Hope you had a hearty Fourth. Let us now put these fireworks in our rearview and phoenix our way into the guts of summer. Don’t be the only kid at camp (or Iowa Writers’ Workshop, or wherever) who hasn’t applied for these lit contests! A handful of these are short notice, so look sharp.

New Guard – The New Guard literary review awards $1000 prizes and publication to the winners of their Machigonne Fiction and Knightville Poetry contests, though the submission period ends soon, so by the end of this sentence you should already have planned your next move starting noooooooow. More details here. Entry Fee: $15. DUE DATE: July 14th

Tethered by Letters – Tethered by Letters offers generous prizes and free professional edits for every finalist. PLUS a website positively chockablock with helpful resources. They’re accepting submissions in multiple categories: Short Story ($250 prize), Flash Fiction ($50), and Poetry ($100). But the deadline is hella soon. So don’t knock the hustle. Please don’t knock it. Remember that I asked you not to.  Apply here. Entry Fee: $4-12. DUE DATE: July 15th

Rattle – Listen, if you became a writer in order to make money . . . you should talk to some writers. But maybe just maybe you’re in it for the glory of the written word, the fear of the blank page, the adrenalin-pumping thrill of pressing SEND on your entry to the Rattle Poetry Prize, which just happens to include a $5000 purse. And I mean purse in the pugilist sense, not the haute couture handbag sense. Did I mention there were runner-up prizes too? Entry Fee: $20 (includes subscription). DUE DATE: July 15th

The Cincinnati Review – The Robert and Adele Schiff Prose and Poetry Awards are given to the best poem and prose piece (fiction or creative nonfiction). Another day, another mid-July deadline. Check it. Entry Fee: $20, includes subscription. DUE DATE: July 15th

Sixfold – Sixfold is a writer-voted journal. You pay the criminally low entry fee of $3 to submit your story or poem for their upcoming contest. Then you can read the rest of the entries and vote on what piece should win and who should be included in the next Sixfold publication. Which, natch, is completely free for anyone to read. This is what democracy looks like. Submit here. Entry Fee: $3. DUE DATE: July 24th

Glimmer Train – Okay, you know the deal. This is the beloved triannual publication that is faithfully running contest after contest. Perhaps that is why they are so beloved. This time it is for their Very Short Fiction Award (max length: 3000 words). Entry Fee: $15. DUE DATE: July 31st

Journal Of Experimental Fiction – The Kenneth Patchen Award was reinstated in 2011 after a years-long hiatus. The Journal Of Experimental Fiction (or JEF, perhaps) bestows the prize upon the most innovative novel of the previous calendar year. Please visit their website if you would like to read inventive, boundary-pushing descriptions of inventive, boundary-pushing fiction. Go ahead, apply. Entry Fee: $25. DUE DATE: July 31st

Narrative – Last but not least, the nonprofit organization Narrative is closing their submission period for the Spring 2014 Story Contest at the end of this month. They are looking for stories with “a strong narrative drive, with characters we can respond to, and with effects of language, situation, and insight that are intense and total.” Entry Fee: $22. DUE DATE: July 31st

by Andrew Wetzel

What does a writer’s office look like? From Proust’s cork-lined room to Margaret Atwood’s organized desk, writers’ offices are as varied as the work produced within them. The spaces where authors create continue to fascinate us. Check out the great spaces below and send us a picture of your #writersoffice.

BuzzFeed compiled pictures of the creative spaces of many famous artists, designers, musicians, and writers. Among them are Mark Twain, Martin Amis, Virginia Woolf, Nigella Lawson, and Susan Orlean. Check it out.

The Guardian did a two-year series on writers’ rooms that features pictures and short essays from each author about his writing environment. It’s nice to hear authors talk candidly about their routines. The series is full of little gems, such as this one from Justin Cartwright: “It’s only about three metres, but the separation of home and work is crucial.” Read the series here.

From Sir Walter Scott composing epic poetry on horseback, to Agatha Christie plotting novels in her bathtub, this Writer’s Digest article talks about the unconventional writing spots of famous writers. Read it here.

This Poets and Writers article discusses the work spaces of many famous authors and examines the question: “What does place even mean to a writer?” It’s a great read.

The Next Best Book Blog features weekly profiles with writers about their work spaces. They even got Margaret Atwood to tweet a picture of her desk to them! Check it out.

Deadline time is every time. Once again, a collection of deadlines for magazines and writing contests. Most of these end June 30th/July 1st, but make sure to double-check the corresponding websites for any updated information.

