$1,000 CASH PRIZE! A contest for self- published and traditionally published work. The Nancy Pearl Book Award is PNWA’s writing contest for completed, published books, copyright 2015. Every qualified book receives 2 reads by librarians. Finalists’ books are featured on our website and placed prominently in the bookstore during our summer conference (July 28–31, 2016). Winners are announced at the PNWA conference (1 per category) and receive $1,000 cash prize. Deadline January 31, 2016. Website: pnwa.org; e-mail: pnwa@pnwa.org; telephone: (425) 673-BOOK.
$1,000 PRIZE FOR best poem. DASH Journal welcomes submissions to its annual poetry contest. Send up to 3 unpublished poems per entry (max 33 lines each). Include name and contact information on cover sheet only. Fee: $10 for contest, or $15 for contest plus 1-year subscription. Check payable to DASH Journal. Deadline: February 15, 2016. All poems blind-reviewed by panel of editors. Finalists published in 2016 issue. DASH Journal, Department of English and Comparative Literature, California State University Fullerton, 800 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton, CA 92831. Details: www.dashliteraryjournal.com.
$1,500 POETRY PRIZE prize from Girl on a Stoop Press: Fall 2015 Poetry Contest, deadline December 31; Winter 2016 Poetry Contest, deadline March 31, 2016. Three poems, $20 reading fee. Also various projects accepting submissions including alphabet poems anthology and children’s illustrated book series. Single poem or children’s story, $10 reading fee. See website: www.girlonastoop.press.
$12,000 IN PRIZE MONEY! Call for unpublished work: Submit your writing to 12 categories for PNWA’s Literary Contest. Every qualified entry receives 2 written critiques, first-, second-, and third-place winners selected by agents and editors actively acquiring new authors. Entries per category ($35/PNWA members, $50/nonmembers) must be received by February 19, 2016. More than $12,000 in prize monies. pnwa.org. E-mail: pnwa@pnwa.org, phone: (425) 673-BOOK.
7 BEST REASONS to Enter New Millennium Awards’ contest by November 15. Best poetry $1,000; fiction $1,000; nonfiction $1,000; short-short fiction $1,000. All submitters receive our anthology. All winners are published in our anthology and online. “Highly recommended. NMW is one of our favorite journals.”—Winning Writers. We have launched careers! Visit www.newmillenniumwritings.com.
10TH ANNUAL SMITH COLLEGE Poetry Prize For New England high school girls in 10th and 11th grades. Award: $500 + opportunity to read poem at Smith. Judge: Marilyn Chin. No entry fee. Submissions: September 1– December 1. Sponsored by The Poetry Center at Smith College. Guidelines, eligibility, required entry form: www.smith.edu/poetrycenter/outreach/hs-poetry-prize. 17TH GIVAL PRESS Poetry Award for best original previously unpublished collection of poetry of at least 45 typed pages in any style or form. Prize: $1,000 and book publication. Reading fee: $20 per manuscript submitted. Deadline: December 14. E-mail givalpress@yahoo.com or visit website www.givalpress.com for complete details. Gival Press, P.O. Box 3812, Arlington, VA 22203.
2015 KNUT HOUSE novel prize. A prize of $1,500 and publication by Knut House Press awarded to an unpublished novel that captures the “(k)nuthouse” spirit authentically. Submit an unpublished manuscript (of at least 44,444 words) with a $15 entry fee via Submittable by December 31. To submit visit: http://knuthousepress.com/2015novelprize.html.
2016 MAIN STREET RAG Poetry Book Award. Deadline: January 31, 2016. Length: 48–84 pages of poetry (TOC, title pages, and blank pages don’t count). Reading fee: $25. $1,200 prize plus publication. Blind judging, guidelines available online. All entries considered for publication. Send to: Main Street Rag, P.O. Box 690100, Charlotte, NC 28227-7001. Website: www.mainstreetrag.com.
