The Miami University Press Novella Prize 2021

Deadline: August 31, 2020

The Miami University Novella Prize is awarded annually to a novella-length manuscript of original fiction (18,000–40,000 words). The winner receives $750, a standard contract, publication and 10 copies of the book.

Announcement

We announce the prize winner on this website as well as Facebook and @MiamiUPress. We also send emails with the news to all entrants. All entrants are eligible to receive a copy of the winning book. Request a thank-you novella.

Guidelines

Reading Fee: A $25 reading fee entitles each entrant to a copy of the winning novella.

Length: 18,000-40,000 words. Unfortunately, shorter or longer manuscripts will be disqualified without refund.

Format Requirements: Manuscripts should be double-spaced, use a standard 12 pt. font, and include page numbers. Please be sure your name does not appear anywhere on the manuscript.

Submission: All entries and fee payment must be submitted through Submittable.

Eligibility: Previously published works are not eligible. Simultaneous submissions are welcomed; please notify us immediately if your submission is accepted for publication elsewhere. Previous Novella Prize winners are ineligible. Previous finalists may enter again. Students, former students, faculty, former faculty, or anyone connected to Miami University are not eligible to enter. By submitting your work and the online form you certify that you are not in any way affiliated with Miami University.

Miami University Press adheres to the Council of Literary Magazines & Presses (CLMP) Contest Code of Ethics:
CLMP’s community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. We believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree to 1) conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors; 2) to provide clear and specific contest guidelines—defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and 3) to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public. This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. We have adopted this Code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.

Visit the website for details on how to enter: http://www.orgs.miamioh.edu/mupress/novella/

The Peseroff Prize Poetry Contest

DEADLINE: MAY 1, 2020

prize: $1000 and publication in our Spring issue​

fee: $10

“Whenever something new develops in poetry, many will argue, ‘That’s not poetry.’ Think of the reception of William Carlos Williams . . . spoken word poets, poets who incorporate graphics, poets who write in code so robots can read them. It’s all poetry.” –Joyce Peseroff

The Peseroff Prize honors Joyce Peseroff’s work as a poet, teacher, editor, innovator, and mentor. She helped found the MFA Program in Creative Writing at the University of Massachusetts Boston, served as its first director, and retired from teaching in 2014.

Submit up to three poems and a $10 entry fee. There are no restrictions on content or form: “it’s all poetry.” Poems should be previously unpublished. We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify Breakwater if a submission is accepted elsewhere.

2020 FINALIST JUDGE: Oliver Baez Bendorf is a poet. He is the author of two collections, Advantages of Being Evergreen (CSU Poetry Center 2019), which Gabrielle Calvocoressi called “an essential book for our time and for all time,” and The Spectral Wilderness (Kent State U. 2015), selected by Mark Doty for the Stan & Tom Wick Poetry Prize. His poems can be found in recent and forthcoming issues of American Poetry Review, Poetry, BOMB, and New England Review, and were anthologized in Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and Poetics. Oliver was born and raised in Iowa and he is currently an assistant professor of poetry at Kalamazoo College in Michigan.

Bendorf holds a BA in English Literature from the University of Iowa, and an MFA in Poetry and MA in Library & Information from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a fellow of the CantoMundo Poetry Workshop, recipient of the Rane Arroyo Chapbook Prize, and was a faculty member at the 2019 Conference on Poetry at The Frost Place in Franconia, NH. He has been a featured reader at the New Orleans Poetry Festival, The White House, Sarah Lawrence College, Indiana University, and Woodland Pattern. His work on #PulseOrlandoSyllabus was covered by Chronicle of Higher Education, Elle, and WLRN Miami.

​DEADLINE: MAY 1, 2020

Winner and Finalists Published in our Spring Issue.

​Visit the website for details on how to enter: https://www.breakwaterreview.com/contests

Note: Please do not submit your work if you are associated with the MFA program at the University of Massachusetts, Boston or Oliver Baez Bendorf.

The Writers’ Workshop: POETRY & HUMOR CONTESTS

27^th ANNUAL POETRY CONTEST   

Deadline: Postmarked by April 30, 2020.

Open to any writer regardless of residence.

