Opens on December 1st!
Guidelines:
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Winner receives $3000, publication, and agency review
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Second and third place prizes ($300 / $200, publication, and agency review)
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Stories under 6000 words
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Previously unpublished stories only
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Simultaneous and multiple submissions allowed
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Emerging writers only (We are interested in offering a larger platform to new writers. Self-published writers and writers with story collections and novels with a small circulation are welcome to submit. Writers with novels published with a circulation of fewer than 5000 copies can also submit.)
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International English submissions allowed
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$20 entry fee
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Deadline: January 31, 2021
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Please, no identifying information on your story
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All stories are considered for publication
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If requesting an editorial letter, please indicate on your cover letter if the submissions is fiction or creative nonfiction
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To view a list of our most commonly asked questions regarding submitting to The Masters Review, please see our FAQ page
We don’t have any preferences topically or in terms of style. We’re simply looking for the best. We don’t define, nor are we interested in, stories identified by their genre. We do, however, consider ourselves a publication that focuses on literary fiction. Dazzle us, take chances, and be bold.
Helen Oyeyemi is the author of the story collection What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, winner of the PEN Open Book Award, along with six novels, including Gingerbread and Boy, Snow, Bird, which was a finalist for the 2014 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. photo credit: Manchul Kim
Winner update: Joe Bond earned representation from Sarah Fuentes of Fletcher & Company, and Caitlin O’Neil earned representation from Victoria Marini and our 2016 Fall Fiction winner, Ruth Joffre, selected by Kelly Link sold her story collection to Grove Atlantic with our winning piece as the title story. Awesome.
// PAST AWARD WINNERS //
2019 Winter Award Winners:
Judged by Kimberly King Parsons.
First Place Story:
“The Driver” by Samantha Xiao Cody
Second Place Story:
“Joe Blake” by Raeden Richardson
Third Place Story:
“The Easiest Thing in the World” by Taylor Grieshober
Honorable Mention:
“Rapture” by Chloe Seim
2019 Summer Award Winners :
Judged by Tope Folarin.
First Place Story:
“Ghost Story” by Becca Anderson
Second Place Story:
“Escape Velocity” by Karisa Tell
Third Place Story:
“Mutts” by Shane Page
Honorable Mention:
“Terraforming Mars” by Emmett Knowlton
2018 Winter Award Winners:
Judged by Aimee Bender.
First Place Story:
“Damico” by Joe Bond
Second Place Story:
“Caretaker Needed” by Meghan Daniels
Third Place Story:
“Narada’s Ears” by Sanjena Sathian
Honorable Mention:
“At This Late Hour” by Rebecca Turkewitz
2018 Summer Award Winners:
First Place Story:
“Confirmation“ by Alina Grabowski
Second Place Story:
“Portrait of a Virgin“ by Rachel Cochran
Third Place Story:
“A Country Where I Am Beautiful“ by Patricia Smith
Honorable Mentions:
“Headshot” by Charles Ullmann
“We Are The Horizon” by Laura Fletcher
2017 Winter Award Winners:
First Place Story:
“Drop Zone Summer” by Nick Fuller Googins
Second Place Story:
“A History That Brings Me To You” by Katie M. Flynn
Third Place Story:
“Birth Stories” by Sarah Harris Wallman
2017 Summer Award Winners:
First Place Story:
“Demonman” by Juliacia Case
Second Place Story:
“The Devil is a Liar” by Ngwah-Mbo Nkewti
Third Place Story:
“Iron Boy Kills The Devil” by Sheldon Costa
Honorable Mentions:
“Private Affair” by D.S. Englander
“Bluebeard” by Rayna Jensen
2016 Winter Award Winners:
First Place Story:
“Operation” by Scott Gloden
Second Place Story:
“White Out” by Caitlin O’Neil
Third Place Story:
“Malheur Refuge” by Rick Attig
2016 Summer Award Winners:
First Place Story:
“Red” by Katie Knoll
Second Place Story:
“Ledgers” by Claire Boyles
Third Place Story:
“The First Location” by Molly Reid