2016 NEW AMERICAN Poetry Prize; $1,000 award and book publication. Final judge: Gabriel Gudding. Deadline: January 1, 2016. Minimum length: 48 pages (no maximum). Reading fee: $22.50. Online submissions only, please. Complete guidelines: www.newamericanpress.com/contests.
THE 2016 WATERSON Desert Writing Prize will accept submissions January 1, 2016 through March 15, 2016. The prize honors nonfiction that illustrates artistic excellence, sensitivity to place, and desert literacy. It recognizes the vital role deserts play worldwide in the ecosystem and the human narrative. Emerging, mid-career, or established nonfiction writers are welcome to apply. The prize will recognize one writer with a $1,000 award, a reading and reception at the High Desert Museum in Bend, OR, and a 4-week residency at Playa at Summer Lake, OR. For submission guidelines, visit www.writingranch.com.
THE ANNUAL RATTLE Chapbook Prize offers $2,000 for a chapbook (up to 36 pages), plus 500 author copies, and distribution to Rattle’s 5,000+ subscribers. Entry fee of $20 includes a 1-year subscription to the magazine. Deadline January 15, 2016. For guidelines, visit our website: www.rattle.com/poetry/chapbooks.
BALTIMORE REVIEW Winter Contest Theme: Health. Aren’t you the tiniest bit obsessed with it? Make health play a role in your poem, story, or CNF. All entries considered for publication. Prizes: $500, $200, and $100. Entry fee: $10. Deadline: November 30. For more details and to submit online: www.baltimorereview.org.
BAUHAN PUBLISHING launches a contest for best collection of essays! The Monadnock Prize will be awarded for a book-length collection of essays: $1,000 and book publication in our fall list. Open to all. Entry fee $30. Postmark/submission deadline: December 31. Judged by Alice B. Fogel. For submission guidelines: www.bauhanpublishing.com/essay-contest.
BELLINGHAM REVIEW announces its annual literary contests: 49th Parallel Poetry, Tobias Wolff Fiction, and Annie Dillard Nonfiction. $1,000 first-place prizes and publication for winners; runners-up considered for publication. December 1–March 15. Online submissions only. General Submissions run till December 1. $3 reading fee. For those readers who subscribe to the journal between September and December, we will read submissions through June 1. Complete guidelines at: bhreview.org.
THE BELOIT FICTION JOURNAL announces the Hamlin Garland Award for the Short Story. $2,000 and publication for the top unpublished story. Novelist Nickolas Butler to judge. All entrants considered for publication. Maximum 7,000 words. Postmark December 1. $20 fee. One story per entry. Send entries to: Chris Fink, Editor, BFJ, 700 College St., Beloit, WI, 53511. Checks to BFJ. Or pay through Submittable: https://beloitfictionjournal.submittable.com/submit.
BRIGHT HILL PRESS 22nd Annual Poetry Chapbook Competition, $350 and publication plus 30 copies for winner. Entry fee $17. MS, 16–24 paginated pages (plus separate bio and acknowledgments) may be submitted electronically or via USPS. Results via e-mail. Complete guidelines: wordthur@stny.rr.com or www.brighthillpress.org. Deadline for MS receipt at BHP: November 30. BHP Poetry Chapbook, 94 Church St., Treadwell, NY 13846-4607.
BRIGHT HILL PRESS Book Prize. Deadline: December 31, 2015. Entry fee: $27. Website: www.brighthillpress.org. A prize of $1,000, publication by BHP, and 30 author copies for a poetry collection judged by a nationally known poet. Submit a manuscript of 48–64 pages with a $27 entry fee by December 31, electronically or via U.S. post. Visit the website for complete guidelines. Bright Hill Press, Book Prize, 94 Church St., Treadwell, NY 13846. Telephone: (607) 829-5055).
CARVE MAGAZINE’S first annual Premium Edition Contest open October 1–30. Seeking entries in short fiction, poetry, and nonfiction essay: $1,000 prize in each category and all published exclusively in our premium edition in print and featured online. Entry fee $17 online/$15 mailed. For full guidelines, visit www.carvezine.com/premium-edition-contest.
