If you don’t feel up to braving the weather, you can build your endurance by braving these literary challenges instead! Screw your courage to the sticking place and send in your submissions!
ONGOING! Winter Short Story Award for New Writers
Our own contest isn’t ending anytime soon, but that just gives you more of an opportunity to get started! The Masters Review is looking for stories under 7000 words, written by emerging writers who have a way with words and a love for language! The winner receives $3000, publication, and agency review, and the runners-up also receive cash prizes, publication, and review. Don’t let this chance slip by! Details here.
Entry Fee: $20 Deadline: January 15
Foglifter Submissions
Here is a great opportunity for daring and thoughtful writers, as your work could be published in Foglifter! This is the entry period for the upcoming spring edition, and they’re interested queering form and perspective, with cross-genre, intersectional, marginal, and transgressive works. Include a 50 word bio, and be ready to send in a photo if accepted! Submit here.
Entry Fee: FREE Deadline: December 1
Provincetown Fellowship
Given by the Fine Arts Work Center, this is a seven-month residency for writers in the emerging stages of their careers. The five poets and five fiction authors chosen will receive a monthly $750 stipend, as well as a living/work space. Writers who have published a full-length book are unfortunately not eligible. Applicants must send in a writing sample, a current CV, and an optional personal statement. There is a lot of competition, but there is no great reward without risk! Don’t miss it!
Entry Fee: $50 Deadline: December 1
Stegner Fellowship
This astounding fellowship is offered to ten writers through Stanford University, five in poetry and five in literary fiction, and the winners receive a yearly living stipend of $26,000 for two years, tuition, workshops, and other events. They’re looking for writers who are diverse in experience and style, who have talent and the ability to focus. You’ll need two contacts for recommendations, a statement of plans, and a manuscript up to 9000 words, but this could be your shot! Learn more here.
Entry Fee: $85 Deadline: December 1
W. Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction
There are some very specific contests out there, and this is one of them! Administered by the American Library Association, this award honors the best fiction published in the last year that was set in a time when the United States was at war. It recognizes the service of American veterans and military personnel, although the incidences of war may only function as the setting of the story. All entries are judged on the excellence of writing and attention to detail. The winning entrant will receive $5000 and a gold-framed citation of achievement. More details here.
Entry Fee: FREE Deadline: December 1
Chautauqua Prize
This competition is a daring gauntlet run by the Chautauqua Institute, but the reward at the end is worth the work! A $7500 prize and one-week residency is awarded to an author of a book of original fiction or narrative nonfiction that was published this year. They accept all books published in 2017, from short story collections to memoirs. Could this be you? Do it!
Entry Fee: $75 Deadline: December 15
Virginia Woolf Award for Short Fiction
LitMag is looking for short stories, between 3000 and 8000 words, with little constraints beyond that! Only unpublished short stories are eligible, but authors may submit multiple times. The winner receives $3500, publication, and agency review, and second place receives $1000 and agency review. Submit here!
Entry Fee: $15 Deadline: December 15
2018 Microfiction Contest
The editors at River Styx are looking for stories are short and sweet – does that describe your style? Stories must be less than 500 words, but three stories are allowed per entry! There are no other restrictions, and first place receives $1500 and publication in River Styx! Details here.
Entry Fee: $10 Deadline: December 31
Dorset Prize
This is a call to all poets who like to dream big! Offered through Tupelo Press, this contest is judged by the indomitable poet and writer Dana Levin. All poets writing in English are eligible, although the poetry manuscript should be between 48-88 pages. The winner of the Dorset Prize receives $3000, a week-long residency at MASS MoCA, 20 copies of the winning title, a book launch, and a national distribution with promotion and publicity! Wow! Submit here.
Entry Fee: $30 Deadline: December 31
Griffin Poetry Prize
This is a major Canadian contest, where American entrants must compete in the international section! If a poet has published a new book of poetry in the last calendar year, their publisher is able to enter it in this competition. The International and Canadian winners each receive C$65,000, and C$10,000 goes to each shortlisted poet. Learn more here!
Entry Fee: FREE Deadline: December 31
Press 53 Award for Short Fiction
This is annual award given by Press 53, to the author of an outstanding and unpublished short story collection. It is open to all writers in the United States or one of its territories, regardless of publishing history. The winner will be published by Press 53 under a standard publishing contract, with a $1500 cash advance. Details here.
Entry Fee: $30 Deadline: December 31
Short Fiction Contest for Emerging Writers
If you are an unpublished author, this is an opportunity meant specifically for you! Boulevard’s contest is meant to honor a writer who has never published a book, with a $1500 prize, and publication in an issue of Boulevard. Entries must be less than 8000 words, but there is no limit on the number of entries. Do it!
Entry Fee: $16 Deadline: December 31
Tampa Review Prize for Poetry
Are you wondering what to do with your just-finished poetry manuscript? Well, this prize has been won by first books as well as new titles by established poets! The manuscript must be unpublished, as the winner will receive $2000 and be published in both paperback and hardback editions. Check it out!
Entry Fee: $25 Deadline: December 31
C. Michael Curtis Short Story Book Prize
Note this January 1st deadline! The C. Michael Curtis Short Story Book Prize includes $10,000 and book publication. The prize is named in honor of C. Michael Curtis, who has served as an editor of The Atlantic since 1963 and as fiction editor since 1982. The first winning book will be published in Spring 2019. This prize is made possible by an anonymous contribution from a South Carolina donor. Details here. Entry Fee: $25 Deadline: January 1
by Kimberly Guerin