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