CIDER PRESS Review Book Award. Prize: $1,500 and publication of full-length poetry collection. All entrants will receive the winning book. Reading period: September 1–November 30. Reading fee: $25. Judge: Linda Pastan. Submit 48–80 page manuscript to www.ciderpressreview.com or mail to CPR, P.O. Box 33384, San Diego, CA 92163. Guidelines: www.ciderpressreview.com/bookaward.
CODHILL POETRY AWARD: $1,000 plus 25 copies. Distribution by SUNY Press. Deadline: December 10. Submit book-length manuscript (48–72 pages), acknowledgments, table of contents, and cover page (name, address, phone, e-mail) clip-bound plus SASE for contest results and $30 reading fee: Codhill Poetry Award, P.O. Box 280, Bloomington, NY 12411. Electronic submissions: http://codhillpoetryaward.submittable.com/submit. For complete guidelines: www.codhill.com. COLORADO PRIZE for poetry; $2,000 honorarium and book publication. Submit book-length collection of poems by January 14, 2016. Final judge is Tyrone Williams. A $25 entry fee includes subscription to Colorado Review. Complete guidelines at http://coloradoprize.colostate.edu or Colorado Prize for Poetry, Center for Literary Publishing, 9105 Campus Delivery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-9105.
COMMON GROUND Review Spring/Summer 2016 Poetry Contest! Publication & $500 first prize, $200 second, $100 third. We publish honorable mentions. Judge TBA, $15 entry, no simultaneous submissions. Non-contest poems welcome: no fee & simultaneous submissions. Send via Submittable at www.cgreview.org or with SASE to Janet Bowdan, Editor, H-5132, Western New England University, 1215 Wilbraham Rd., Springfield, MA 01119.
CROSSWINDS POETRY JOURNAL accepting contest submissions: $1,250 in prizes. Fifteen honorable mentions; reading period: September 1–December 31. We particularly enjoy well-crafted nature-oriented poetry but will consider well-done work on a variety of subjects, and frequently comment on submissions. For guidelines and to submit, visit our website at crosswindspoetry.com.
CUTBANK LITERARY MAGAZINE announces the 2016 Montana Prize for Fiction, Montana Prize for Nonfiction, and Patricia Goedicke Prize for Poetry are open to submissions November 1, 2015–January 15, 2016. There is a $20 submission fee and each genre is awarded one $500 prize in addition to publication in CutBank. For more information, please go to cutbankonline.org/submit/contests.
DANAHY FICTION PRIZE/Tampa Review, $1,000 and publication in Tampa Review, or a previously unpublished work of short fiction, 500–5,000 words. A $20 entry fee includes subscription. All entries considered for publication. Submit by December 31. Danahy Fiction Prize, Tampa Review, 401 West Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, FL 33606. Website: www.ut.edu/tampareview.
DIODE EDITIONS 2015 Chapbook Contest. Got chapbook? Prize of $250, 25 author copies, and publication by Diode Editions for a poetry chapbook. Submit a manuscript of 22 to 32 pages with a $12 entry fee, between August 15, 2015 and January 15, 2016. For full guidelines, visit www.diodeeditions.com.
EVENING STREET PRESS announces 2015 contests: Helen Kay Chapbook Poetry Prize, $250 plus 25 copies, possible publication of runners-up; $15 reading fee, ongoing. eveningstreetpress.com/helen-kay.html. Sinclair Poetry Prize, $500 plus 25 copies, possible publication of runners-up; $25 reading fee, May 1 to December 1. eveningstreetpress.com/sinclair.html.
FROM JANUARY 1 to January 31, 2016, Crazyhorse will be accepting entries for prizes in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Winners receive $2,000 and publication. A $20 entry fee includes a 1-year subscription to Crazyhorse; all manuscripts entered will be considered for publication. For more information, please visit our website: crazyhorse.cofc.edu.
