road Poetry Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Keith Badowski and Olivia Ivings will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $30.  

Fiction Collective Two Catherine Doctorow Innovative Fiction Prize: A prize of $15,000 and publication by Fiction Collective Two, an imprint of University of Alabama Press, is given annually for a novel, short story collection, novella, or novella collection. U.S. writers who have published at least three books of fiction are eligible. Cristina Rivera Garza will judge. Entry fee: $25. 

Fiction Collective Two Ronald Sukenick Innovative Fiction Contest: A prize of $1,500 and publication by Fiction Collective Two is given annually for a novel, short story collection, novella, or novella collection. U.S. writers who have not previously published a book with Fiction Collective Two are eligible. Marream Krollos will judge. Entry fee: $25. 

Malahat Review Open Season Awards: Three prizes of CAD $2,000 (approximately $1,622) each and publication in Malahat Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Conor Kerr will judge in poetry, Zilla Jones will judge in fiction, and Erin Soros will judge in creative nonfiction. Entry fee: CAD $45 (approximately $36), which includes a subscription to Malahat Review.

Nina Riggs Poetry Foundation Award: A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem that examines relationships, family, or domestic life that was published in a book or magazine in the last three years. Entry fee: None.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.

Breakout! Writers Prize Open for Submissions

The deadline is approaching for the fourth annual Breakout! Writers Prize, sponsored by Epiphany Magazine and the Authors Guild. Four prizes of $1,000 each, publication in the Fall/Winter 2021 issue of Epiphany, a membership with the Authors Guild, and a year-long mentorship with Rachel Lyon, Epiphany’s editor in chief, are awarded to undergraduate or graduate writers. Two prizes will be given to poets and two to prose writers. Shane McCrae, Nadia Owusu, and Rachel Lyon will judge.

Using only the online submission system, submit one short story, a novel excerpt, or a work of creative nonfiction up to 5,000 words, or five poems of any length, along with a statement of interest and a $10 entry fee, which includes a digital subscription to Epiphany, by November 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Deriving their name from the “Joycean idea that an epiphany is the moment when ‘the soul of the commonest object…seems to us radiant,’” Epiphany is a semiannual literary journal and independent non-profit based in New York. The Breakout! Writers Prize is meant to celebrate the future of art by honoring and bringing visibility to college and graduate student writers. Students do not have to be enrolled in a creative writing program to apply.

 

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

Embrace sweater weather by curling up indoors and preparing to submit to one of the following writing contests, which all close on October 31. Opportunities abound for writers in all disciplines, but especially poets. Among the poetry awards are two chapbook prizes and a prize for a female translator who has translated a collection by a female poet. All contests offer a cash prize of $1,000 or more.

American Poetry Review Honickman First Book Prize: A prize of $3,000 and publication by American Poetry Review is given annually for a first poetry collection. The winning book will be distributed by Copper Canyon Press through Consortium. Jericho Brown will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Cloudbank Books Vern Rutsala Book Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication by Cloudbank Books is given annually for a collection of poetry, flash fiction, or a combination of the two. Doug Ramspeck will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Conduit Books & Ephemera Minds on Fire Open Book Prize: A prize of $1,500, publication by Conduit Books & Ephemera, and 30 author copies is given annually for a book of poetry. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Elixir Press Poetry Award: A prize of $2,000 and publication by Elixir Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Esther Lee will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $30.

Finishing Line Press Open Chapbook Competition: A prize of $1,500 and publication by Finishing Line Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $15.

Hidden River Arts Tamaqua Award: A prize of $1,000 and publication by Hidden River Press is given annually for an essay collection. Entry fee: $20.

PEN/Faulkner Foundation Award for Fiction: A prize of $15,000 is given annually for a book of fiction published during the current year. Four finalists will each receive $5,000. The winner and finalists will also be invited to read in Washington, D.C., in May 2022. Entry fee: none.

Persea Books Lexi Rudnitsky First Book Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication by Persea Books is given annually for a first poetry collection by a writer who identifies as a woman and who is currently living in the United States. The winner also receives an optional six-week, all-expenses paid residency at the Civitella Ranieri Center in Umbria, Italy. Entry fee: $30.

Poetry Society of the United Kingdom National Poetry Competition: A prize of £5,000 (approximately $7,075) and publication on the Poetry Society of the United Kingdom website is given annually for a single poem. A second-place prize of £2,000 (approximately $2,830) and a third-place prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,415) are also given. The winners will also be published in Poetry Review. Poems written in English by poets from any country are eligible. Fiona Benson, David Constantine, and Rachel Long will judge. Entry fee: £7 (approximately $10).

Red Hen Press Benjamin Saltman Poetry Award: A prize of $3,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Major Jackson will judge. Entry fee: $25.

River Teeth Book Contest: A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of New Mexico Press is given annually for a book of creative nonfiction. Rigoberto González will judge. Entry fee: $27 (includes subscription).

Saturnalia Books Malinda A. Markham Translation Prize: A prize of $2,000 and publication by Saturnalia Books will be given annually for a translation of a poetry collection. Translators who identify as female (including those who are assigned-female-at-birth [AFAB] nonbinary, genderfluid, agender, and intersex) and who are translating the work of a woman poet (including those who are AFAB nonbinary, genderfluid, agender, and intersex) are eligible. Entry fee: $25.

Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards: Three prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The winners will also receive scholarships to attend a workshop on the University of Arizona campus in March 2022. Entry fee: $20.

Tupelo Press Sunken Garden Chapbook Poetry Prize: A prize of $1,000, publication by Tupelo Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Entry fee: $25.

University of North Texas Press Vassar Miller Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of North Texas Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Entry fee: $25.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.

Omnidawn Fabulist Fiction Chapbook/Novelette Contest Accepting Submissions

Submissions are open for the annual Fabulist Fiction Chapbook /Novelette Contest sponsored by Omnidawn Publishing. The contest honors short works of fiction with fabulist elements. The winner will receive publication by the celebrated indie press, as well as a cash prize of $1,000 and 100 author copies. Theodora Ziolkowski, the author of On the Rocks (Texas A&M University Press, 2018), will judge.

Submit a manuscript of one or more stories or a novelette totaling 7,500 to 17,500 words with an $18 entry fee ($20 to receive a fiction title from the Omnidawn catalogue) by October 18. Visit the website for complete guidelines. The winning chapbook will be published in April 2022.

Omnidawn is an independent, non-profit publisher based in Redmond, California. Its titles have been recipients of or finalists for the Believer Book Award, the Lambda Literary Awards, and the National Book Awards. Previous winners of the Fabulist Fiction Chapbook/Novelette Contest include Kristin Keane, Jennifer Pullen, and David Rothman.