We love the motivation of a deadline, so here are twelve excellent opportunities to submit to in May. This month’s list reflects some great lit mags with general submissions closures as well as free contests. Check it!

Glimmer Train Very Short Fiction Contest

Spring is in the air and so are looming literary deadlines! Start submitting today.

Astrophil Press

Working on a longer work? South Dakota’s Astrophil Press is reading both book-length manuscripts and chapbook-length works of prose and poetry.
Submission fee: Free! Deadline: April 10, 2016

A Public Space

Open submissions for this literary journal close this month. They run poetry, fiction, and nonfiction and accept novel and novella excerpts. Read more on A Public Space’s submissions here.
Submission fee: Free! Deadline: April 15, 2016

The Normal School

Another publication whose open reading period is about to close is this biannual print magazine. They are interested in nonfiction that doesn’t fit in easy categories and fiction with contemporary themes and style. They accept submissions through snail mail and online, but check out the rest of their guidelines here.
Submission fee: $3 Deadline: April 15, 2016

Narrative Free Submissions

Narrative has a variety of contests throughout the year, but for the next two weeks, submissions are free! Now’s your chance to save some dough and get your hat in the ring. Make sure you read their submission guidelines fully and choose which of their categories best matches your work.
Submission fee: Free! Deadline: April 15, 2016

Glimmer Train Very Short Fiction Contest

TO SUBMIT A STORY, CLICK HERE

In like a lion, out like that piece you’ve been working on long enough. Here are upcoming submission deadlines for March 2016.

The Masters Review Anthology

Of course we’re excited to announce our open submissions for this year’s collection of ten emerging writers, The Masters Review Volume V, selected this year by Amy Hempel. Anyone who has not published a novel at the time of submissions is free to submit. The ten winning writers will have their stories or essays published in our printed work and receive $500 each. Submit up to 7,000 words.
Click here for The Masters Review guidelines.
Entry fee: $20. Deadline: March 31, 2016.

THRESHOLDS Feature Competition

THRESHOLDS, the online forum supporting writers dedicated to the short story, is calling for feature essays that either profile a short story author or recommend a short story, collection, or anthology. First place is awarded £500, two runners up £100.
Click here for THRESHOLDS Feature Competition guidelines.
Entry fee: Free! Deadline: March 6, 2016.

Creative Nonfiction Magazine

Nonfiction writers, the magazine’s “Siblings” issue closes to submissions, so submit your essays up to 4,500 words. According to their guidelines, “Essays should combine a strong and compelling narrative with an informative or reflective element, reaching beyond a strictly personal experience for some universal or deeper meaning.”
Click here for Creative Nonfiction‘s “Siblings” guidelines.
Submission fee: $3. Deadline: March 7, 2016.

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The best way to plan your submissions! Our team has culled the lists, done the research, and now it’s here. A full month-by-month literary calendar, which outlines all the best deadlines for fiction and nonfiction. Enjoy our curated list of important dates including awards, fellowships, workshops, and contests, all in one easy-to-find place. It’s free this week, so click to download!

CLICK HERE to Download the Literary Calendar.

The shortest of the months has arrived, but there are plenty of opportunities to submit. Check out some of our favorite lit mags with contests and deadlines in February.

American Short(er) Fiction Prize – American Short Fiction may have paused its regular reading period, but the American Short(er) Fiction Contest is in full swing. Edited by Amelia Gray, this contest offers $1,000 and publication to the best work of short fiction under 1,000 words. Submit here. Entry fee: $17 Deadline: Feb 15 (Extended from February 1!)