GRAYSON BOOKS 2016 Chapbook Contest, $500 and 50 gorgeous copies to winner. Use submission manager for electronic submissions or send postal submissions to Grayson Books, P.O. Box 270549, West Hartford, CT 06127: 16–24 pages poetry, $20 reading fee. January 31, 2016 deadline. Vivian Shipley to judge. For guidelines, see www.graysonbooks.com.
HEART POETRY Award: $500, publication, Heart #11. Honorable mentions published; $10 covers 3 unpublished poems, reserves your copy of Heart #11. Visit website, view past issues, poems preferred, guidelines; judge: John Sibley Williams. Deadline: Postmark December 31. Submit online www.nostalgiapress.com, or mail: Nostalgia Press, 115 Randazzo Ct., Elloree, SC 29047.
HIT & RUN PRESS: The William Dickey Memorial Broadside Contest. An annual prize of $1,000, plus the publication of a limited edition letterpress broadside of the winning poem. Entry fee: $10, one poem per poet. Format: poems must be between 12–30 lines (on any subject). Include a separate cover sheet with your contact information. Do not put your name on the poem. Deadline: November 30, 2015. Winner will be announced on March 1, 2016. (See “Winners” for information about this year’s contest.) hit & run press, 1563 Solano Ave. #379, Berkeley, CA 94707. Website: www.mrbebop.com.
INDIANA UNIVERSITY South Bend’s 42 Miles Press Poetry Award will be awarded to an emerging or established poet for a book-length manuscript of at least 48 pages. Winner receives $1,000, 50 copies, and will be invited to give a reading in South Bend. Deadline is March 1, 2016. David Dodd Lee, Series Editor, will judge. Entry fee: $25. For complete guidelines go to www.42milespress.com.
THE LEAPFROG 2016 Fiction Contest is open to submissions from January 15–May 1, 2016. Entry fee: $30. Adult and children’s (MG and YA) novels, novellas, and story collections. First prize: Publication contract with advance, plus finalist awards: $150 and manuscript critique by finalist judge Mark Brazaitis. Details: www.leapfrogpress.com. E-mail: fictioncontest@leapfrogpress.com.
LITERAL LATTE Food Verse Contest. Seeking poems with food as an ingredient. First prize $500 and publication. Postmark deadline March 15, 2016. All styles and subjects welcome, up to 2,000 words per poem. Entry fee for up to 10 poems is $10. For tastes and online submissions, go to www.literal-latte.com. Or send to: Literal Latte Food Verse Kitchen, 200 E. 10th St., Ste. 240, New York, NY 10003. MUSIC/MATH PRIZE in Fiction/Poetry. A prize of $1,000 and publication by Knut House Magazine for an unpublished short story or poetry selection (less than 8,000 words) that explores music and/or mathematics authentically. Submit a manuscript with a $15 entry fee via Submittable by December 31. To submit visit: http://knuthousepress.com/mathmusicprize.html.
NEGATIVE CAPABILITY PRESS “Eve of St. Agnes Poetry Contest.” A prize of $1,000 and publication in anthology for single poem. Judge: Pat Schneider. Submit up to 3 poems of no more than 250 lines each with $15 entry fee by January 20, 2016. Visit website for guidelines: negativecapabilitypress.org.
NEW RIVERS PRESS is seeking submissions for its Many Voices Project Award. Two prizes of $1,000 each for book-length manuscripts by emerging writers, one in poetry and one in fiction or creative nonfiction. Finalist judges TBA. Submit full-length, unpublished manuscripts of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry postmarked September 15 through November 15, 2015, along with $25 entry fee. Submit online at https://newriverspress.submittable.com/submit or see website for complete guidelines: http://www.newriverspress.com.
OMNIDAWN OFFERS $3,000 prize for our annual Open Book Poetry Contest. Calvin Bedient will judge. Electronic and postal submissions November 1–December 31. Winner receives cash prize, publication, 100 copies. Entry fee: $27. Entrants who add $3 shipping receive Omnidawn book of their choice. For guidelines, see www.omnidawn.com/contest.