Salamander – This Boston-based nonprofit literary organization (with ties to Suffolk University) publishes a magazine twice a year. Their 2014 Fiction Prize will be judged by Jennifer Haigh. The reading fee includes a one-year subscription. The mid-month deadline is creeping up. More details here. Entry Fee: $15. DUE DATE: June 15

 Writer’s Digest – WD’s Annual Writing Competition was in last month’s list but they’ve extended their deadline, which gives you a bit more time to polish and submit your work of memoir, poetry, YA, genre shorts, literary shorts, etc. The Grand Prize is a whopping $3000 and includes an all-expenses-paid trip to the next Writer’s Digest Conference. Submit now. Entry Fee: $30 for the first manuscript; $25 for each additional entry. DUE DATE: June 16th 

Literary Arts – The Portland non-profit literary center is responsible for bringing some of the world’s best writers to Portland to read as well as sharing Portland’s best writers with our public high schools through their Writers In The Schools outreach program. And they also offer Oregon Literary Fellowships, a prize of $2500 awarded to Oregon writers who “initiate, develop, or complete literary projects in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.” They also offer the annual Women Writers Fellowship to “an Oregon woman writer of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction whose work explores experiences of race, class, physical disability, or sexual orientation.” More details here. No Entry Fee. DUE DATE: June 27th

Glimmer Train – This triannual writing journal, which also shares our hometown, has a fiction contest for June that is open to all writers, subjects, and themes. First prize gets you $2500 and 20 copies of the issue in which you’ll be published. Considering every issue sells out, that’s a generous detail. There are second and third prizes as well. Entry Fee: $20 per submission (three max). DUE DATE: June 30th

Red Hen Press – The Short Story Award is given annually by this LA-based literary press. It includes a $1000 prize and publication in the Los Angeles Review. This is a bliNd read, sO doN‘t leAve identifying inforMation in your EntrieS, winkwink. Go ahead, apply. Entry Fee: $20 per two-story submission. DUE DATE: June 30th

National Poetry Review Press – We’ve gone local, we’ve gone West Coast. Now we go national (even though they’re based in CA), with the National Poetry Review Press’s Book Prize, given every year for a poetry collection. This year’s judge is C.J. Sage. Manuscripts should be between 45 to 80 pages. Check it out. Entry Fee: $25. DUE DATE: June 30th

Bellevue Literary Review – Ooh boy, BLR is bringing the heat in terms of judging caliber. Their annual prizes of $1000 are awarded to a poet, a fiction writer, and a creative nonfiction writer for works “about health, healing, illness, the body, and the mind.” The Marica and Jan Vilcek Prize for Poetry will be judged by Major Jackson, the Goldenberg Prize for Fiction by Chang-Rae Lee, and the Felice Buckvar Prize for Nonfiction by Anne Fadiman. Submit now! Entry Fee: $20 (the $30 rate includes a subscription). DUE DATE: July 1st

It’s about that time again. Deadlines for end-of-the month contests and reading periods are nigh. Prep your fiction, nonfiction, and poetry and check out seven contests and lit mags with upcoming deadlines.

The Masters Review – We’re going to plug our own contest first since this is our blog and we write the rules. On March 31, 2014, submissions for our printed anthology are due. This submissions category is open only to MA, MFA, and PhD creative writing students and is guest judged by Lev Grossman. Shortlisted authors will be announced by April 15, 2014, and winners will be printed in our third volume, distributed nationally, as ten of the best emerging writers to watch. Fiction and narrative nonfiction up to 7000 words. No Entry Fee. (We are angels, you guys, ANGELS.) DUE DATE: March 31, 2014.

Flyaway Magazine – $500 and another sweet prize will be awarded to the winning fiction story surrounding environment. Guest judged by author Dean Bakopoulos who will screen any genre of fiction as it pertains to environment up to 5000 words. Details here. DUE DATE: March 31, 2014. Entry Fee: $12, or $15 includes subscription

AWP Scholarship Applications – AWP offers two annual scholarships of $500 each to emerging writers who wish to attend a writers’ conference, center, retreat, festival, or residency. The scholarships are applied to fees for winners who attend one of the member programs in AWP’s Directory of Conferences & Centers. Winners and four finalists also receive a one-year individual membership in AWP. Submission guidelines here. DUE DATE: March 30, 2014.

Narrative Magazine Winter Contest – A prize of $2,500 and publication in Narrative is given annually for a short story, a short short story, an essay, or an excerpt from a work of fiction or creative nonfiction. A second-place prize of $1,000 is also awarded. Up to 15,000 words will be accepted. Details here. DUE DATE: March 31, 2014. Entry Fee: $22.

Beecher’s Writing Contest – Beecher’s 2014 Writing Contest offers prizes in poetry, nonfiction, and fiction. First place winners in each genre will receive $200 and publication in Beecher’s 4. Runners up will be considered for publication in Beecher’s 4, in print or online. Submission guidelines here. DUE DATE: March 31, 2014. Entry Fee: $12.

Glimmer Train Family Matters – Glimmer Train hosts a bevy of contests throughout the year and this month is no exception. If your story relates to “Family” consider submitting up to 12,000 words for the chance to win publication in a highly regarded journal in addition to $1500. Contest details here. DUE DATE: March 31, 2014 with one-week buffer. Entry Fee: $15

Blackbird Magazine – Virginia Common Wealth’s literary journal accepts poetry, nonfiction, and fiction for publication through April 15, 2014, which means if you want to be considered for their next issue get those stories prepped. Submission guidelines. DUE DATE: April 15, 2014. No Entry Fee.