Fiction International – Fiction International is currently seeking creative prose submissions on the theme “Taboo.” Fiction, nonfiction, and “indeterminate prose” under 5,500 words are all welcome. Submit here. Entry fee: none Deadline: Feb 15

Green Blotter – Green Blotter showcases the unpublished works of current undergraduates around the world. They accept prose pieces under 5,000 words and up to 5 pages of poetry at a time. Submit here. Entry fee: none Deadline: Feb 15

On Spec Magazine – On Spec is currently accepting submissions of short fiction under 6,000 words, and accepts poetry year-round. The editorial team is interested in speculative fiction and poetry, and gives very detailed guidelines from the editors themselves. Submit here. Entry fee: none Deadline: Feb 15

Indiana Review’s Blue Lights Book Prize – This year the Indiana Review partners with IU Press to award their first annual Blue Light Book Prize to an outstanding short story collection. Alternating each year with poetry, the winning writer will have their work published in paperback with the first volume debuting at AWP in 2017. The winner also receives $2000 against royalties. Manuscripts should be about 30,000–45,000 words (140–180 manuscript pages) in length. Submit here. Entry fee: $20 Deadline: Feb 15

North Carolina Writers Top of The Mountain Award – The annual Top of the Mountain Book Award is the chance for authors of both fiction and creative nonfiction to submit samples of their works for a chance at a $1,000 cash prize. Submit the first 20 pages of your unpublished fiction or nonfiction work with a double-spaced, one-page synopsis. Submit here. Entry fee: $25 Deadline: Feb 15

People of Colo(u)r Destroy Science Fiction!  – Lightspeed Magazine is seeking submissions from writers of color for this special edition of the magazine. Guest editors Nalo Hopkinson and Kristine Ong Muslim are looking for works of science fiction under 10,000 words. Submit here. Entry fee: none Deadline: Feb 19

Tin House – Tin House is currently open for submissions to its un-themed winter issue, to be published on December 1. Submissions should be under 10,000 words. Submit here. Entry fee: none Deadline: Feb 28

Acorn – Acorn is a “journal of contemporary haiku” that publishes twice annually. Their current reading period, for the spring issue that will be published in April, will close at the end of February. Submit here. Entry fee: none Deadline: Feb 29

Conjunctions – In spring 2016 Conjunctions will published the themed issue “Affinity: The Friendship Issue.” They are currently seeking pieces that fit this theme, and will be open for submissions until February 29. They read for their online magazine, Web Conjunctions, year-round. Submit here. Entry fee: none Deadline: Feb 29

Unlikely Story – Unlikely Story: A Fine Selection of Unlikely Journals is currently reading for the mini-issue “A Potlatch of Fools, aka The Journal of Unlikely Observances.” Submissions should be under 2,000 words, and incorporate specific themes listed on the website. Submit here. Entry fee: none Deadline: Feb 29

Kenyon Review Short Story Contest – Kenyon Review, a publication of Kenyon College, is seeking submissions from unpublished authors for their annual short fiction contest. The winning writer will be published in the Jan/Feb 2017 issue of Kenyon Review, and will receive a scholarship to attend the 2016 Writer’s Workshop in Gambier, Ohio. Submissions should be under 1,200 words and will be judged by guest editor Jaimy Gordon. Submit here. Entry fee: $20 Deadline: Feb 29

Story Magazine – Story is currently has an open call for submissions that fit the 2016 theme of “Identity.” Online submissions will close at the end of February, but print submissions will remain open until May. Submit here. Entry fee: none Deadline: Feb 29

Tales from the Lake vol. 3 – Crystal Lake Publishing wants your creepy, eerie, campfire horror stories for a new anthology. Submissions should be standalone fiction stories between 2,000 and 4,000 words. Submit here. Entry fee: none Deadline: Feb 29

by KM Bezner

Our anthology just opened for submissions, but we’ve got a year of excellent submitting opportunities ahead. Here’s a look at what you can expect (and look forward to!) from The Masters Review in 2016.

For more details, check out our calendar page.

The Masters Review Anthology – Volume V (Jan 15 – Mar 31)

Every year The Masters Review opens submissions to produce our anthology, a collection of ten stories written by the best emerging authors. The ten winning writers are nationally distributed with work exposed to top agents, editors, and authors across the country. This year’s volume is judged by Amy Hempel!

PRIZES: $5000 awarded, publication, and visibility through the journal. Ten writers published.