THE ORISON PRIZES in Poetry & Fiction offer $1,500 and publication by Orison Books for a full-length manuscript in each genre. Judges: Hadara Bar-Nadav (poetry) & Peter Orner (fiction). $25 entry fee. Entry period: November 1, 2015–February 15, 2016. For complete guidelines visit www.orisonbooks.com/submission-guidelines.
THE PERMAFROST BOOK PRIZE in Nonfiction offers publication of a book-length work of literary nonfiction, $1,000, and distribution through the University of Alaska Press. Final judge, Scott Russell Sanders. Deadline: December 1. Entry fee: $20. For complete guidelines, please visit: http://permafrostmag.com/1st-annual-book-prize-in-nonfiction.
POETRY & ONE-ACT Play Contests. Announcing poetry and one-act play contests opening July 1. The winners of each category will receive $1,500. The deadlines for the one-act play and poetry contests are respectively November 1 and November 15. Winners announced by late February 2016. The one-act play grand prize includes a staged professional reading at the next festival. The poetry contest entry fee is $20, and one-act play fee is $25. Visit the website for complete guidelines: http://con13.tennesseewilliams.net.
POETRY VIRGINIA ANNUAL CONTEST, $2,000+ in prize money. Many categories. Entries must be postmarked between November 1, 2015, and January 19, 2016 (submission deadline). Member entries unlimited. Nonmember entry fee $4/poem. For guidelines and membership application: www.poetrysocietyofvirginia.org or SASE to 11594 Hume Rd., Hume, VA 22639.
PRESS 53 AWARD for Short Fiction awarded to an outstanding, unpublished collection of short fiction. Award includes publication plus $1,000 cash advance and a quarter-page ad in Poets & Writers Magazine announcing our winner. Reading fee: $30. Enter September 1–December 31. Complete details at www.press53.com.
PRISM REVIEW Poetry/Story Contests. $250 prizes! Check our fantastic judges! Poetry: Victoria Chang (The Boss, California Book Award). Fiction: Bryan Hurt (Everyone Wants to Be Ambassador to France, Starcherone Prize). Your $10 entry gets you a great $10 issue. Deadline: midnight, November 30. More information and submissions at prismreview.submishmash.com/submit.
RIVER STYX Schlafly Beer Micro-Brew Microfiction Contest. First place receives prize of $1,500 and 1 case of Schlafly beer. Winners published in River Styx; 500 words maximum per story, up to 3 stories per entry. Entry options: $10 includes a copy of the issue in which the winners appear, $20 includes a 1-year subscription to River Styx. Postmarked by December 31 or enter online via Submittable. www.riverstyx.org/contests. Mail to: River Styx Microfiction Contest, 3547 Olive St., Ste. 107, St. Louis, MO 63103. Richard Newman, Editor: bigriver@riverstyx.org.
SELECTED SHORTS’ Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Contest. Prize includes $1,000; publication on electricliterature.com; and 2 tickets to a performance of Selected Shorts featuring your winning story. Judge: T. C. Boyle. Max: 750 words. Fee: $25. Due: March 15, 2016. For complete guidelines, visit www.selectedshorts.org.
SLAB 2016 POETRY PRIZE. First place: $600 + a limited edition, hand-bound chapbook. Runner-up: $400. Judge: Lori Jakiela, most recently the author of the collection Spot the Terrorist, the memoir The Bridge to Take When Things Get Serious, among others. All winners published; all entries considered for publication; $10 reading fee. Reading late summer until December 1. Details at slablitmag.org. SLIPSTREAM ANNUAL Poetry Chapbook Competition offers $1,000 prize plus 50 copies for winner. Deadline: December 1. Entrants receive copy of winner and 1-issue subscription. Send up to 40 pages and $20 reading fee to Slipstream, P.O. Box 2071, Niagara Falls, NY 14301. For further details and new guidelines, visit: www.slipstreampress.org.
