The days are flying by faster than ever. Grab a cool drink and sit down with those pieces you’ve been meaning to brush up all summer—the deadlines are coming up quick!
FEATURED! The Masters Review Online Summer Workshop
We’re accepting rolling submissions through the month of August for an online workshop with some of the best editors in the field, including Michelle Wildgen from Tin House and Jeffrey Gleaves from The Paris Review. Writers will be paired with editors for full feedback on stories 7,000 words or less. You’ll have your response by the end of September at the latest, just in time to submit to fall contests. Learn more here.
Submission Fee: $249 Opens: August 1 (rolling submissions)
StoryQuarterly Nonfiction Prize
The winner receives $1,000 and is published alongside two runners-up. Submit up to 6250 words to be judged by creative nonfiction author and opinion columnist Meghan Daum. Send in your work here.
Submission fee: $15 Deadline: August 1
Prairie Schooner Creative Nonfiction Contest
Open to creative nonfiction of all kinds! Submit up to 5,000 words to win $250 and publication in the Spring 2017 issue of Prairie Schooner (that issue is included in your entry fee). Judged by Kiese Laymon, looking for “imaginative essays of general interest.” Find full contest details here.
Submission fee: $20 Deadline: August 1
PEN Emerging Voices Fellowship
New writers, pay attention! This fellowship is designed to launch the career of a beginning writer. Submit up to 20 pages of prose or 10 pages of poetry for the chance to receive a professional mentorship, master classes, public readings in LA, a $1,000 stipend, and more. It requires some serious commitment, but it’s the opportunity of a lifetime! Check out the details here.
Submission fee: $10 Deadline: August 1
Indiana Review 1/2 K Prize
Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of three poetry collections and editor for Orion magazine, judges this year’s 1/2 K contest for the Indiana Review. Submit up to 500 words of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction for a shot at $1,000 and publication. The submission fee includes a subscription to the Indiana Review! Full details here.
Submission fee: $20 Deadline: August 15
Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence
From the website: “The Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence honors Louisiana’s revered storyteller, Ernest J. Gaines, and serves to inspire and recognize rising African-American fiction writers of excellence at a national level.” Emerging African-American writers can submit a novel or short story collection that will be published in the current year for the chance to win $10,000 and the opportunity engage in creative writing workshops for students in the Baton Rouge area. Learn more here.
Submission fee: None Deadline: August 15
Creative Nonfiction “How We Teach” Essay Contest
Creative Nonfiction magazine is awarding $1,000 and $500 for the best essay and runner-up selected for their Spring 2017 issue. Submit essays up to 4,000 words about the teaching experience — interpret the theme however you choose! All essays must be truthful and accurate; they will be put through a fact-checking process. Learn more about what they’re looking for here.
Submission fee: $20 Deadline: August 29
Gulf Coast Barthelme Prize for Short Prose
$1,000 and publication go to the winning piece of prose poetry, flash fiction, or micro-essay 500 words or fewer, and two honorable mentions will receive $250. Award-winning author Jim Shepard judges this year’s contest, and all entrants receive a one-year subscription. (The award for poetry translation is also open!) Find out more here.
Submission fee: $18 Deadline: August 31
Black Lawrence Press St. Lawrence Book Award
Emerging writers only! Any writer who has not yet published a full-length collection of stories or poems can submit a collection, 45-95 pages of poetry or 120-180 pages of fiction, for the chance to win $1000, publication, and ten copies of their new book. Find full details and submit here.
Submission fee: $25 Deadline: August 31
by Lauren Klepinger