Genre: Creative Nonfiction

Teen Spirit

8.24.23

In her essay “Dear Judy,” published in the New York Review of Books, Melissa Febos writes about her experience watching the film adaptation of Judy Blume’s groundbreaking novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. In the essay, Febos describes the companionship Blume’s novel provided through the difficult years of her adolescence. “There was no book I read more often than Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. It was almost twenty years old when I encountered it, but still more candid about bodily changes and the feelings they prompted than any other children’s book I had read,” writes Febos. Think of a work of art—be it literature, film, or otherwise—that struck a chord with you in your teens. Write an essay that reflects on how this work did or did not prepare you for the years to come.

Leah Myers on Thinning Blood

Caption: 

“I was born to tell my story and the story of my people, to make everyone aware that we exist still, that we breathe still.” In this virtual Charis Circle event, Leah Myers reads from her debut memoir, Thinning Blood: A Memoir of Family, Myth, and Identity (Norton, 2023), and discusses how Native folklore informed the structure of her book in a conversation with author Kung Li Sun. Myers is featured in “The New Nonfiction 2023” in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

Shane McCrae on Pulling the Chariot of the Sun

Caption: 

“What surprised me was that I discovered I enjoyed it sometimes: writing prose.” In this Books Are Magic event, Shane McCrae speaks with Patricia Smith and reads from his debut memoir, Pulling the Chariot of the Sun: A Memoir of a Kidnapping (Scribner, 2023), which is featured in Page One in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

Don’t let August slip past you: Submit to one or more of a dozen writing contests with a deadline of August 30 or August 31. Prizes include $3,000 and publication for a book of poetry; $1,000 and publication for a debut collection of poems, short stories, or essays; $1,000 and publication for a book of poetry by a writer over the age of 60; and more than $1,000, publication, and accommodations to give a reading at the Cork International Poetry Festival in Ireland for a poetry chapbook. All contests offer an award of $1,000 or more, and one has no entry fee. We wish you luck!

Aesthetica
Creative Writing Award

Two prizes of £2,500 (approximately $3,121) each and publication in Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual are given annually for a poem and a short story. In addition, the winner in poetry receives a membership to the Poetry Society in London, a six-week writing course from Curtis Brown Creative (a writing school led by authors and literary agents), a course from the arts organization Poetry School, and a subscription to Poetry London. The winner in short fiction receives a six-week writing course from Curtis Brown Creative and a consultation with the literary agency Redhammer Management. Both winners receive subscriptions to literary magazines Granta and Mslexia, as well as a five-day course from the London-based creative writing nonprofit Arvon. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $15.

Anthology Magazine
Short Story Competition

A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,099) and publication in, plus a subscription to, Anthology Magazine will be given annually for a short story. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $20.

Black Lawrence Press
St. Lawrence Book Award

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Black Lawrence Press is given annually for a debut collection of poems, short stories, or essays. The editors and a panel of previous St. Lawrence Book Award winners will judge. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $28.

Grid Books
Off the Grid Poetry Prize

A prize of $1,000 and publication in print and audio formats by Grid Books is given annually for a poetry collection by a writer over the age of 60. Marianne Boruch will judge. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $25.

Gemini Magazine
Flash Fiction Contest

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gemini Magazine is given annually for a short short story. The editors will judge. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $7.

Gulf Coast
Barthelme Prize for Short Prose

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gulf Coast is given annually for a short work of prose. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $26.

Gulf Coast
Prize in Translation

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gulf Coast is given in alternating years for a group of poems or a prose excerpt translated from any language into English. The 2023 prize will be given for a work of prose. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $13.

Journal of Experimental Fiction
Kenneth Patchen Award

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Journal of Experimental Fiction and JEF Books is given annually for an innovative novel. Carla M. Wilson will judge. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $25.

Munster Literature Centre
Fool for Poetry International Chapbook Competition

A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,099); publication by Southword Editions, Munster Literature Centre’s publishing imprint; and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. The winner will also receive accommodations to give a reading at the Cork International Poetry Festival in 2024. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $27.