DEADLINE: March 31

Short Story Award For New Writers (May 15 – July 15)

Our Short Story Award for New Writers awards $2000 to the best short story written by an emerging writer. One of our most popular submission categories, the Short Story Award not only offers cash prizes, but agency review.

PRIZES: First place wins $2000, publication on the site, and agency review. Second and third place writers win $200 and $100 respectively, publication on the site, and agency review from Victoria Marini at GELFMAN SCHNEIDER / ICM PARTNERS. Additional agents will be added soon.

DEADLINE: July 15

Summer Workshop (Aug 1 – Aug 31)

Can’t afford a spendy summer workshop? Get feedback on your story from the best editors in the industry with our online manuscript evaluation. We pair with editors from the best literary magazines in the country to offer feedback and guidance on stories. Michelle Wildgen from Tin House and Jeffery Gleaves from The Paris Review will be instructors! Writers receive feedback just in time for fall, when so many lit mags open to submissions. More instructors will be added soon.

DEADLINE: August 31 (more…)

2016 kicks off a new year of writing, submitting, and publishing. Here is our list of contests, literary magazines, and publications with new submissions and deadlines in January. We hope it inspires a year of stories.

The Fairy Tale Review – As huge fans of the strange, surreal, and the magical, we’re happy to report that The Fairy Tale Review is now accepting submissions for The Translucent Issue. The issue will have no particular theme—simply send them your best work. Mainstream, experimental, fabulist, and realist are all welcome. Submit here. Entry Fee: None

The Masters Review – $5000 awarded! We’re so pleased to announce that submissions to our anthology, The Masters Review Volume V with stories selected by Amy Hempel opens this month. Emerging writers are invited to submit fiction and essays under 7000 words for consideration. Winners earn cash prizes and publication in the book, which is distributed nationally and mailed to an exclusive list of editors and agents. One of our favorite projects each year, submissions for the anthology remain open through the spring. More details here. Entry Fee: $20

Ploughshares – The venerable Ploughshares closes its doors to submissions until June on January 15th, so get your stories polished up and submitted before the middle of the month! Submit here. Entry Fee: None Deadline: Jan 15

Literal Latte K. Margaret Grossman Fiction Award – $1000 and publication will be awarded to the winning story. Submit a piece up to 10,000 words by January 15 to be considered. Contest details can be found here.  Entry Fee: $10 Deadline: Jan 15

Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize – $1000 is awarded annually by the North Carolina Writers’ Network for a short story up to 3000 words. The winner is considered for publication in the Thomas Wolfe Review. Winners are announced in April. Visit the website for complete guidelines. Entry Fee: $25 ($15 for NCWN members) Deadline: Jan 30

New Millennium Writings – $4000 in awards will be given in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, short fiction, and poetry. For longer work, writers can submit up to 6000 words. For short fiction, please send stories no longer than 1000 words. Full guidelines and information can be found here. Entry Fee: $20 (includes a copy of the anthology) Deadline: Jan 31

Crazyhorse Prizes in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry – Every January, Crazyhorse hosts an excellent contest acknowledging fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Submitters have the entire month of January to submit short stories and essays of up to 25 pages or a set of 1-3 poems. Winners in each genre will receive $2,000 and publication. Check out submission guidelines and guest judges here. Entry Fee: $20 Deadline: Jan 31

Iowa Review Awards – Kelly Link is judging fiction! Eula Biss in creative nonfiction! And Brenda Shaughnessy in poetry! A powerhouse lineup. Submit up to 10 pages of poetry or up to 25 pages of prose by the end of the month. $1500 to the winners in each category. All entries are considered for publication. Details here. Entry Fee: $20 Deadline: Jan 31

Center For Fiction Emerging Writers Fellowship – We love this fellowship! Our friends in New York offer fellowships of $5,000 to emerging writers, membership to the Center for Fiction in New York City, and access to writing space is given annually to fiction writers living in New York City who have not yet published a book of fiction. Winners will also have the opportunity to meet with editors and agents who represent new writers. To see the full guidelines click here. Entry Fee: None Deadline: Jan 31

American Short(er) Fiction Prize – One of our favorite writers, Amelia Gray, is judging this flash fiction contest. Submit up to 1000 words for a chance at $1000 and publication. Submit here. Entry Fee: $17 for up to three entries. Deadline: Feb 1

There is still time, writers! Your name in print might be the best present you give yourself this holiday season. Check out these great literary publications and contests with deadlines this month.