Awards:

1st Place: Your choice of a 2-night stay at our Mountain Muse B&B; or 2 free workshops (in person or on-line); or 10 poems line-edited and revised by our editorial staff.

2nd Place: Two free workshops, in person or on-line; or 8 poems line-edited.

3rd Place: One free workshop; or 5 poems line-edited.

10 Honorable Mentions

Guidelines:

Your name, address, and email should appear on the first page.

The entry fee is $25 ($20 for Workshop members) for every three poems.

Multiple entries are accepted. Each poem should not exceed two pages.

Enclose self-sealing SASE for critique and list of winners.

Make check or money order payable to The Writers’ Workshop, and mail to:  Poetry Contest, 387 Beaucatcher Road, Asheville, NC  28805. The entry fee is also payable online at www.twwoa.org.

Emailed submissions may be sent (in Word Doc) to writersw@gmail.com, with “Poetry Contest” in the subject. Critiques will be emailed back, so no SASE is required.

Visit the website: https://www.twwoa.org/              

 

********

 

NEW CONTEST!!

 

HUMOR ME WRITING CONTEST  

Deadline: Postmarked or emailed by May 31, 2020

 

Awards:

1^ST Place: Your choice of a 2-night stay at our Mountain Muse B&B in Asheville; or 3 free workshops (in person or online); or 50 pages line-edited and revised by our editorial staff.

2nd Place: Two free workshops; or 35 pages line-edited

3rd Place: One free workshop, or 25 pages line-edited

10 Honorable Mentions

 

Guidelines:

Email or snail-mail a humorous story (fiction or non-fiction) of 5,000 words or less.

Use of clever, dry humor is encouraged.

Pages should be paper clipped, with your name, address, phone and title of work on the first page. Double-space, and use 12 point font.

The entry fee per story is $25/$20 Workshop members. Multiple entries are accepted.   Enclose self-sealing SASE for critique and list of winners. Make check or money order payable to The Writers’ Workshop, and mail to: Humor Contest, 387 Beaucatcher Road, Asheville, NC 28805.

Emailed submissions may be sent in Word doc attachment to writersw@gmail.com, with “Humor Contest” in the subject. The entry fee is payable online at www.twwoa.org, or by mailing a check. No SASE is required – comments will be emailed.

Visit the website: https://www.twwoa.org/

POETRY MARKETS

AURORAS & BLOSSOMS POETRY JOURNAL

Accepts submissions year-round.  Accepts
any topic or theme if it’s positive or
uplifting in nature.  No erotica or politics.
Family-friendly magazine.  No dirty words.
Simple messages and language.  Accepts
submissions from teenagers.  Send poetry
and content that takes teenagers into
consideration.  See the website for more
details or work wanted.  Can submit one
poem for free.  Submission fees for
submitting more than one poem.
Also accepts inspirational stories or essays
relating to poetry, poems or poets.
Submit up to 6 poems.  May submit every
3 months.  See website for more specifics
on submissions.  Responds in 10-15
business days.  Contributors receive free
digital copy of the magazine.  See
website for details on Sim Subs.  Will
accept previously published works if you
hold the rights and it’s been more than a
year after the rights have reverted back to
you before you submit it.

How to submit: https://abpoetryjournal.com/submissions/

——————————————–

GREAT APE

Write something funny to submit.
Likes all kinds of funny things.
See website for specific details on
work wanted.  Accepts poetry and
prose.  Poems can be in any form,
format or length.  Indicate your
name and the name of your poem
in your submission email.  Submit
work as a pdf or .docx file via
email.  Reads year-round.  Asks
for one-time print and digital rights
to contributed work. Authors retain
rights.  Only accepts unpublished
works.

How to submit: https://great-ape.com/submissions/

——————————————–

CLEAVER MAGAZINE

Reads year-round.  Responds in a
few days to several months.  Charges
$5 submission fee.  Sometimes, the fee
is lifted for a free submission period.
Do not email submissions unless
requested to do so by an editor.  Does
not accept mailed submissions.  Does
accept sim subs with immediate
notification if work is accepted elsewhere.
Previously published work is generally not
accepted but will occasionally consider
work shared on personal blogs/websites
or work previously published in a limited
print-only edition.  Include name and
full contact information with each
submission.  Include brief bio.  See
website for specific submission
details.  Responds in 2-12 months for
poetry.  All rights revert to author upon
publication.

