I understand how you feel right now. It’s the end of the summer—it is basically the last night of summer camp—and the last thing on your mind is sitting down and cranking out two pages of text to meet your self-imposed daily quota. That novel you’ve been working on feels like actual work for the first time. Maybe you need a distraction. Perhaps a new goal, something on a very finite timeline. Dare I suggest a deadline?
The Masters Review Online Summer Workshop – Want to have your story edited by the likes of Jason Diamond from Flavorwire, Ashley Farmer from Juked, Anna Prushinskaya from Joyland, Daniel Bullard-Bates from theNewerYork and Sarah Wells from River Teeth? It’s not too late! You have until Friday to register. Our workshop operates remotely, so you can receive personalized feedback, line edits, a reading list, and advice on where to submit your submission-ready story come September—all from the comfort of home. Check out the details. Tuition: $350. Registration Deadline: August 15
Gulf Coast – University of Houston’s biannual lit mag Gulf Coast gives out the Barthelme Prize for the best prose poem, flash fiction, or micro-essay (up to 500 words). We got Amy Hempel on the 1’s and the 2’s, deciding who will win this year’s $1000 jackpot. If I may stretch a metaphor, that is like Michael Jordan judging a dunk contest named after Dr. J. Which is a reference to the sport called basketball. Apply here. Entry: $17. Due: August 31
Glimmer Train – Sure, the Glimmer Train crew are deadline-post stalwarts, but that’s because they bring the goods every month, with fresh contests and prizes. This month it is for “a short story by a writer whose fiction has not been published in a print publication with a circulation over 5,000.” Be a hero and submit. Details here. Entry: $15. Due: August 31
Red Hen Press – The Benjamin Saltman Poetry Award awards $3000 and publication to a previously unpublished original collection of poetry. Shake a stick at that. Entry: $25. Due: August 31
Good Housekeeping – I get it. You’re too cool for school. Good Housekeeping is “old fashioned” and “outdated.” You claim it’s only for people curious about breakthroughs in napkin ring technology. Be that as it may, it’s also a hundred frickin years old and published the likes of Somerset frickin Maugham, Virginia frickin Woolf, Evelyn f. Waugh, and Edna St. Vincent fricken Millay. This contest is for the best piece of creative nonfiction about love. Make it work. Go ahead, submit. NO ENTRY FREE. Due: September 1
Gemini Magazine – “Earn fast cash. Work from home.” In other words, Gemini’s Sixth Annual Flash Fiction Contest. You have a thousand words max to earn a thousand dollars even. Entry: $4 ($3 for additional entries). Due: September 2
Sustainable Arts Foundation – Yowza, I think I’ve found my new favorite stipulation. If, and only if, you have a child under the age of eighteen, you are eligible for one of Sustainable Arts Foundation’s multiple writing awards of $6000. I’m trying to machete through the fine print and as far as I can tell the child must already be born, so please do not conceive by the end of the month in order to be eligible. Unless it is for the 2015 prize. This one is early September, but we’re giving you some extra notice. Submit here. Entry: $10, parenthood. Due: September 8
by Andrew Wetzel