A great way to keep yourself writing, get some feedback and (we can dream, right?) earn publication and cash rewards is to enter contests. So for quick reference I’ve collected a few short story contests in one place with deadlines coming up next month.
Check them out — click the links for full submission guidelines — and good luck!
American Short(er) Fiction Prize
- Deadline: May 1
- Guidelines: 1000 words or less
- Entry fee: $15 (three stories allowed per entry)
- First prize: $500
Crab Orchard Review Literary Contest
- Deadline: May 1
- Guidelines: 6000 words or less
- Entry fee: $20 (by mail) $22.50 (online)
- First prize: $2,000
E.M. Koeppel $1,100 Short Fiction Award
- Deadline: May 1
- Guidelines: 3000 words or less
- Entry fee: $15 (additional stories $10 each)
- First prize: $1,100
Fugue‘s Prose (& Poetry) Contest
- Deadline: May 1
- Guidelines: 8000 words or less
- Entry fee: $15
- First prize: $1,000
Sonora Review Flash Fiction Contest
- Deadline: May 1
- Guidelines: 1000 words or less
- Entry fee: $15
- First prize: $1,000
Southwest Review David Meyerson Fiction Prize
- Deadline: May 1
- Guidelines: 8000 words or less
- Entry fee: $25
- First prize: $1,000
Empirical Magazine Fiction Contest
- Deadline: May 15
- Guidelines: 5,000 words or less
- Entry fee: $15-50 (depending on number and date of submissions)
- First prize: $1,000
SubTerrain Lush 2012 Awards
- Deadline: May 15
- Guidelines: 3,000 words or less
- Entry fee: $25
- First prize: $3,000
Abandoned Towers 2012 Writing Contest
- Deadline: May 18
- Guidelines: 5,000 words or less
- Entry fee: $10 (or $25 for 3 entries)
- First prize: $500
New Letters Short Fiction Contest
- Deadline: May 18
- Guidelines: 8,000 words or less
- Entry fee: $15 (additional stories $10 each)
- First prize: $1,500
- Deadline: May 30
- Guidelines: 2,000 words or less
- Entry fee: $10
- First prize: $350
If there’s one you know of that I’ve missed, send me the link! There are many more out there, to be sure.
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Your Writers Journal link is broke
Right you are! Looks like they’ve updated the page and it’s time for me to do the same. Thanks for the heads up!
Thank you for letting folks know about these.