WRITERS’ RETREAT AT FOLLY BEACH, SC

 May 18 to May 21, 2017:  Writers’ Retreat at Folly Beach, SC 

 The Writers’ Workshop is hosting its 20^th Annual Writers’ Retreat at Folly Beach, SC, from May 18-21, 2017.

It is open to a small group of beginning or experienced writers, and is an ideal place to relax, write and review participant’s work.  Daily sessions in fiction, creative non-fiction and memoirs will be led by The Writers’ Workshop instructors. Participants stay at a beach house near the ocean.

The all-inclusive rate (except for meals) is $495 for a private room, or $450 shared. The commuter rate is $55 per day.

Please register a.s.a.p. since space is limited, at www.twwoa.org,

or contact 828-254-8111 / writersw@gmail.com for more information.

2017 Lune Spark Young Writers’ Short Story Writing Contest

“REGISTER HERE” to Participate!

DEAR PARENTS & TEACHERS!

Think you know a child who is 10 to 16 years of age (residing in the US, Canada, and the UK) who could write a wonderful story in 1,500 words or less? 

If the answer is “yes”, then this is a great opportunity for him/her to show his/her talent and get a chance to get published.

Prizes

$3,000 worth of prizes including: $1,500 in cash ($750 in each category) and In-person creative writing classes valued at $1,500, held in NC, Cary.

Categories

1) Online Only: Short stories can be submitted online. There is no expectation to be at venue physically.

2) On-The-Spot: Free event, but requires you to participate in the “Online Only” category as well. A range of themes are going to be announced at the venue (Cary, NC). Participants in this free category must participate in Online Contest as well.

Publishing

Top 15 stories will be published on Amazon.com and Kindle through Lune Spark Books’ independent publishing.

Online-Only (Category A) Participants

• Register for the Online-Only (Category A) ticket, Price: $15.00 per entry.
• You must send us your story by May 12, 2017 by email or by normal post.
• Email: Send your story in word, txt, or PDF format to youngwriters@lunespark.com. Please include following information in the email:
  • “2017 story contest” in the subject of the email.
  • The full name & age of the contestant (as of May 20, 2017) at the top of the email.
  • Your ticket order number generated at the time of registration (to help us map the stories to orders)
• Regular Mail: We prefer to get the stories on email, but if you wish to send your entries via regular mail, your entry(s) should reach us by May 12, 2017 at this address: Lune Spark Books, PO Box 1443, Morrisville, NC 27560, US. Please make sure your mail is a regular/normal mail (not certified/ registered mail) – to avoid it returning back from you by the post office. Please include following information at the top of first page of your story:
  • “2017 story contest” .
  • The full name & age of the contestant (as of May 20, 2017).
  • Your ticket order number generated at the time of registration (to help us map the stories to orders)

On-The-Spot (Category B) Participants

• The On-The-Spot contest is free, but requires participation in Online-Only contest as a pre-requisite. You must register for both the categories: the Online-Only (Category A) as well as free On-The-Spot (Category B) by registering for both tickets.
• The judging for both the categories is completely isolated. Your respective entries for both the categories will be considered separately. In other words, by registering in both the categories, you have a chance to be a winner in both.
• For mailing your stories for Online-Only contest, please follow the instructions in the Online-Only category.
• On-The-Spot contest will be held on following venue on May 20, 2017, between 12:30 PM – 3:30 PM. Make sure you are at the venue by 12:15 PM latest.
• Venue address for the free On-The-Spot Contest: Cary Senior Center, 120 Maury Odell Pl, Cary, NC 27513.
• Please bring the electronic or print copies of your free On-The-Spot ticket as well as your Online-Only ticket.
• The participants will be provided with notebook and pens/ pencils. You don’t have to bring anything with you unless participant wants to use his/ her personal favorite notebook or pen.
• Water and light refreshments will be available during the event. The participants can have as many breaks as needed–as long as fellow participants are not disturbed.
• Schedule:
  • 11:30 AM: Gathering/ seating starts.
  • 11:30 AM: The themes to pick from for the stories are posted on the Easel Signs/ screens.
  • 11:45 AM – 12:15 PM: Talks on short story writing
  • 12:15 PM – 12:25 PM: Rules of the contest
  • 12:25 PM – 12:30 PM: Announcement of the winners for Online-Only Contest
  • 12:30 PM – 03:30 PM: Short Story Contest – write your heart’s content out 🙂

Click here for the full eligibility criteria and rules for the contest.

