Temperatures are now starting to soar, so let yourself also rise to meet the challenges of our selected contests this month! You’ll never know if you don’t try, but we believe you can make the leap!
Bellevue Literary Review Prizes
All three of the Bellevue Literary Review’s contests are ending soon, so enter now if you want to receive one of the three $1000 and publication first-place prizes! All entries should be related to themes of health, healing, illness, the mind, and the body. Bryan Washington is judging fiction, DéLana R.A. Dameron is judging poetry, and Sheri Fink is judging nonfiction. Honorable mention winners also earn $250 and publication! Guidelines here.
Entry Fee: $20 Deadline: July 1
Richard J. Margolis Award
Inspired by journalist and essayist Richard J. Margolis, this prize has provided financial and other support to a promising journalist whose work combines warmth, humor, and wisdom with social justice since 1992. This prize recognizes one writer with $5000, and a one-month residency at the Blue Mountain Center in Blue Mountain Lake, NY. Applicants need to provide a cover letter, biographical note, a project description, and two writing samples. Submission guidelines here.
Entry Fee: FREE Deadline: July 1
The Francine Ringold Awards for New Writers
These awards, presented by Nimrod International Journal through the University of Tulsa, honor the work of writers at the beginning of their careers in either fiction or poetry. Contestants can enter up to five pages of poetry, and up to 5000 words of prose. The winner of each category will receive $500 and their manuscript will be published in the spring issue of Nimrod! Details here.
Entry Fee: $12 Deadline: July 15
The Peseroff Prize Poetry Contest
Breakwater, operating from the University of Massachusetts, is searching for something new in poetry, and thus this contest specifically has no restrictions in content or form. Clearly this is a call to all poets who think that their work can make the cut! Judged by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lloyd Schwartz, the winner receives $1000 and publication in Breakwater’s fall issue. Submit here.
Entry Fee: $10 Deadline: July 15
Rattle Poetry Prize
Rattle is on the hunt for a single outstanding piece of poetry, and they definitely have the money to pay for it! This annual competition awards $10,000 for a single poem to be published in the winter issue of their magazine. Ten finalists also receive $200, and voting will then choose one of them as the $2000 Reader’s Choice Award! Four poems are allowed per entry, and there is no line limit. What are you waiting for? Enter here!
Entry Fee: $25 Deadline: July 15
Robert and Adele Schiff Awards in Poetry and Prose
The Cincinnati Review is currently accepting submissions for their annual contest, but all good things will eventually come to an end. The winning poem and prose piece will be judged by Poetry Editor Rebecca Lindenberg and Fiction Editor Michael Griffith. The winning entries will be published in 2018 and receive $1000 each, so don’t lose your chance! Learn more here.
Entry Fee: $20 Deadline: July 15
Spring 2019 Travel Writing Contest
The award-winning literary travel magazine Nowhere is looking for writers who know how to convey time and place with ease and grace! Submissions may be fiction, nonfiction, or essay, and can range from 800 to 5000 words. The winner receives $1000 and publication, and up to 10 finalists will be published as well. Check it out!
Entry Fee: $20 Deadline: July 15
The Story Prize
This competition is a daunting gauntlet for any first-time author to run, but the reward at the end is well worth the effort! A $20,000 book prize is awarded to the author of a collection of short stories that was published this year, and entries may be submitted by agents, authors, or publishers. Currently they’re accepting submissions of books that were published from January through June. Are you eligible? Do it!
Entry Fee: $75 Deadline: July 15
William Faulkner Literary Competition
This is a multi-faceted event, with opportunities for a staggering variety of writers. Authors can submit their work to novel, adult short story, student short story, one-act play, and poetry categories! Prizes and deadlines vary for each category, with the winning novel receiving $2000 and publication. Make sure you read each category closely! More information here.
Entry Fee: $50 Deadline: July 15
Kenneth Patchen Award
If you have an unpublished fiction manuscript, this is opportunity knocking! The Journal of Experimental Fiction is currently accepting submissions for this prize. An innovative full-length fiction work will be selected, and the winner will receive a publication and $1000. Judged by Jason E. Rolfe. Do it!
Entry Fee: $25 Deadline: July 31
Narrative Spring Story Contest
This contest is open to all fiction and nonfiction writers, writing anything from short stories and memoirs, to essays and literary nonfiction! The entries need to be less than 15,000 words and previously unpublished, while containing a strong narrative drive and intense insights. First prize is $2500, second is $1000, and third is $500. All entries are considered for publication, and all contest entries are also eligible for the $4000 Narrative Prize! Guidelines here
Entry Fee: $27 Deadline: July 31
New Millenium Awards
There’s a little something for everyone in this contest, presented by literary journal New Millenium Writings! Writers can send in submissions for poetry, fiction, flash fiction, or nonfiction, with no restrictions on style or subject matter. Fiction and nonfiction must be less than 6000 words, flash fiction must be less than 1000 words, and poetry may include three poems less than five pages long. First place in each category receives $1000, a certificate, publication online and in print, and two copies. Select finalists may also be published and receive complimentary copies. Don’t wait!
Entry Fee: $20 Deadline: July 31
by Kimberly Guerin