SPORT LITERATE wants your midrange jumper—a sporty, nonfiction essay actually of no more than 2,500 words. Robert Reichle, our guest judge and first contest winner, will pick an anonymous favorite for the $500 prize. Your $25 entry fee includes a 2-issue subscription. Deadline: January 31, 2016. Guidelines online: www.sportliterate.org.
TALLGRASS WRITERS Guild/Outrider Press Anthology/Contest. Prose to 2,500 words and poetry to 32 lines on “Home,” literal and symbolic. Deadline: February 27, 2016. Prizes: $500 each category. Entry fees: 1–4 poems or each prose entry $16. TWG members: $12 each. No submission limit. For complete guidelines and entry form: outriderpress@sbcglobal.net.
TAMPA REVIEW prize for poetry: $2,000 plus hardcover and paperback book publication, and portfolio in Tampa Review for unpublished manuscript by a new or established poet. A $25 entry includes subscription. Deadline December 31. See guidelines online or send SASE. University of Tampa Press, 401 West Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, FL 33606. Website: www.ut.edu/tampareview.
THIRD WEDNESDAY Annual Poetry Contest: Send up to 3 unpublished poems with $10. Each poem should not exceed 2 pages. The top 3 winners receive $50 each, and their poems appear in Third Wednesday. Other entries will be considered for publication. Deadline: the last week of January. Send poems and check via USPS to: Third Wednesday Poetry Contest, 174 Greenside Up, Ypsilanti, MI 48197.
TWO POETRY PRIZES: The Vern Rutsala Poetry Prize for a full-length manuscript of poetry and/or flash fiction: $1,000, plus publication. Judged by Dennis Schmitz. Fee $25. Deadline: January 2, 2016. Cloudbank 10 Poetry Prize: $200 plus publication. Fee $15. Cloudbank, P.O. Box 610, Corvallis, OR 97339-0610. Full guidelines at www.cloudbankbooks.com.
TWO PRIZES OF $1,000 and publication in The Chattahoochee Review are awarded to a winning story and essay in the Lamar York Prizes for Fiction and Nonfiction. Submit October 1, 2015–January 31, 2016. Early submissions are encouraged. An entry fee of $15 includes a subscription. For complete guidelines, visit http://thechattahoocheereview.gpc.edu.
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS Press is accepting submissions for the Miller Williams Poetry Prize, judged by Billy Collins. The winner receives $5,000 in cash in addition to publication. Applications are accepted year-round. The deadline for the following year’s prize is September 30. www.uapress.com.
WIN UP TO $5,000 and be a featured poet on storiestoart.com. StoriesToArt is a new digital venture that helps connect poets to poetry lovers in a revolutionary new way. More than a gallery—though artists will sell original works on it—it will enable art buyers to commission art, poetry, and songs inspired by a memory/story they share. StoriesToArt is calling all artists. The call includes stories. You may choose 1 as inspiration for any type of visual or expressive art. Use our other stories as inspiration or submit up to 5 additional pieces and the 5 stories that inspired them. To see the early stages of the website, check out the terms, and enter for your chance to win and be on StoriesToArt, go to www.storiestoart.com.
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BOOK ASSOCIATION announces its 2015–2016 Writing Contest. Fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction/memoir. Award includes publication for top 4 submissions in a national literary journal, $250 paid for first prize winners. Judges TBA. Submission period September 15, 2015–February 1, 2016. All contest fees fund WNBA literacy programs. Contest guidelines, judges’ bios, and submission link: www.wnba-books.org/contest.
WRITERS & BOOKS announces the ninth annual Kenneth and Geraldine Gell Poetry Prize Competition: $1,000, publication with Big Pencil Press, and a weeklong residency at the rural Gell Center of the Finger Lakes will be awarded each year to the author of an outstanding, unpublished, book-length manuscript of poems. Timothy Liu will be the final judge for the prize to be awarded in March 2016. Reading fee is $25. Manuscripts must be postmarked between September 1 and December 31. For guidelines and entry form, click on Gell Poetry Prize at www.wab.org.