Click here to visit the profiles of the judges.

Click here to visit the organizers.

Click here for the full event website with a page to contact the organizers.

“REGISTER HERE” TO PARTICIPATE!

 

Have questions about 2017 Lune Spark Young Writers’ Short Story Writing Contest? Contact Lune Spark Books

MOTHER’S DAY 2017 ESSAY CONTEST

DEADLINE: MAY 1, 2017 – 11:59PM

This year for Mother’s Day, in honor of the strength and commitment mothers provide for their children and families, Swift River and Shame Kills are proud to sponsor the “My Mother, My Hero” essay contest. This contest is free with a $200 prize for the winning essay!

In the world of addiction, it is often the families who help pull a loved one out of the clutches of substance abuse. It’s through their support that many people find healing, and quite often it is a mom (or a mother figure) who is always there in a time of need. Of course, it’s also likely that a mom has been hurt most in watching her child suffer the pain of addiction, which doesn’t just affect the addict, it touches everyone in their life.

In 250 words or less, tell us why your mother is your hero.

WHAT HAS SHE DONE TO LIFT YOU UP AND KEEP YOU ON THE RIGHT TRACK?

HOW HAS SHE INFLUENCED OR INSPIRED YOU?

HOW HAS SHE HELPED YOU STAY ON THE PATH TOWARDS HEALING?

Visit the website for details on how to enter:

http://www.swiftriver.com/my-mother-my-hero/

Deadline April 30: $1,500 For a Story, $1,500 For an Essay

$1,500 For a Story, $1,500 For an Essay The deadline is April 30, 2017 to enter this year’s Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest. We’ll award 12 cash prizes totaling $4,000. The winning entries will be published on our website. The top winners will receive prominent exposure on our home page. Key contest information: New final judge: Judy Juanita (see her advice) Top prizes: Best Story, $1,500; Best Essay, $1,500 Submit as many entries as you like Entry fee: $18 per entry Enter online using Submittable Length limit: 6,000 words per entry Subject: Any Previously published work OK? Yes Writers from all countries eligible Past winning entries with judges’ remarks: See our archives Questions? Please email adam@winningwriters.com. Can’t Enter Online? If you are using a mobile device, or are otherwise having difficulty using our online entry system, you may mail your entry to: Winning Writers Attn: Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest 351 Pleasant Street, PMB 222      Northampton, MA 01060-3961      USA Please include a check or money order for $18 payable to Winning Writers, and note your email address and phone number with your payment. You may mail multiple submissions in a single envelope with one combined payment. Please send US funds drawn on a US bank, or send your fee as US currency.

2017 Arizona Mystery Writers Contests are now accepting entries!

Cash prizes! Two short story contests.

Arizona Mystery Writers is proud to announce a new contest for youth ages 9-14

PLUS our annual short story contest for ages 15+.

2017 Arizona Mystery Writers Annual Jim Martin Memorial Short Story Contest for ages 15+

(entry fee $15, Prizes: 1st=$200, 2nd=$100, 3rd=$75)

DEADLINE: JUNE 1, 2017

~AND~

Mary Ann Hutchinson Short Story Contest for ages 9-14,

(Entry fee $5, Prizes: 1st=$25, 2nd=$20, 3rd=$15)

Mystery, suspense, or thriller, 2500 words max. Blind judging.

DEADLINE: MAY 1, 2017

Past winners are on the website. We are an independent, nonprofit club supporting mystery writing in Arizona.

Contests are open to all.