Headlands  – This New Zealand-based publication is looking for literary short fiction and creative non-fiction from New Zealanders as well as other talented writers across the world. Full guidelines and details can be found here! Entry Fee: None  Deadline: Dec 11th.

Kenyon Review
  – The Kenyon Review considers short fiction and essays (up to 7,500 words), poetry (up to 6 poems), and even plays and excerpts from larger works (up to 30 pages)… Basically, if it’s great, they’ll consider it. Learn more here! Entry Fee: None  Deadline: Dec 15th.

Litro Magazine
  – Litro is seeking themed submissions for its upcoming print issues, specifically the themes of “Love” (February 2016) and “Britishness” (March 2016). The full submission guidelines are available here. Entry Fee:  None Deadlines: the deadline for “Love” is Dec 18th, 2015; the deadline for “Britishness” is Jan 25th, 2016.

Lifted Brow
  – Lifted Brow is a quarterly print magazine focusing on literary arts & culture… and yes, they pay contributors! Nonfiction is especially welcomed. More details available here. Entry Fee: None  Deadline: Dec 20th.

Colloquium
  –  Northwestern University’s Poetry & Poetics journal, Colloquium, has announced its 5th annual Drinking Gourd Chapbook Poetry Prize, a first-book award for poets of color. You can learn more here! Entry Fee: $15  Deadline: Dec 31st.

Tethered by Letters – TBL is currently accepting submissions for its third annual Fall Literary Competition. The categories are 1) short stories of any genre, 2) flash fiction, and 3) poetry. As in previous years, they are looking for engaging stories, vivid characters, and fresh perspectives and styles. More details here. Entry Fee: None  Deadline: Dec 31st.

Pilcrow & Dagger
  – is accepting submissions for its February 2016 issue, the theme of which is “Leprechauns and Love.” Pieces may be up to 5,000 words and anything from personal essays to recipes. (Yes, actual recipes!) More details here. Entry Fee: None Deadline: Jan 1st.

Tin House
  – Already time to look ahead to summer 2016 as Tin House will soon be accepting applications for its Summer 2016 Workshop. Submissions will be accepted in Short Fiction, Novel Writing, Creative Nonfiction/Memoir, and Poetry. The full guidelines are available here. Deadline: Jan 1st.

Glimmer Train  – Our friends at Glimmer Train are hosting their last Fiction Open of the year. Entries typically run from 2,000 to 6,000 words, but they have been known to take pieces up to 20,000 words! Full guidelines and details can be found here. Open to all subjects and themes! Entry Fee: $21 per story Deadline: Jan 2nd.

We’ve culled the lists, we’ve pulled the links, and we’ve summarized our favorites below. Check out these 10 great contests and lit mags to submit to this month.

Narrative Magazine 30 Below Contest – Not all emerging writers are young, but if you happen to be under 30, Narrative has a place for your fiction, poems, and essays. Winners in each category take home $1500. Full guidelines and details can be found here. Entry Fee: $23 Deadline: Nov 15

Pushcart Press Editors’ Prize – Editors, this one’s for you. A prize of $1,000 is given for a fiction or nonfiction manuscript that has been submitted to but not accepted by a commercial publisher. The award recognizes “worthy manuscripts that have been overlooked by today’s high-pressure, bottom-line publishing conglomerates.” Submission guidelines, here. Entry Fee: None Deadline: Nov 15

Creative Nonfiction’s Essay Contest – Submit up to 4000 words on the topic of “Childhood” for a chance at $1000 and publication. Submission guidelines, here. Entry Fee: $20 (or $25 which includes subscription) Deadline: Nov 16

