//Currently Closed//
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Previously unpublished stories only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 are welcome to submit. Writers with novels published with small circulations (around 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: August 30th, 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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A significant portion of the editorial letter fees go to our feedback editor, according to the rates established by the EFA
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.
Kristen Arnett is the NYT bestselling author of the debut novel Mostly Dead Things (Tin House, 2019) which was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in fiction. She is a queer fiction and essay writer. She was awarded Ninth Letter’s Literary Award in Fiction and her work has appeared at The New York Times, The Cut, Guernica, Buzzfeed, Electric Literature, McSweeneys, PBS Newshour, The Guardian, Salon, and elsewhere. Her story collection, Felt in the Jaw, was published by Split Lip Press and was awarded the 2017 Coil Book Award. She was a Spring 2020 Shearing Fellow at Black Mountain Institute. Her next two books (With Teeth: A Novel and an untitled collection of short stories) will be published by Riverhead Books (Penguin Random House). She has a Masters in Library and Information Science from Florida State University and currently lives in Miami, Florida.
INCLUDED UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES AND DISCOUNTS:
To thank you for your continued support of The Masters Review, we’re excited to offer you the following opportunities with your submission:
WritingWorkshops.com is offering 15% off any of their classes this year, and the discount code will be included in the confirmation e-mail when you submit.
Literature & Latte is offering a 20% discount on their incredibly helpful Scrivener writing software for macOS and Windows users. There will be a discount code in the confirmation e-mail when you submit.
Benjamin Woodard’s class on Skillshare, “Crafting Complex Characters (Quickly) for Short Fiction,” is available with a free 14-day trial (through a link in your confirmation e-mail).
The Writing Salon is offering every submitter a 10% off discount code on a writing class with a discount code included in your confirmation e-mail!
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 //
2020 Winter Award Winners:
Judged by Helen Oyeyemi.
Winner
“Straight to My Heart” by Dean Jamieson
Second Place
“Collection of the Artist” by Corey Flintoff
Third Place
“You’re Not the Only One” by William Hawkins
Honorable Mention
“Celestial Navigation” by Heather Marshall
2020 Summer Award Winners:
Judged by Kali Fajardo-Anstine.
Winner:
“Burning” by Adeline Lovell
Second Place Story:
“Matchbox” by Nancy Ludmerer
Third Place Story:
“Como La Flor” by Dayna Cobarrubias
Honorable Mention:
“Petrified” by Clare Howdle
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
