Archive June 2023

Deadline Nears for Marystina Santiestevan First Book Prize

Are you looking for a home for your debut poetry collection? Try submitting to the Marystina Santiestevan First Book Prize from Conduit Books & Ephemera, which offers a prize of $1,500, publication, and 30 author copies of the book for the winning author.

Submit a manuscript of 48 to 90 pages with a $25 entry fee by July 7. Bob Hicok will judge. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Conduit Books & Ephemera was founded in 2018 in celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Conduit, a biannual literary journal of poetry and prose. Hicok sponsored the inaugural Marystina Santiestevan First Book Prize, named after his grandmother-in-law, “a great supporter of young poets.” The annual prize goes to a poet writing in English who has yet to publish a full-length poetry collection. Those who submit are advised to familiarize themselves with Conduit, a magazine “which champions originality, intelligence, irreverence, and humanity.” The press also offers the Minds on Fire Open Book Prize, open to any poet writing in English and judged by Conduit’s editorial board. Submissions for the Minds on Fire prize open August 1.

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

Now that summer has officially begun, the heat is on: Get your entries ready for contests with a deadline of June 30! Prizes include $130,000 Canadian (approximately $96,732) for a published poetry collection, $15,000 and publication for a story collection, €3,000 (approximately $3,217) for a short story, and other generous awards. All contests have a cash prize of $1,000 or more, and two have no entry fee. Why not throw your hat in the ring?

Anthology Magazine
Poetry Competition

A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,072) and publication in, plus a subscription to, Anthology Magazine will be given annually for a single poem. Rachael Hegarty will judge. Entry fee: €12 (approximately $13) by June 30, or €18 (approximately $19) thereafter, until October 31. 

Barrow Street Press
Book Prize

A prize of $1,500 and publication by Barrow Street Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Nathalie Handal will judge. Entry fee: $25 ($28 for electronic submissions).

Bauhan Publishing
May Sarton New Hampshire Poetry Prize

A prize of $1,000, publication by Bauhan Publishing, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Brad Crenshaw will judge. Entry fee: $30. 

Cider Press Review
Editors’ Prize Book Award

A prize of $1,000, publication by Cider Press Review, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Entry fee: $26.

Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry
Griffin Poetry Prize

A prize of $130,000 Canadian (approximately $96,732) is given annually for a poetry collection written or translated into English by a living poet or translator from anywhere in the world and published during the previous year. Finalists receive $10,000 Canadian (approximately $7,441) each for their participation in the shortlisted authors event to be held in Toronto in June. Publishers may submit four copies of a book published between January 1 and June 30 by June 30. Entry fee: None.

Lascaux Review
Prize in Flash Fiction

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Lascaux Review online and in print is given annually for a work of flash fiction. Previously published stories are eligible. Entry fee: $15.

Los Angeles Review
Literary Awards

Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Los Angeles Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, a short short story, and an essay. M. Soledad Caballero will judge in poetry, Carlos Allende will judge in fiction, John Weir will judge in flash fiction, and Chelsey Clammer will judge in creative nonfiction. Entry fee: $20.

Omnidawn Publishing
Chapbook Contest

A prize of $1,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Brody Parrish Craig will judge. Entry fee: $30.

Poetry London
Poetry London Prize

A first-place prize of £5,000 (approximately $6,044), a second-place prize of £2,000 (approximately $2,417), and a third-place prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,209) are given annually for a single poem. The winners will also receive publication in the Autumn Issue of Poetry London and an invitation to read at the issue’s launch, held at the Southbank Centre in London. Rachel Long will judge. Entry fee: $12. 

The Moth
International Short Story Prize

A prize of €3,000 (approximately $3,217) is given annually for a short story. A prize of a weeklong retreat at Circle of Misse in Missé, France, with an open-ended travel stipend, and a prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,072) are also given. The winners will be published in the Irish Times. Ottessa Moshfegh will judge. Entry fee: €15 (approximately $16).

University of Pittsburgh Press
Drue Heinz Literature Prize

A prize of $15,000 and publication by University of Pittsburgh Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Writers who have published at least one previous book of fiction or a minimum of three short stories or novellas in nationally distributed magazines or literary journals are eligible. Entry fee: None.

University of North Texas Press
Katherine Anne Porter Prize

A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of North Texas Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Entry fee: $25.