Omnidawn Publishing
Open Book Poetry Contest

A prize of $3,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Maw Shein Win will judge. Deadline: August 31. Entry fee: $35.

Talking Gourds
Fischer Prize

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem. The winner will also be invited to be a featured reader for a Bardic Trails online reading in 2024 and will receive a $100 honorarium for participating. Deborah Kay Kelly will judge. Deadline: August 30. Entry fee: $10.

Utica University
Eugene Paul Nassar Poetry Prize

A prize of $2,000 is given annually for a poetry collection published during the current year by a resident of upstate New York. The winner will also give a reading and teach a master class at Utica University in April 2024. Deadline: August 31. 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, creative nonfiction, and translation.

Collected Memories

8.17.23

In his 1958 memoir, The House of Life, translated from the Italian by Angus Davidson, critic and scholar Mario Praz catalogues the objects found in the apartment in Rome where he resided for thirteen years. As an avid collector, Praz describes the furniture, pictures, and knickknacks he possesses, all of which have value in his eyes. Each object reveals more about his interior life as Praz connects them to the people he has met and loved. A rose embroidered on a sofa cover triggers the memory of his wife leaving him; he recalls wearing amber beads and an eyeglass when meeting renowned British designer William Morris’s daughter. Inspired by this unique work of literature, write a spatial autobiography of the objects in your home. Take your reader through a tour of your favorite things while weaving into your essay all the memories attached to them.

Agents & Editors: The Complete Series

by
Jofie Ferrari-Adler, Michael Szczerban, M. Allen Cunningham, and Vivian Lee
8.16.23
A Black woman with natural hair stands against a chartreuse wall. She wears red lipstick, silver hoop earrings, a collared pink shirt, and a wide smile.

This series of interviews with over forty book editors, publishers, and agents offers a unique look at the past, present, and future of the book industry and what writers can do to thrive in today’s publishing world.  

Willie Morris Award for Southern Nonfiction

University of Mississippi
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
September 30, 2023
A prize of $12,000 is given annually for a book of nonfiction published during the current year that asks readers “to engage with or reflect on the complexities of the American South.” The winner will also receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Oxford, Mississippi, for the awards ceremony in April 2024. Submit a hard copy of a published book, or an advance reader’s copy of a book to be published in October, November, or December 2023, by September 30. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Literary Awards

Washington Writers’ Publishing House
Entry Fee: 
$28
Deadline: 
November 1, 2023
Three prizes of $1,500 each, publication by Washington Writers’ Publishing House, and 25 author copies are given annually for a poetry collection, a story collection or novel, and a memoir, essay collection, or creative nonfiction hybrid collection. Writers who live in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, D.C., are eligible. Using only the online submission system, submit a poetry manuscript of 50 to 70 pages or a prose manuscript of 150 to 350 pages with a $28 entry fee by November 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Humor Story Contest

TulipTree Publishing
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
October 17, 2023
A prize of $1,000 and publication in the Fall/Winter issue of TulipTree Review is given annually for a humorous poem, story, or essay. Submit a poem or a work of prose of no more than 10,000 words with a $20 entry fee by October 17. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Rome Prize

American Academy in Rome
Entry Fee: 
$40
Deadline: 
November 1, 2023
Half-term and full-term fellowships of $16,000 and $30,000 respectively will be given annually to artists, academics, and creative writers, including poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers, to support the development of a project. In addition to their stipend, the fellows will each be provided with meals, a private workspace, a bedroom with a private bathroom, and the opportunity to form part of the Academy’s residential community on the Janiculum Hill in Rome alongside other affiliated fellows and visiting artists and scholars. All applicants, except those applying for the National Endowment for the Humanities postdoctoral fellowships, must be United States citizens at the time of their application. Using only the online submission system, submit a project proposal, a résumé, and a writing sample of up to 20 pages with a $40 entry fee by November 1 (or a $70 entry fee by November 15). Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Pages

Subscribe to Creative Nonfiction