Being a pretty busy month for most of us, there are fewer contest closing in December, but here are a few pretty great ones to keep your eye on.
PEN/American 2014 Literary Awards Submissions – Submissions for the Robert W. Bingham Prize (awarding $25k) for a fiction writer whose debut work, published in 2013, represents distinguished literary achievement and suggests great promise. See all the categories including prizes for debut short story collections, as well as submissions here: http://www.pen.org/call-submissions-2014-literary-awards DUE DATE: December 16, 2013. No Entry Fee.
Glimmer Train Fiction Open – This is the last Fiction Open before the editors change their submissions structure, so get those stories in. Open to any fiction piece between 2,000 – 20,000 words. Awards $2,500 to the winner. Details, here. DUE DATE: December 31, 2013. Entry fee: $19.
Boulevard Magazine – Open to any fiction writer who has not yet published a nationally-distributed work. Submit a story up to 8,000 words to Boulevard Magazine. Entry fees include a one-year subscription. DUE DATE: December 31, 2013. Entry fee: $15
River Styx Flash Fiction Contest – Submit up to three stories less than 500 words for a chance to win $1,500 and a case of Schlafly micro-brewed beer. Entry fees are $20, which is a lot for such a short submission, but it appears their contest fees go to supply the winner with their cash… and, um, beer. DUE DATE: December 31, 2013. Entry fee: $20.
San Jose State University Fellowship – This one year residency application is due on January 2, 2014, so prep those manuscripts now. Up to three fiction and narrative nonfiction writers are awarded $10,000 and must live in San Jose for the year. Fellows are required to conduct one public reading per semester. If you’re mobile, and looking for a chance to work on your writing, submit up to 30 pages of prose to: http://as.sjsu.edu/steinbeck/steinbeck_fellows/ DUE DATE: January 2, 2014. No entry fee.