Genre: Fiction

Not for Anything

The Time Is Now
2.26.25

The phrase “for love nor money” is used when referring to an impossibility of persuading someone to do something, that they will not even do it for love or money. This week take inspiration from this idea of ineffective incentives and write a short story in which your main character insists there is something they would never do. Consider your character’s past and what has led them to this conviction. What happens if the circumstances shift for your character and love or money hangs in the balance? Do they hold true to their stance and resist all temptation?

Lauren Francis-Sharma on Casualties of Truth

Caption: 

In this Politics and Prose Bookstore event, Lauren Francis-Sharma reads from and speaks about her third novel, Casualties of Truth (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2025), in a conversation with Kwame Alexander. The novel is featured in Page One in the March/April issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

Genre: 
Fiction
Tags: 
Lauren Francis-Sharma
Casualties of Truth
Atlantic Monthly Press
Politics and Prose Bookstore
Kwame Alexander
reading
Page One
March/April 2025

Paul Engle Prize

Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
March 31, 2025
A prize of $25,000 is given annually to a writer “who, like Paul Engle, represents a pioneering spirit in the world of literature through writing, editing, publishing, or teaching, and whose active participation in the larger issues of the day has contributed to the betterment of the world through the literary arts.” Poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers are eligible. Submit a nomination, including the writer’s curriculum vitae and a statement about how the writer embodies the spirit of the prize, by March 31. Self-nominations are not accepted. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Poetry and Short Fiction Awards

Moon City Press
Entry Fee: 
$27
Deadline: 
May 1, 2025
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Moon City Press are given annually for a poetry collection and a short story collection. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of at least 48 pages of poetry or 30,000 to 65,000 words of prose with a $27 entry fee by May 1. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Winter Story Contest

Narrative
Entry Fee: 
$27
Deadline: 
March 31, 2025
A prize of $2,500 and publication in Narrative is given annually for a short story, a work of flash fiction, an essay, a memoir, or an excerpt from a longer work of fiction or creative nonfiction. A second-place prize of $1,000 is also awarded. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit up to 15,000 words of prose with a $27 entry fee by March 31. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Corruption and Consequence

The Time Is Now
2.19.25

“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” wrote English Liberal historian and moralist Lord Acton in an 1887 letter to scholar and ecclesiastic Mandell Creighton about his concerns for political and religious leaders. This week write a short story that chronicles a character’s turn toward corruption after gaining a degree of power. You might decide to revolve the narrative around a lighthearted scenario with some humor, in which the corruption that results has relatively inconsequential stakes. Or you might set up a situation in which your character gains access or control over a significant position of authority, resulting in criminal behavior with far-reaching ripple effects. How do other characters respond to the newfound power of your main character?

Literary Prizes

New Ohio Review
Entry Fee: 
$22
Deadline: 
April 15, 2025
Three prizes of $1,500 each and publication in New Ohio Review are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Submit a poem or group of poems of up to six pages or a story or essay of up to 20 pages with a $22 entry fee, which includes a subscription to New Ohio Review, by April 15. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

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