Winning Writers
North Street Book Prize

A grand prize of $10,000 and eight additional prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for self-published and hybrid-published books (works published by presses that coordinate all aspects of book publication in exchange for a fee) of poetry, fiction, genre fiction, creative nonfiction, children’s literature, middle grade books, graphic narrative, and art books. Each of the winners will also receive publication of an excerpt on the Winning Writers website; a marketing consultation with author and publishing consultant Carolyn Howard-Johnson; $300 in credit at BookBaby, a distributor for self-published authors; three months of Plus service from Book Award Pro (plus $500 in account credit for the grand prize winner), a literary award database and submission platform; and free advertising in the Winning Writers e-mail newsletter. Ellen LaFleche and Jendi Reiter will judge. Entry fee: $75.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.

Deadline Approaches for the Moth International Short Story Prize

Submissions are open for the Moth International Short Story Prize. Organized by the editors of the celebrated Irish literary magazine the Moth, the annual contest fetes its winner with publication in the Irish Times and a prize of €3,000 (approximately $3,217). Additional prizes of a weeklong retreat at Circle of Misse in Missé, France, with an open-ended travel stipend, and a prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,072) are also given. This year’s contest will be judged by Ottessa Moshfegh.

Submit a story of up to 3,000 words with a €15 (approximately $16) entry fee by June 30. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

Established in 2010 by Rebecca O’Connor and Will Govan, the Moth is a quarterly print literary magazine of poetry, fiction, and visual art, publishing established luminaries alongside emerging writers from around the world. Last fall, the editors announced that the Moth would cease publication in June 2023 as they moved on to new projects but that the journal’s several literary contests would continue, with increased monetary prizes for winners. Previous recipients of the short story prize include Owen Booth, Colin Crummey, and Caoilinn Hughes, who said of winning: “This seal of approval is superglue for the sanity!” Good luck, writers, and may any victories to come be similarly affirming—and as bolstering as the Moth has been to its community.

Image: The cover of the final issue of the Moth.

Firecracker Awards Finalists Announced

Congratulations to the finalists of the ninth annual Firecracker Awards for Independently Published Literature from the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP). The awards celebrate the best independently published books of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry as well as the best literary magazines in the categories of debut and general excellence. 

CLMP will announce the winners during a virtual awards ceremony on June 22 at 6:00 PM EST. Each winner in the books category will receive $1,000 to $2,000 for the press and $1,000 for the author or translator. The magazine winners will each receive $1,000. The publishers of winning books receive a free one-year membership to CLMP, and magazine winners receive a one-year CLMP member subscription to Submittable. All winners are included in a national publicity campaign. Good luck, everyone!

FICTION

Brother Alive by Zain Khalid
Grove Atlantic, July 2022

God’s Children Are Little Broken Things by Arinze Ifeakandu
A Public Space Books, June 2022

Stories of a Life by Nataliya Meshchaninova, translated by Fiona Bell
Deep Vellum, February 2022

Violets by Kyung-sook Shin, translated by Anton Hur
Feminist Press, April 2022

When I Sing, Mountains Dance by Irene Solà, translated by Mara Faye Lethem
Graywolf Press, March 2022

CREATIVE NONFICTION

Brown Neon by Raquel Gutiérrez
Coffee House Press, June 2022

Conversations with Birds by Priyanka Kumar
Milkweed Editions, November 2022

Imminent Domains: Reckoning with the Anthropocene by Alessandra Naccarato
Book*hug Press, October 2022

O by Tammy Nguyen
Ugly Duckling Presse, April 2022

Optic Subwoof by Douglas Kearney
Wave Books, November 2022

POETRY

Customs by Solmaz Sharif
Graywolf Press, March 2022

Look at This Blue by Allison Adelle Hedge Coke
Coffee House Press, March 2022

Maafa by Harmony Holiday
Fence Books, April 2022

The Rupture Tense by Jenny Xie
Graywolf Press, September 2022

Togetherness by Wo Chan
Nightboat Books, September 2022

MAGAZINES/BEST DEBUT

128 Lit

The Ampersand Review of Writing & Publishing

Lampblack

LIBER: A Feminist Review

Lines & Breaks

MAGAZINES/GENERAL EXCELLENCE

The Arkansas International

Ecotone

Ninth Letter

Orion

Oxford American