Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin
The first lines of a dozen noteworthy books, including The Figure Going Imaginary by Marianne Boruch and Marginlands: A Journey Into India’s Vanishing Landscapes by Arati Kumar-Rao.
Tags:
Genre: Fiction
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
“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.
Of Dust and Dreams: A Profile of Karen Russell
Karen Russell’s second novel, The Antidote, published by Knopf in March, examines a dark chapter of America’s past, but not without hope for the future.
Tags:
Italian Prose in Translation Award
American Literary Translators Association
Entry Fee:
$0
Deadline:
March 17, 2025
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a book of fiction or nonfiction translated from Italian into English and published in the previous year. Publishers or translators may submit a book published in 2024 by March 17. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.
Prizes in Poetry and Fiction
Orison Books
Entry Fee:
$25
Deadline:
April 1, 2025
Two prizes of $1,500 each and publication by Orison Books are given annually for a poetry collection and a book of fiction. Phillip B. Williams will judge in poetry, and Tessa Fontaine will judge in fiction. Using only the online submission system, submit a poetry manuscript of 50 to 100 pages or a novel, novella, or collection of short stories or flash fiction of at least 30,000 words with a $25 entry fee by April 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Uplift Voices Fiction Award
Jaded Ibis Press
Entry Fee:
$20
Deadline:
April 15, 2025
A prize of $1,500, publication by Jaded Ibis Press, and 25 author copies will be given annually for a novel, a novel in stories, or a short story collection by an author who identifies as having a historically marginalized voice. The winner will also receive up to $550 from the publisher toward submission fees for other relevant writing contests that honor published books. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 50,000 to 80,000 words with a $20 entry fee by April 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
La Baldi Residency
The La Baldi Residency, sponsored by the arts collective Cultivate, will offer two-week and one-month residencies from April through October to poets, fiction writers, creative nonfiction writers, and translators in apartments and a small terratetto house in the historic hilltop village of Montegiovi, Italy. Residents will stay in private lodging with a fully equipped kitchen, a bathroom, and an outside sitting area. Some lodging options include a study. Individual writers and collaborative teams may apply.
Type:
RESIDENCY
Ignore Event Date Field?:
no
Event Date:
April 1, 2025
Rolling Admissions:
ignore
Application Deadline:
August 2, 2025
Financial Aid?:
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline:
August 2, 2025
Free Admission:
no
Contact Information:
La Baldi Residency, 15504 Moravia Court, Derwood, MD 20855. Susan Main, Cultivate Director.
Susan Main
Cultivate Director
Contact City:
Montegiovi
Country:
IT
Iceland Writers Retreat
The 2025 Iceland Writers Retreat was from April 23 to April 27 at the Fosshotel in Reykjavík. The retreat features workshops, panels, lectures, receptions, and time to write for fiction and nonfiction writers, as well as literary tours of Iceland. The faculty included fiction writers Kevin Chong, Pedro Gunnlaugur Garcia, Meng Jin, Jonas Hassen Khemiri, and Curtis Sittenfeld; fiction and nonfiction writers Jann Arden, Yrsa Daley-Ward, Helen Macdonald, and Danny Ramadan; and nonfiction writers Thordis Elva and Rick Jervis. The cost of the retreat was 310,000 ISK (approximately $2,202).
Type:
RESIDENCY
Ignore Event Date Field?:
yes
Event Date:
August 2, 2025
Rolling Admissions:
ignore
Application Deadline:
August 2, 2025
Financial Aid?:
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline:
August 2, 2025
Free Admission:
no
Contact Information:
Iceland Writers Retreat, P.O. Box 76, 212 Gardabaer, Iceland. Erica Jacobs Green and Eliza Reid, Cofounders.
Erica Jacobs Green and Eliza Reid
Cofounders
Contact City:
Reykjavík
Country:
IS
Genre:
Tags:
Pages