PRISM’s Creative Nonfiction Contest – This nonfiction contest allows up to 6000 words and awards the winner publication and a cash prize of $1500. The entry fee is a little steeper though, $40 to enter. You can find details on how to submit here. Entry Fee: $40 Deadline: Nov 20

Narrative Magazines Fall Story Contest – More from Narrative, this time with no age restrictions. Submit your short stories, essays, memoirs, photo essays, graphic stories, and all forms of literary nonfiction up to 15,000 words for a chance at $2500 and publication. Runners up also receive cash prizes. Details here. Entry Fee: $23 Deadline: Nov: 30

Fish Story Prize: €3,000 and publication in the annual Fish Publishing anthology is awarded for the winning short story. Guest judge Kevin Barry will select the best story up to 5,000 words. All entries are considered for publication, including international submissions. Full details can be found here. Entry Fee: €20 Deadline: Nov 30

Glimmer Train’s Short Story Award For New Writers: You have until Nov 30 to submit up to 12,000 to Glimmer Train’s Emerging Writers Contest. To qualify, writers cannot have work published in a literary magazine with a circulation over 5000. Prize money and publication in one of the best publications around. Full submission details, here. Entry Fee: $18 Deadline: Nov 30

Tethered by Letters’ Fall Literary Contest: Submissions in poetry, short stories, and flash fiction are accepted. Prizes of $500 to the winners in each category, plus prizes to the second and third runners up. All stories are considered for publication. For details on how to submit, click here. Entry Fee: $15 for stories, $7 for flash, $7 per poem (or $15 for set of three) Deadline: Dec 1

Hot Metal Bridge: This fall, Hot Metal Bridge is coming home. For their next issue, they’re looking for the best writing by a diverse range of authors and artists with ties to Pittsburgh and Western PA. Whether you were born and raised on the Allegheny, or spent a fleeting four college years here, or got trapped at a gas station in Canonsburg for one unforgettable night, they want your art – visual, literary, or otherwise. Stories up to 6000 words accepted. Submission guidelines, here. Entry Fee: None Deadline: Dec 1

Mslexia’s Monster Issue: Mslexia is looking to conjure pity and/or horror, stories that invite experimentation in both genre (fantasy, literary, crime, romance?) and point of view (from inside or outside the creature). Send them poems of up to 40 lines or stories of up to 2,200 words. Full submission guidelines, here. Entry Fee: None Deadline: Dec 7

It’s our favorite month, and with it are some awesome opportunities to submit your fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. We’ve culled the lists, we’ve pulled the links, and we’ve summarized our favorites below. Check out these twelve great contests and lit mags to submit to this month.

The Masters Review Fall Fiction Contest – Our own Fall Fiction Contest closes on October 31st, and our judges are literary power couple Ann and Jeff VanderMeer. The winner will receive letters from the judges about why their stories were chosen, $2000, and publication. Fifteen finalists will be recognized and second and third place stories will also receive feedback, $200 and $100 respectively, and publication. Full contest details can be found here. Submit now! Entry Fee: $20 Deadline: October 31

Granta – Here’s some news. The venerable Granta just opened up unsolicited submissions starting October 1. Get those stories in! Submit here. Entry Fee: None.

University of Louisville Calvino Prize – A prize of $1,500 and publication in Salt Hill Journal is given annually for a work of fiction written in the fabulist experimental style of Italo Calvino. The winner will also receive airfare and lodging to read at the annual Louisville Conference on Literature in February 2016. Martin McLaughlin will judge. Details here. Entry Fee: $25 Deadline: Oct 14

A Public Space Emerging Writers Fellowship – Three six-month fellowships of $1,000 each, publication in A Public Space, mentorship from an established author who has contributed to A Public Space, and optional workspace in the journal’s Brooklyn, New York, office from March to September 2016 will be given annually to emerging fiction writers and nonfiction writers. Submit here. Entry Fee: None Deadline: Oct 15