How to submit: https://cleavermagazine.submittable.com/submit

The 28th annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest

Deadline: April 30, 2020

The Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest, sponsored by Winning Writers and co-sponsored by Duotrope, will award $3,000 for the best story and $3,000 for the best essay, and the top winners will receive prominent exposure on the Winning Writers home page. For this contest, a story is any short work of fiction, and an essay is any short work of nonfiction. Enter by April 30.

Winning Writers is one of the “101 Best Websites for Writers” (Writer’s Digest), and the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest is recommended by Reedsy.

Key contest information:

• Final judge: Dennis Norris II
• 12 cash prizes totaling $8,000
• All 12 winning entries published on our website
• Entry fee: $20 per entry
• Enter online using Submittable
• Length limit: 6,000 words per entry
• Subject: Any
• Multiple entries OK? Yes
• Previously published work OK? Yes
• Writers from most countries eligible
• See past winning entries with judges’ remarks
• Read Duotrope’s interview with Winning Writers editor Jendi Reiter about this contest

How to enter: https://winningwriters.com/our-contests/tom-howard-john-h-reid-fiction-essay-contest

The Writer: Spring 2020 – Short Story Contest

Deadline: June 2, 2020

Submit your very best fictional short story in 2,000 words or less. Any theme, subject, or genre is fair game, as long as it falls under 2,000 words.

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 OR YOUR WORK MAY BE DISQUALIFIED.

Guidelines:
• The submission period is from April 1 to 11:59 EDT on June 2, 2020. Please note that the
deadline is eastern 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. If you experience a technical problem or glitch, we recommend contacting Submittable directly at support@submittable.com. If you experience a non-technical problem or you have a question, contact tweditorial@madavor.com and we will do our very best to help you, but please read through ALL guidelines before emailing as your question may have already been answered.

• 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.

• 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 entries 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 4 per transaction) will be $15.

• You may choose to add on a critique of one of your entries for an additional $25. Our critiques
are roughly 200 words and aim to show both your work’s best strengths in addition to what might need improvement. If you submit more than one piece, our judging panel will critique the story that we felt was the strongest overall. Again, if you submit more than one entry and you add-on a critique fee, we will only critique one piece. You will receive your critique in an email via Submittable once we close the contest and announce the winners. It takes a great deal of time to read all entries and craft our critiques, so please have patience with us as we work through our entries. Our critique times vary based on how many submissions we received and can take up to six months for our staff to process. Please do not contact us about the status of your critique until November 30, 2020. It is our hope to have completed all critiques sooner than that date, but we anticipate this contest being very popular with our readers and want to give our staff ample time to craft thoughtful critiques. If you need a critique sooner than that date, please do not purchase the critique option.

• You may enter simultaneously submitted work. However, if one of your pieces is accepted for publication anywhere else, please withdraw your entry on Submittable and email us at tweditorial@madavor.com immediately so we know your story is no longer under consideration. We are not able to give refunds for contest entries that were accepted for publication elsewhere, so consider your options carefully before entering simultaneously submitted work.

• 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.)

• 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 our judging panel.

• $1,000 and publication in a future issue of our magazine will be awarded to the winner. The runner-up will receive $500 and publication on writermag.com. The third-place winner will receive $250 and publication on writermag.com.

• Although we very rarely do so, please know that we reserve the right to extend the official deadline as needed. Any deadline extensions will be announced via our newsletter, which you
can subscribe to here: writermag.com/newsletter-2/.

• Close friends and colleagues (current & former) of 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. A work that has previously appeared on a
blog or website is considered previously published and is thus ineligible for our competition.
• Entry fees are non-refundable.
• International (non-US) writers are welcome to submit.
• Must be 18 years or older to enter.

Website: https://www.writermag.com/contests/

How to enter: https://writermag.submittable.com/submit

 

A Poetry Writing Prompt-A-Day: Submit Yours!

As part of National Poetry Month Poetry Super Highway will offer our seventh annual Poetry Writing Prompt-a-Day beginning on April 1st, 2020. Where will we get these prompts? From you, of course! Submit your best poetry writing prompt in the form below.