For all contest rules and entry forms on the website, visit:

http://www.arizonamysterywriters.com/?page_id=1449 

Contact email: amwcontest@gmail.com with questions.

2017 Curt Johnson Prose Awards

Submissions are OPEN – March 1, 2017 to May 1, 2017.

We are pleased to announce Lily King (Fiction) and Roxane Gay (Nonfiction) will judge our 2017 Curt Johnson Prose Awards. $1,500 and publication in our Fall/Winter 2017 issue for First Place (fiction and nonfiction); $500 and publication in our Fall/Winter 2017 issue for honorable mention (fiction and nonfiction).

Lily King is the award-winning author of Father of the Rain (NY Times Editor’s Choice, Publishers Weekly Best Novel of the Year) and Euphoria (Kirkus Award for Fiction, New England Book Award, National Book Critics Circle Award finalist). She grew up in Massachusetts and received her B.A. in English Literature from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her M.A. in Creative Writing from Syracuse University. She has taught English and Creative Writing at several universities and high schools in this country and abroad. Lily is the recipient of a MacDowell Fellowship and a Whiting Writer’s Award.

Roxane Gay’s writing appears in Best American Mystery Stories 2014, Best American Short Stories 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, A Public Space, McSweeney’s, Tin House, Oxford American, American Short Fiction, Virginia Quarterly Review, and many others. She is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times. She is the author of the books Ayiti, An Untamed State, the New York Times bestselling Bad Feminist, and Difficult Women and Hunger forthcoming in 2017. She is also the author of World of Wakanda for Marvel.

Our submission period is OPEN.

SEE CURRENT AND PAST WINNERS HERE

Guidelines:

Maximum of 8,000 words for fiction and non-fiction.  Name and address on cover letter only.  $20 entry fee includes copy of Awards issue.

AUTHOR NAME OR OTHER IDENTIFYING INFORMATION SHOULD NOT APPEAR IN YOUR TITLE OR ANYWHERE ON YOUR UPLOADED OR HARD COPY DOCUMENT.

december accepts submissions online through Submittable.

We do not accept simultaneous submissions, but we generally provide a response within six weeks.

december also accepts submissions through the U.S. mail. If submitting by mail, please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) with sufficient postage, your $20.00 entry fee (check or cash), and indicate if you would like your manuscript returned. Multiple entries accepted with additional $20.00 entry fee per submission.
december assumes no responsibility for delayed, lost, or damaged manuscripts.

HOW TO ENTER:  http://decembermag.org/2017-curt-johnson-prose-awards/

THE WRITER MAGAZINE: “SPRING CLEANING” PROSE FICTION CONTEST

As you already know, The Writer encourages all of our readers to practice their craft and put their stories in front of the eyes of as many people as possible. Contests have always been a vital part of the writing world, giving writers the chance to have their work reviewed by editors and possibly published. Literary journals, universities and even The Writer regularly host contests, helping authors gain exposure and hone their craft.

Choose your inspiration, submit before the deadline, and, as always, keep writing.

OUR CURRENT CONTEST: “SPRING CLEANING”

Spring is finally here. To celebrate, we’re encouraging our readers to do a little spring cleaning of their own…in their draft folders.

Pick your very best draft, polish it up, and send it for consideration in our short story contest. No theme, no genre restrictions, just your favorite draft in 2000 words or less. Don’t have a draft in progress? Clean out your “idea bank” and write a new one!

Deadline: May 8th, 2017

Grand prize: $1,000 and publication in our magazine

Word count: 2,000 words or less

Other prizes: Our second-place winner will receive $500 and publication on our website, writermag.com; our third-place winner will receive $250 and publication on writermag.com as well.

Not the writing contest for you? Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to hear when we launch a new one.

 

PLEASE READ ALL GUIDELINES BEFORE SUBMITTING.