Missouri Review Editors’ Prize EXTENDED DEADLINE – The popular and exciting ($5000 to the winners in each category!) Editors’ Prize has extended their deadline to October 15th. Fiction, Poetry, and Essay submissions are welcome. But hurry, this deadline closes soon. Details here. Entry Fee: $20 Deadline: Oct 15

Cutthroat: These judges! Three prizes of $1,250 each and publication in Cutthroat are awarded for a group of poems, a short story, and essay. Natalie Diaz (poetry), Stuart Dybek and Rick DeMarinis (fiction), and Nick Flynn (nonfiction) will judge. Submit three poems of up to 100 lines each or a short story or essay of up to 5,000 words. Submit your work here. Entry Fee: $18 Deadline: Oct 20

Fall 2015 Hallie Ford Literary Series: An Uncanny Evening with Marjorie Sandor and Friends – No, not a deadline, but a great event to attend if you’re in the Portland area. Just in time for Halloween, a performance of stories from The Uncanny Reader, edited by Marjorie Sandor. With appearances by Sigmund Freud and others. Details: Wednesday, October 28, 7:30 p.m. Location: Hatfield Room, Hatfield Library Willamette University, Salem, OR (Read Marjorie’s essay on the uncanny here!)

Indiana Review – The Indiana Review is open to submissions for their Fiction Prize, judged by Laura van den Berg as well as general submissions for their “Ghost” issue. Both submission windows close at the end of the month. More details here. Entry Fee: $20 for the contest, FREE for “Ghost” issue. Deadline: Oct 31.

Glimmer Train Very Short Fiction Award – Why do we include Glimmer Train every month? Because landing a story in their publication would be so great. Here’s an opportunity to showcase your shorter work. Send stories up to 3000 words by the end of the month for a chance at a cash prize and publication from one of the best journals around. Details here. Entry Fee: $18 Deadline: Oct 31

North American Review Hearst Poetry Prize – Poets, this one’s for you! Jane Hirshfield judges this year’s contest, which awards $1000 to the winner and $100 and $50 to second and third runners up. Poets may enter up to five poems per entry fee, which includes a year’s subscription. Details and guidelines here. Entry Fee: $20 Deadline: October 31

Essay Press Digital Chapbook Contest – Each of twelve judges will select one digital chapbook for 2016 publication. Essay particularly welcomes manuscripts that extend or challenge the formal possibilities of prose: lyric essays and prose poems or poetics; experimental biography and autobiography; innovative approaches to journalism, experimental historiography, criticism, scholarship and philosophy. Details on how to submit can be found, here. Entry Fee: $8 Deadline: Nov 1

Wesleyan University’s Best American Experimental Writing – The Best American Experimental Writing anthology (“BAX” for short) 2016 is the third volume of the annual literary anthology compiling the best experimental writing in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Guest editors Charles Bernstein and Tracie Morris will work alongside series editors. Submission details can be found here. Entry Fee: $9 for 9 pages of writing. Deadline: Nov 1

by Kim Winternheimer

A few weeks ago we gave you our Fall Literary Forecast, a list of publications that reopened for submissions in the fall, along with a look at upcoming themed issues. Even with submission season just beginning, September has exciting opportunities for writers represented by the following deadlines. Check out the list and polish those stories!

Greensboro Review – The Robert Watson Literary Prize, offered by The Greensboro Review is open for submissions. A prize will be awarded in both fiction and poetry. The winners will receive $1000 and publication in The Greensboro Review. Submit no more than 25 pages of fiction or 10 pages of poetry. Submit here. Entry Fee: $14 Deadline: September 15

Structo – Structo’s most recent call for submissions is a little different. In order to submit, you must show proof that you’ve recently purchased a lit mag. Read more about that here. If you can provide proof, then submit your fiction or poetry by September 20. Please note that they do not accept simultaneous submissions, but do offer quick response times. Writers are awarded with contributor’s copies. Details here. Deadline: September 20