Book services packaged like magazines? Wired highlights publishers struggling against plunging prices and shrinking audiences in this article which claims, The Future of Books Looks a lot Like Netflix.

The Women’s Prize for Fiction, which awards a cash prize of £30,000 announced their longlist this week. Nominees include Booker Prize winner The Luminaries, Margaret Atwood bestseller MADDADDAM, Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, and The Flamethrowers. Their shortlist announces April 7th, and winners on June 4th. Don’t forget, our 2013 judge, AM Homes, won it last year.

Graywolf Press champions aspiring authors on the premise that all outstanding writers deserve to be heard. Celebrating their 40th anniversary, Graywolf has grown from a one man operation to a leading nonprofit publisher. Happy 40th to a wonderful press!

Jonsing for some new fiction? This week Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading (subscribe! It’s fantastic.) is brought to you by Karen Russell, who introduces “Girl and Giraffe” by Lydia Millet. “Millet produces a slender masterpiece about humans’ engagement with and estrangement from the natural world.”

This new reading app will have you reading faster than ever before. Research shows up to 500 wpm, with full retention. Click on the link to see what 500 wpm looks like.

Words connecting people: Raimundo Arruda Sobrinho has written poetry most of his life, but few have read his words because he is homeless living in Sao Paulo. A passerby created a facebook page highlighting his poetry and now he is on the path to publishing, has over 45,000 likes, and has reunited with estranged family.

Mid-week strikes and we’re in for some cold weather out here in the northwest. Curl up by the fire, pour yourself a cup of joe (tea, bourbon, …whatever) and enjoy some links of the literary sort.

Teddy Wayne provides us with a break down of how to write a humor story. Comedy writing might not be your bag, but if you click (the many) links in this piece, at the very least you’ll be laughing out loud by article’s end. And look, now you’re submission is McSweeny’s worthy.

According to The Atlantic, the “book lover” is in serious decline, with a quarter of Americans reporting not having read a single book last year. Le sigh.

Love it or hate it, Lena Dunham’s GIRLS is a hit show. We won’t get into the bigger debate surrounding its criticisms, but there is a publishing thread in the plot to enjoy. Now you can read the first chapter of Hannah Horvath’s ebook (or physical book… or no book at all…) If you’re a fan of the show, or simply eye-rolling over the fact that a twenty-something’s memoir could possibly be published before any of your own work, stew over this.

Kyle Minor’s debut novel PRAYING DRUNK is out this month and is getting a lot of buzz. He talks with Tin House about his book and also rectifies a collection of untruths he was told as a child. Read this.

Buzzfeed put out a list of 15 of the most highly anticipated books from (mostly) small presses. PRAYING DRUNK is at the top of their list as are many other notable debuts. Scroll around and put together your reading list.

One of the largest literary conferences in the country is this month, with AWP taking place in Seattle. It’s not too late to book attendance. Take a look at the schedule and start making plans. (We will be there. See you at table i4 y’all.)

“There’s this idea that monsters don’t have reflections in a mirror. And what I’ve always thought isn’t that monsters don’t have reflections in a mirror. It’s that if you want to make a human being into a monster, deny them, at the cultural level, any reflection of themselves.”

– Author Junot Diaz, speaking at Rutgers University

With Martin Luther King, Jr. Day right around the corner, now seems like a good moment to set aside some time to think about race and diversity in our own profession. What is the state of publishing like now for minority writers? What books are being published, and how are they being marketed? Whose stories are still underrepresented? And most importantly, how can we, as writers and publishers, help create more mirrors in the world?

To jumpstart the discussion, here is a sampling of articles discussing diversity, race, writing, and publishing.

• Publisher’s Weekly put together a roundtable of editors and agents to talk about what’s being published, finding new authors, marketing, and challenges in “The State of African-American Publishing.”
• Novelist Martha Southgate discusses the publishing world and the careers of African-American literary writers in her essay “Writers Like Me.”
• Roxane Gay dig some digging in 2012 and figured out that nearly 90% of the books reviewed by The New York Times were written by white authors.
• Bernice L. McFadden investigates the problem of lumping all work by African American authors into the “African American Literature” category.

Want to expand your own reading list or get inspiration? Check out these resources:

• 7 Young Black Writers You Should Know on Ebony has great new playwrights, poets, journalists, publishers, and authors to discover.
• Here’s an easy, practical guide to writing diverse fiction.
• The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County has a great list of selected African American fiction writers, separated by genre.
• If you’re looking for something to read after finishing the Hunger Games series, here’s a Short List of Great Resources for Racial Diversity in Young Adult Sci-Fi.

At The Masters Review, we want to remind writers that we’re looking for innovation, urgency, and authenticity in the stories we select. We aren’t interested in publishing the status quo – we want stories that take our breath away. Please feel free to submit your work to us! We’re currently accepting submissions for both our New Voices category and the printed anthology.