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Submissions open through December 15!
The Chapbook Open, returning for the fifth year, is a call for submissions of literary prose chapbooks. We’re looking for collections of flash fiction, creative nonfiction essays, short stories, and anything in-between. We encourage you to experiment with style and form and push the boundaries of genre. But be aware: manuscripts are capped at 45 pages. The Masters Review is proud to offer the winner a $3,000 cash prize, along with manuscript publication and 50 contributor copies. Selecting this year’s winning chapbook is Rita Bullwinkel, author of the collection Belly Up and the new novel Headshot. Our chapbooks are distributed internationally and are available through Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.
Rita Bullwinkel says: “The best chapbooks are like islands—an oasis of thought, an other world that is complete, and compact, and changes, slightly, upon return. My favorite prose transports me to a space, either mental or geographic, that I didn’t know existed.”
Submissions will be accepted between September 1 and December 15, 2024. The Masters Review staff will select a shortlist of five to ten chapbooks to pass along to Rita Bullwinkel, who will pick the winner and write an introduction for the manuscript. The winning chapbook will be published in Spring 2026. Last year’s winner, A Most Natural Thing: An Elemental Memoir by Lisbeth White, will be published next spring. For details on all of our past winners, please visit the links at the bottom of this page.
All submissions must be single-author prose manuscripts of 25 to 45 pages. We are not interested in traditional lineated poetry. All manuscripts must be complete: no excerpts, no chapters of a novel, no works in progress, or any other incomplete work. Individual pieces may be previously published, but submitted manuscripts should contain some unpublished material. If you have questions or concerns about whether your manuscript would qualify, please email us at contact [at] mastersreview [dot] com.
Submission Guidelines
- The winner receives $3,000, manuscript publication, and 50 contributor copies.
- The second- and third-place finalists will be acknowledged on our website, alongside any honorable mentions.
- Manuscripts should include a table of contents (if necessary) and an acknowledgements page listing any previously published material within the manuscript.
- Submitted manuscripts must be between 25 to 45 double-spaced pages, at 12-point font (not including front/back matter, i.e., title page, dedication, table of contents, etc.). For collections, each piece should begin on a new page.
- Manuscripts must contain some unpublished material. Previously published material cannot have been published in any other chapbook or full-length collection. (Work that was included in a multiauthor anthology is permissible.)
- Self-published chapbooks are considered previously published and are therefore ineligible.
- We are not interested in poetry chapbooks. (We will consider chapbooks that contain some prose poetry.)
- Only single-author manuscripts will be considered.
- Simultaneous and multiple submissions are allowed, though each submission requires a $25 entry fee.
- Writers from historically marginalized groups may submit for a reduced fee of $15 until we reach our cap of 50 submissions in this category.
- If your chapbook is accepted elsewhere, please withdraw your submission on Submittable, or contact us otherwise to let us know the collection is no longer available.
- We do not require anonymous submissions for this contest.
- This contest is for emerging writers only. Writers with single-author book-length work published or under contract with a major press are ineligible. We are interested in providing a platform to new writers; authors with books published by indie presses are welcome to submit unpublished work, as are self-published authors.
- International submissions are allowed, provided the work is written primarily in English. Some code-switching/meshing is warmly welcomed.
- No translations, please.
- Submissions are accepted through Submittable only.
- The contest’s deadline is 11:59pm PST on December 15, 2024.
- AI-generated work is not eligible for this contest.
- Individual stories or essays within the manuscript may also be considered for publication in New Voices.
- Every submission will receive a response by the end of April 2025. The winners will be announced by the end of May 2025.
- Friends, family, and associates of the guest judge are not eligible for this award, nor are past Chapbook Open winners.
Judging
Rita Bullwinkel is the author of Headshot and Belly Up, a story collection that won the Believer Book Award. She is a 2022 recipient of a Whiting Award, the editor of McSweeney’s Quarterly, a contributing editor at NOON, and the Picador Guest Professor of Literature at Leipzig University in Germany, where she teaches courses on creative writing, zines, and the uses of invented and foreign languages as tools for world building.
Editorial Letter Option
If you’re interested in getting feedback on your writing, utilize our editorial letter add-on option. Editorial letters are available for chapbook submissions on a sliding scale (see below). Our response to your submission will be accompanied by a one- to two-page letter from an experienced guest editor, who will offer observations on the strengths of the piece as well as opportunities for revision. Your editor may also offer further submission and reading suggestions, or other comments on craft. A significant portion of the additional fee is paid directly to your feedback editor. See a sample editorial letter.