Mslexia Novel Writing Competition – Women writers. If you have a manuscript of at least 50,000 words, consider submitting to this competition. Winners receive £5,000 and manuscript feedback, as well as agency review. Four honorable mentions receive feedback and review. Details on the competition can be found here. Entry Fee: £20 Deadline: September 21

Litro – Litro is looking for short fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction and artwork based on the theme of “Space.” Not in the Outer-Space sense, but in the sense that everything takes up space. They want to know, “How and where do you find the space to breathe, to grow, to create, to be?” 4,000 words is the rough maximum for submissions. Submit here. Entry Fee: None Deadline: September 25

The Puritan – The Puritan is seeking submissions for their Thomas Morton Memorial Prize in Literary Excellence. This year’s guest judges are Ian Williams in poetry and Miriam Toews in fiction. The winner in each genre will not only be published in The Puritan’s Fall 2015 issue, but will also receive $1000 and a prize pack of books. Fiction must be under 7,500 and over 1,000. Poetry submissions may include up to 4 poems, or up to 4 pages. Submit here. Entry Fee: $15 Deadline: September 30

Glimmer Train Open and Family Matters – We always include the Glimmer Train contests because it’s such an amazing publication and a real benchmark for writers. This month, the venerable lit mag is open to its Family Matter’s contest and is free to submit to their general category, only open three times a year. Details to submit to both categories can be found here. Entry Fee: $20 and $0 Deadline: September 30

Stonecoast Review – Send Stonecoast Review your fresh and original voices; your modern, postmodern, experimental poetry; your honest and unflinching creative nonfiction. But do it before the 30^th, as that’s when their submission window closes. Details here. Deadline: September 30

Cheap Pop – Micro Fiction that pops!. Submissions must be under 500 words. There is no limit to the number of pieces that you may submit, but keep in mind that each submission requires a $5 entry fee. There is a $500 prize for the first place winner, $250 for second, and $100 for third. These three winners, along with three honorable mentions, will be published with Cheap Pop. The guest judge for this contest is author and poet Phillip Sterling. Submit here. Entry fee: $5  Deadline: September 30

Zoetrope All Story Fiction Contest – This well-known contest offers amazing visibility for the winning writers. The three prizewinners and seven honorable mentions will be considered for representation by William Morris Endeavor; ICM; the Wylie Agency; Regal Literary; Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary Agency; Markson Thoma Literary Agency; Inkwell Management; Sterling Lord Literistic; Aitken Alexander Associates; Barer Literary; the Gernert Company; and the Georges Borchardt Literary Agency. $1,000, $5000, and $250 will be awarded to the top three stories. This year’s contest is judged by the amazing Adam Johnson. Submit here. Entry Fee: $20 Deadline: October 1

Missouri Review Editors’ Prize – Another big one. $5000 is awarded in three categories, paying out the top writers in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. This award is entering its 25th year. Get those stories in! Details here.  Entry Fee: $20 Deadline: October 1

Boston Review Aura Estrada Short Story Contest – Jennifer Egan judging! A prize of $1,500 and publication in Boston Review is given annually for a short story. Submit a story of up to 5,000 words. Submission details here. Entry Fee: $20 with subscription Deadline: October 1

The American Literary Review – Three prizes of $1,000 each are awarded for a poem, short story, and essay. Submit up to three poems, stories up to 8,000 words, or an essay up to 6,500 words. Details here. Entry Fee: $15  Deadline: October 1

The Masters Review Fall Fiction Contest – Our own Fall Fiction Contest doesn’t close until October 31st, but it’s being judged by the incredible Jeff VanderMeer and his wife, award-winning editor Ann VanderMeer. Winners receive letters from the judges about why their stories were chosen, $2000, and publication. Fifteen finalists will be recognized and second and third place stories also receive feedback, $200 and $100 respectively, and are awarded publication. Full contest details can be found here. Submit now! Entry Fee: $20 Deadline: October 31

By Cole Meyer and Kim Winternheimer