We’re looking for prompts that provide specific direction…a writing exercise. We’re unlikely to use prompts that consist only of a phrase or a poem or a section of a poem. Please give a writing exercise. You can use an example but the entire prompt should not be the example.

For details, visit:

http://poetrysuperhighway.com/psh/poetry-writing-prompt-day-submit/

WOW! Women On Writing Spring 2020 Flash Fiction Contest

Deadline: May 31, 2020

Guest Judge: Literary Agent Quressa Robinson with Nelson Literary Agency

Seeking short fiction of any genre between 250 – 750 words. The mission of this contest is to inspire creativity, communication, and well-rewarded recognition to contestants.

Electronic submissions via e-mail only; reprints are okay; simultaneous submissions okay; reprints okay; multiple submissions are okay as long as they are submitted in their own individual e-mail. Open internationally.

Limit: 300 entries.

Prizes (20 winners!):
1st Place: $400, publication, interview, and $25 Amazon Gift Certificate
2nd Place: $300, publication, interview, and $25 Amazon Gift Certificate
3rd Place: $200, publication, interview and $25 Amazon Gift Certificate
7 Runners Up receive $25 Amazon Gift Cards, publication and interview
10 Honorable mentions receive $20 Amazon Gift Card
Top 10 stories are published in the WOW! Women On Writing e-zine, and contestants are interviewed on WOW’s blog, The Muffin.

Entry: $10 entry fee; critique option for an additional $10

Visit the website:
https://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php

WOW! Women On Writing Q3 2020 Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest

Deadline: April 30, 2020

Seeking creative nonfiction essays on any topic (200 – 1000 words) and in any style–from personal essay and memoir to lyric essay and hybrid, and more! The mission of this contest is to reward bravery in real-life storytelling and create an understanding of our world through thoughtful, engaging narratives.

Electronic submissions via e-mail only; reprints are okay; simultaneous submissions okay; reprints okay; multiple submissions are okay as long as they are submitted in their own individual e-mail. Open internationally.

Limit: 300 entries.

Prizes (20 winners!):
1st Place: $500, publication, interview, and gift card good for one item from CreateWriteNow’s Store
2nd Place: $300, publication, interview, and gift card good for one item from CreateWriteNow’s Store
3rd Place: $200, publication, interview, and gift card good for one item from CreateWriteNow’s Store
7 Runners Up receive $25 Amazon Gift Cards, publication, interview, and gift card good for one item from CreateWriteNow’s Store
10 Honorable mentions receive a gift card good for one item from CreateWriteNow’s Store

Entry: $12 entry fee; critique option for an additional $13

Visit the website:
https://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php#EssayContest

F(r)iction Creative Nonfiction Contest, Spring 2020

Ends on May 1, 2020

$10.00 USD

Judge: TBA
Criteria: Any genre ranging from 1,000 to 7,500 words.
The winner will be announced publicly in late spring. All participants will be notified about the contest results by email. Judges’ decisions are final.
Awards: 1st prize receives $500.00 and will be considered for publication as the featured creative nonfiction piece in F(r)iction, our triannual print collection. Five finalists will be considered for subsequent F(r)iction publications as well as our online literary journal, F(r)iction Log. Each finalist will also qualify for free professional edits on their submission.
Submission Fee: $10.00
Important Submission Guidelines: Please visit our guidelines page to properly format your work for submission.
We prefer to read all our submissions blind. Please include your name and contact information only in your cover letter and remove any identifying information from the submitted manuscript itself.
Please also be aware that as we receive hundreds of submissions for each of our contest we are unable to offer personalized feedback. If you are specifically seeking feedback on your work, please consider submitting elsewhere.
We are unable to offer refunds for contest submissions, so please read these options and choose your submission category carefully. Note that for poetry and flash fiction, you can submit ONE ENTRY or a THREE PACK.
We strongly recommend checking out a past issue of F(r)iction to get an idea of our aesthetic before submitting. You can do this at our online store.
Staff members are not eligible for participation. Any work previously submitted to F(r)iction for publication is not eligible.
Note: F(r)iction (and it’s parent organization, Brink Literacy Project) reserves the right to discuss contest entries, finalists, and winners in podcasts and marketing materials.