Guidelines:

• The submission deadline is midnight eastern time on May 8th, 2017. Please note that the deadline is eastern standard time. If you are unsure when that would be in your time zone, we recommend using an online time zone converter, such as thetimezoneconverter.com. Every year, we receive emails from writers who waited until the last minute to enter and experienced a technical glitch or another emergency. To be safe, we recommend submitting before the final deadline to account for any problems, especially since our staff is out of the office on weekends. If you do experience a technical problem, contact customerservice@madavor.com and we will do our very best to help you.

• The entry fee is $25 (including processing fees). All entries MUST be submitted through Submittable to be considered. We cannot accept mailed or emailed submissions.

• We encourage you to submit multiple stories – for a discounted entry fee of $15. All entries must be submitted on the same transaction in order to get the discounted rate. The first submission will be $25 and each additional submission (up to 5 per transaction) will be $15.

• You may enter simultaneously submitted work.

• This is a prose fiction contest. Do not submit essays, poetry, or other works of nonfiction. Do not submit any work over 2000 words or it will be disqualified. (Your piece’s title will not be included in the final word count.)

• Please remove your name, bio and any contact info from the file that you submit – including title page, header and footer. This is a blind contest and your confidentiality is essential. Once we close the contest and determine our winners, Submittable will allow us to contact you via your account information. There is no need whatsoever to include your personal information in your document.

• We prefer Word documents, but we do accept some other file types (such as PDFs). Please do give your piece a title and make sure that title matches the name you enter in the Submittable “title” form. (Your title will not be included in the maximum word count). For multiple submissions, simply enter one of your stories’ titles in the Submittable form.

• A blind reading of all entries will be conducted by the editorial staff of The Writer.

• $1,000 and publication in the September 2017 issue will be awarded to the winner. The runner-up will receive $500 and publication on writermag.com. Third place winner will receive $250 and publication on writermag.com.

• Close friends and colleagues (current & former) of the The Writer staff and Madavor Media are not eligible to compete.

• All submissions must be submitted via our online submission form manager. Again, we will not accept mail or email submissions.

• All submissions must be previously unpublished.

• Entry fees are non-refundable.

• International (non-US) writers are welcome to submit.

• Must be 18 years or older to enter.

HOW TO ENTER:

https://writermag.submittable.com/submit

Visit the website:

http://www.writermag.com/writing-resources/contests/

The $50,000 St. Francis College Literary Prize

$50,000 for a 3rd to 5th
published work of fiction
Congratulations to
Maud Casey (The Man Who Walked Away)
for winning the 2015 St. Francis College Literary Prize.

Read the full story

About the $50,000 St. Francis College Literary Prize

The biannual $50,000 Literary Prize is sponsored by St. Francis College to offer its support and encouragement to the literary community and mid-career authors who have recently published their 3rd to 5th work of fiction.

• Self-published books and English translations are considered.
• The next Prize will be for work published between June 2015 and May 2017.

Deadline for Prize Submissions: May 15, 2017

Shortlist Announced: August 15, 2017
Winner Awarded: BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL GALA, SEPTEMBER 2017.
Jury (read more about the jurors below):

• Ellen Litman (University of Connecticut)
• Jeffery Renard Allen (University of Virginia)
• Rene Steinke (Fairleigh Dickinson University

3rd through 5th published works of fiction published between June 2015-May 2017.

To Enter, Please Submit 5 Copies of the Work to:
SFC Literary Prize
St. Francis College
180 Remsen Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Questions?: Email: Professor Ian Maloney

– Visit the website for details: http://www.sfc.edu/news/sfcliteraryprize

The Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize 2017

The 2017 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize Competition

The University of Pittsburgh Press announces the Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize for a first full-length book of poems. Named after the first director of the Press, the prize carries a cash award of $5,000 and publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press in the Pitt Poetry Series under its standard royalty contract. The winner will be announced in the fall; no information about the winner will be released before the fall announcement. The Starrett Prize is our only venue for first-book poetry manuscripts. The volume of manuscripts received prevents the Press from offering critiques or entering into correspondence about manuscripts other than the one chosen for publication. Please do not call or e-mail the press.

Manuscripts submitted to the contest will not be returned. Please keep a copy of the manuscript.

