Genre: Fiction

First Novel Prize

The Center for Fiction
Entry Fee: 
$100
Deadline: 
March 13, 2026
A prize of $15,000 is given annually for a debut novel by an American citizen or permanent resident published in the United States during the award year. Six finalists receive $1,000 each. Self-published works, books published exclusively in e-book editions, and novels previously published in other countries are not eligible. Publishers may submit 10 finished copies or bound galleys/edited manuscripts of a novel published, or scheduled to be published, in 2026 with a $100 entry fee by March 13. Small independent publishers may apply for a fee reduction. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Hudson Prize

Black Lawrence Press
Entry Fee: 
$30
Deadline: 
March 31, 2026
A prize of $1,000, publication by Black Lawrence Press, and 10 author copies is given annually for a collection of poems, short stories, essays, or hybrid work. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a poetry manuscript of 45 to 95 pages or a prose manuscript of 120 to 280 pages with a $30 entry fee by March 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Clay Reynolds Novella Prize

TRP
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
March 31, 2026
A prize of $1,000, publication by TRP: the University Press of Sam Houston State University, and 10 author copies is given annually for a novella. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 15,000 to 40,000 words with a $20 entry fee by March 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Train Dreams: Reimagining Denis Johnson

Caption: 

In this LIVE From NYPL event, director Clint Bentley screens clips from his latest film, Train Dreams, and discusses the timeliness of its release amidst concerns about ecological disaster and racial violence. The film is an adaptation of the 2011 novella of the same name by Denis Johnson.

Genre: 
Fiction
Tags: 
Train Dreams
Denis Johnson
Clint Bentley
LIVE From NYPL
film adaptation
interview
2025

Far From Home

The Time Is Now
2.4.26

Recent and unusual, “fish out of water” animal sightings include a coyote swimming through the San Francisco Bay to Alcatraz Island, and a rare Galápagos albatross flying high up above the Pacific off the central coast of California, likely having traveled over three thousand miles beyond its typical range. This week write a short story about a character who takes off on a journey of vast distances, possibly one filled with potential risks and unknown factors. Will you reveal your character’s motivations right off the bat, gradually, only in the final moments of the narrative, or at all? You might decide to experiment with writing sections of the story from different points of view and shifting from more zoomed-out descriptive passages to moments of interior monologue.

Madeline Cash: Lost Lambs

Caption: 

“I think that you kind of put everything into a first novel.” In this event hosted by the University of Notre Dame’s Creative Writing Program, Madeline Cash reads from her debut novel, Lost Lambs (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2026), and talks about her range of influences, including artist Henry Darger and filmmaker Wes Anderson.

Genre: 
Fiction
Tags: 
Madeline Cash
Lost Lambs
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
novel
University of Notre Dame
reading
2026

Fear Factor

The Time Is Now
1.28.26

“The nice thing about writing fiction is that we can put our characters through things we’d never be brave—or foolhardy—enough to do,” writes Larissa Pham in a recent essay published on Literary Hub about how her debut novel, Discipline (Random House, 2026), was inspired by writing about a subject that scared her. “Through our writing, we leap into the unknown.” This week consider some of your greatest fears, anything from creepy crawlies to the loss of loved ones to melodramatic betrayal. Write a short story that revolves around one of these fears, concocting an arc that fluctuates between moments of slow, modulated actions and descriptions of higher tensions. Do you find yourself inclined to take the story to intense extremes or to end things on a simmer?

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