Visit the website:  https://frictioncontests.submittable.com/submit/156761/friction-creative-nonfiction-contest-spring-2020

* F(r)iction reserves the right to NOT award a winner in any category if the submissions do not reach a publishable standard. In this case, reading fees will NOT be refunded and a winner will not be announced. Although this has never come to pass in our six-year-publishing history, our top priority must remain with the quality of work we publish.

F(r)iction Poetry Contest (Single Entry), Spring 2020

Ends on May 1, 2020

Judge: Devin Kelly
Criteria:  Poetry of any style with a limit of three pages.
The winner will be announced publicly in late spring 2020. All participants will be notified about the contest results by email. Judges’ decisions are final.
Awards: 1st prize receives $500.00 and will be considered for publication as the featured poetry piece in F(r)iction, our triannual print collection. Five finalists will be considered for subsequent F(r)iction publications as well as in our online literary journal, F(r)iction Log. Each finalist will also qualify for free professional edits on their submission.
Submission Fee: $10.00
Important Submission Guidelines: Please visit our guidelines page to properly format your work for submission.
We prefer to read all our submissions blind. Please include your name and contact information in your cover letter only and remove any identifying information from the submitted manuscript itself.
Please also be aware that as we receive hundreds of submissions for each of our contest we are unable to offer personalized feedback. If you are specifically seeking feedback on your work, please consider submitting elsewhere.
Writers over the age of thirteen are welcome to submit. Please note that if your work is selected for publication, we will require a signature from a parent or a guardian.
We are unable to offer refunds for contest submissions, so please read these options and choose your submission category carefully. Note that for poetry and flash fiction, you can submit ONE ENTRY or a THREE PACK.
We strongly recommend checking out a past issue of F(r)iction to get an idea of our aesthetic before submitting. You can do this at our online store.
Staff members are not eligible for participation. Any work previously submitted to F(r)iction for publication is not eligible.

Visit the website: https://frictioncontests.submittable.com/submit/156774/friction-poetry-contest-single-entry-spring-2020

Note: F(r)iction (and it’s parent organization, Brink Literacy Project) reserves the right to discuss contest entries, finalists, and winners in podcasts and marketing materials.
* F(r)iction reserves the right to NOT award a winner in any category if the submissions do not reach a publishable standard. In this case, reading fees will NOT be refunded and a winner will not be announced. Although this has never come to pass in our six-year-publishing history, our top priority must remain with the quality of work we publish.

F(r)iction Short Story Contest, Spring 2020

Ends on May 1, 2020

Judge: Charlie Jane Anders
Criteria: Any genre ranging from 1,000 to 7,500 words. We accept all work, written in English, from anywhere in the world.
The winner will be announced publicly in late spring 2020. All participants will be notified about the contest results by email. Judges’ decisions are final.
Awards: 1st prize receives $1,000.00 and will be considered for publication as a featured short story in F(r)iction, our triannual print collection. Five finalists will be considered for subsequent F(r)iction publications. Each finalist will also receive one round of free professional edits on their submission.
Submission Fee: $15.00
Important Submission Guidelines: Please visit our guidelines page to properly format your work for submission.
We prefer to read all our submissions blind. Please include your name and contact information in your cover letter only and remove any identifying information from the submitted manuscript itself.
Please also be aware that as we receive hundreds of submissions for each of our contest we are unable to offer personalized feedback. If you are specifically seeking feedback on your work, please consider submitting elsewhere.
Writers over the age of thirteen are welcome to submit. Please note that if your work is selected for publication, we will require a signature from a parent or a guardian.
We are unable to offer refunds for contest submissions, so please read these options and choose your submission category carefully. We strongly recommend checking out a past issue of F(r)iction to get an idea of our aesthetic before submitting. You can do this at our online store.
Staff members are not eligible for participation. Any work previously submitted to F(r)iction for publication is not eligible.

Note: F(r)iction (and it’s parent organization, Brink Literacy Project) reserves the right to discuss contest entries, finalists, and winners in podcasts and marketing materials.

Visit the website: https://frictioncontests.submittable.com/submit/156763/friction-short-story-contest-spring-2020

* F(r)iction reserves the right to NOT award a winner in any categories if the submissions do not reach a publishable standard. In this case, reading fees will NOT be refunded and a winner will not be announced. Although this has never come to pass in our six-year-publishing history, our top priority must remain with the quality of work we publish.