Past Winners of the Agnes Lynch Starret Poetry Prize

 

Eligibility

The award is open to any poet writing in English who has not had a full-length book of poetry published previously. We define “full-length book” as a volume of 48 or more pages published in an edition of 500 or more copies. Books whose publication costs have been borne by their authors are excluded from this definition. University of Pittsburgh employees, former employees, current students and those who have been students within the last three years are not eligible for the award.

Format for Submissions

Please send one copy of your manuscript on good quality white paper, with no fewer than 48 and no more than 100 typescript pages. Clean, legible photocopies are acceptable. Your name, address, phone number, and email address should be on your title page. These are our only format requirements. Please also include your curriculum vitae.

Results will be announced in major poetry and writing magazines once a winner has been chosen. Enclose a self-addressed stamped postcard for acknowledgment of receipt and a SASE for contest results.

Fee for Submission

Each manuscript must be accompanied by a check or money order in U.S. dollars only for $25.00 payable to “University of Pittsburgh Press.”

Multiple Submissions

Manuscripts being considered by other publishers are allowed, but if a manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere, please notify the Press in writing.

Dates for Submission

Manuscripts must be received during March and April 2017. That is, they must be postmarked on or after March 1, 2017 and on or before April 30, 2017. The address for submissions is:

 

Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize

University of Pittsburgh Press

7500 Thomas Blvd.

Pittsburgh, PA 15260

Tel: (412) 383-2456

Fax: (412) 383-2466

 

Note: 15260 is the correct and exclusive zip code for the University of Pittsburgh and the Press. For UPS, FedEx, etc., zip code 15208 should be used.

 

If you have any questions about these guidelines, please email info@upress.pitt.edu

Now you can submit your Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize manuscript online!

Save time, printing, and postage!

During the submission period (March 1, 2017 – April 30, 2017) simply click the link below. You’ll be taken to our secure submittable.com web page where you’ll find easy-to-follow instructions:

https://upress.submittable.com/submit

 

Visit the website:

http://www.upress.pitt.edu/renderHtmlPage.aspx?srcHtml=htmlSourceFiles/starrett.htm#6

The Malahat Review: Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction

The Malahat Review, Canada’s premier literary magazine, invites emerging short-story writers from Canada and abroad to enter the Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction.

Eligible authors have yet to publish their fiction in book form (a book is defined to have a length of 48 pages or more). Publication in literary magazines is acceptable. One prize of $1,000 (CAD) is awarded.

2017 Contest Information

This year’s contest deadline is May 1, 2017. Submissions are now open!

Judge

Steven Price

Guidelines

• Eligible writers have yet to publish their fiction in book form and may submit one short story per entry.
• Writers who have self-published a book of fiction are considered to have published their fiction in book form and are therefore ineligible to enter the Far Horizons Awards. You are, however, welcome to enter your work in our Open Season Awards.
• The story must not exceed 3,500 words. Please double space your work.
• Entry fee required:
  • $25 CAD for Canadian entries;
  • $30 US for American entries;
  • $35 US for entries from Mexico and outside North America.
  • see How to Pay below
  • $15 CAD for any additional entries, no limit
• Entrants receive a one-year print subscription to The Malahat Review for themselves or a friend. Digital subscriptions or digital/print bundle subscriptions are not available through Malahat contests.
• Entries already published, accepted, or submitted elsewhere are ineligible. Should Malahat discover that an entry it has received fails to satisfy this criterion, it will be immediately disqualified, no matter at what point it has arrived at—submission processing, screening, shortlisting, or final judging—in the adjudication process. Should an entry be disqualified, the entry fee will not be reimbursed; the entrant, however, will still receive his or her one-year subscription to the magazine.
• Previous publication is considered to be any appearance in print or online, including on or in a newspaper, newsletter, magazine, anthology, chapbook, book, website, electronic magazine, personal blog, Twitter, or Facebook. Please note that even if the print run or circulation of the print publication where the work has previously appeared is small, this is still considered previous publication. No work that has been excerpted elsewhere is eligible for submission; nor is a work that has been revised since its original publication.
• When submitting by email, please ensure you include a cover letter with relevant contact details (more below under Enter by Email); do not simply put this information in the body of the email. We also ask that no personal or contact information is written anywhere on submission itself.
• Entrants’ anonymity is preserved throughout the judging. Contact information (including an email address) should not appear on the submission.
• The winner will be notified via email.
• Entrants will not be notified about the judges’ decisions even if an SASE is enclosed for this purpose.
• The winner and finalists will be announced on The Malahat Review‘s website and Facebook page, with the publication of only the winning entry appearing in the Winter 2017 issue.
• The winner will be interviewed. The interview will appear on our website and in Malahat lite, the magazine’s e-newsletter, in September 2017.
• No entries will be returned, even if accompanied by an SASE.