Editorial Letter Payment Scale:
- One complete story/essay, under 6,000 words: $69
- Two complete stories/essays, or one complete story/essay between 6,000-12,000 words: $133
- Three complete stories/essays, or work longer than 12,000 words: $197
Past Winners
A Most Natural Thing: An Elemental Memoir by Lisbeth White, 2023 Winner — Selected by Michael Martone
Coats by Naomi Telushkin, 2022 Winner — Selected by Kim Fu
Love at the End of the World by Lindy Biller, 2021 Winner — Selected by Matt Bell
Masterplans by Nick Almeida, 2020 Winner — Selected by Steve Almond
Our New Voices category is open year-round to any new or emerging author who has not published a novel-length work of fiction or narrative nonfiction with a major press. Authors with published short story collections are free to submit. We accept simultaneous and multiple submissions but ask that you inform us immediately if your story is accepted elsewhere.
The Masters Review pays a flat rate of $100 for flash-length stories (1,000 words or fewer) and $200 for longer stories (up to 7,000 words).
Guidelines:
- This category is for emerging writers only. Writers with single-author book-length work published or under contract with a major press are ineligible. We are interested in providing a platform to new writers; authors with books published by indie presses and self-published authors are welcome to submit unpublished work.
- We accept fiction and narrative nonfiction. We do accept a variety of genres and styles; our only requirement is that you show excellence in your craft. We want to be wowed. Bend genres, experiment with structure, and write your heart out. But please, send us polished work. Our aim is to showcase writers who we believe will continue to produce great work. Send us only your best.
- We accept simultaneous submissions but please notify us if your work is picked up elsewhere.
- All submissions must be under 7,000 words.
- If you’re submitting flash, feel free to include up to three stories in a single document.
- We do accept multiple submissions.
- We cannot consider work that has been previously published in any form. This includes personal blogs.
- Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history and a short bio.
- We aim to respond to all submissions within twelve weeks. Please do not email before twelve weeks have passed.
- For submissions that request an editorial letter, a significant portion of the editorial letter fees go to our feedback editor.
We don’t have any preferences topically or in terms of style. We’re simply looking for the best. We don’t define, nor are we interested in, stories identified by their genre. We do, however, consider ourselves a publication that focuses on literary fiction. Dazzle us, take chances, and be bold. Thanks for supporting our publication, and thank you for your work.
New Voices submissions can be uploaded to Submittable by clicking the button below:
For questions about submissions or to query an existing submission please use the following email: contact [at] mastersreview [dot] com.
Book Reviews, Interviews & Craft Essays
The Masters Review is now accepting submissions of completed book reviews, interviews, and craft essays for publication on our blog. Please do not send pitches or queries to this category. Submissions must be previously unpublished. We do not consider reprints. At the moment, we are unable to pay for book reviews or interviews, but we can pay $50 for craft essays. If you have a pitch or query, please contact us at contact [at] mastersreview [dot] com.
Genre Guidelines
Book Reviews
- Book Reviews must be of books scheduled for a 2024 release. We recommend submitting your review at least one month before the scheduled publication date. Earlier is better.
- Book Reviews should be between 700-1,200 words.
- Include in your review at least one sentence that conveys your overall stance on the book and embolden it. (e.g., The Survivalists by Kashana Cauley ruthlessly interrogates what it means to be successful as a Black woman, a Millennial, and a liberal living in an urban center.)
- Our primary interest are debut authors and indie presses. Occasionally, we will consider and publish reviews from major presses or of notable authors.
- Rarely, we will consider a review for a book with a past release date, but it must have been published within four months. If you have questions about this policy, please contact us at contact [at] mastersreview [dot] com.
Interviews
- We are interested in interviews with authors, editors, agents, or other industry professionals, with a particular focus on recent publications or activity. Our mission is to bridge the gap between new and established writers, so any insight into the profession of writing is valuable (e.g., this interview with agent Miriam Atlshuler).
- Interviews should be between 1,200-2,500 words.
- Please include a bio of both the interviewee and the interviewer with your submission, as well as an introduction to the interview.
Craft Essays
- Craft Essays should focus on a particular aspect of the craft of writing fiction or nonfiction.
- Please do not send craft essays about poetry.
- We are especially interested in craft essays which examine the craft of a particular story. Please see our Stories That Teach and From the Archives series on the blog for examples.
- Craft Essays should be between 1,200-2,500 words.
Submission questions, concerns, and inquiries can be sent to a staff member at: contact [at] mastersreview [dot] com
Author’s Rights
The Masters Review holds first publication rights for three months after publication. Authors agree not to publish, nor authorize or permit the publication of, any part of the material for three months following The Masters Review’s first publication. For reprints we ask for acknowledgement of its publication in The Masters Review first.