How to enter, visit:

http://www.malahatreview.ca/contests/far_horizons_fiction/info.html

CLOSING SOON – THE POETRY KIT SPRING COMPETITION 2017

This year’s competition is for poetry on any subject.
There are no style or length restrictions but it should be stressed that a short poem is just as likely to be selected as a longer one.
1st prize is £100.
The top ten poems will be published in a special edition of CITN
ENTER ONLINE
Entry is by email to comps@poetrykit.org  after an appropriate fee is paid by Pay Pal
to the account of info@poetrykit.org
All entries must be received before midnight, on 19th April 2017.
Entries received after this time will be discarded. All entries are judged anonymously so please
do not put any identifying features on the poems.
Entry fees are as follows;
1 poem    £3.50   3 Poems  £8.00   5 poems  £10
For further details and to enter online see https://www.poetrykit.org/comp-spring.htm  

Emerging Writer’s Contest

The Emerging Writer’s Contest is open to writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry who have yet to publish or self-publish a book. The winner in each genre will be awarded $2,000. Read past winners of the contest here. To submit to the Emerging Writer’s Contest, please visit our submission manager.

The 2017 contest judges are Garth Greenwell (fiction), Meghan Daum (nonfiction), and Natalie Diaz (poetry).

Publication
The winning story, essay, and poems from the 2017 contest will be published in the Winter 2017-18 issue of Ploughshares, and each writer will receive $2,000.

Eligibility
You are eligible if you:

• Have yet to publish a book (including chapbooks, eBooks, translations, books in other languages/countries, and self-published works).
• Have no book forthcoming before April 15, 2018.
• Are not affiliated with Ploughshares or Emerson College as a contributing author, volunteer screener, blogger, intern, student, staff member, or faculty member.
• Will not have a relationship with Emerson before April 15, 2018 (example: if there is a chance you will attend the Emerson MFA program in the coming year or if your work has been accepted for publication for an upcoming issue).

Submitting:
The contest opens March 1, 2017 at noon EST and closes May 15, 2017 at noon EST. We will announce winners in mid-September, 2017. 

Fiction and Nonfiction: Under 6,000 words
Poetry: 3-5 pages

Submit one entry per year via our online submission manager.

• No entries via email or mail will be considered for the contest.
• Submitted work must be original and previously unpublished in any form.
• For poetry, we will be reading both for the strongest individual poem and the general level of work, and may choose to publish one, some, or all of the winner’s submitted poems.
• Cover letters are not necessary. All identifying information will be removed from submissions.

Entry Fee
Entry to the contest requires a $24 fee, which is waived if the submitter is a current subscriber. The fee is:

• Payable by Visa or MasterCard through the online submission system.
• Includes a 1-year subscription to Ploughshares (beginning with the Spring 2017 issue and ending with the Winter 2017-18 issue).

Current subscribers—through the Winter 2017-18 issue—may submit for free.*

*If you are a current subscriber, you will still be prompted to checkout, but you will not be required to enter your credit card information and will not be charged.

Visit the website:

https://www.pshares.org/submit/emerging-writers-contest

To submit to the Emerging Writer’s Contest, please visit our submission manager.