G&A: The Contest Blog

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.

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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.

Though the dog days of summer may be, thankfully, weeks away, now is the perfect time to submit to contests with a May 31 deadline! Don’t miss the opportunity to win over $6,000 and publication in poetry and short story categories; an emerging writer fellowship offering $5,000, plus the chance to meet editors and agents; or a $10,000 cash prize for a debut poetry collection, among other awards. These contests have renowned judges such as Toi Derricotte, Louise Glück, Lori Ostlund, and Kirk Wilson. All awards and fellowships offer a prize of $1,000 or more. Best of luck, writers!  

Anhinga Press
Anhinga Prize for Poetry
A prize of $2,000, publication by Anhinga Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Entry fee: $25 ($28 for electronic submissions).

Autumn House Press
Literary Prizes
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Autumn House Press are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, and a book of creative nonfiction. Each winner also receives a $1,500 travel and publicity grant. Toi Derricotte will judge in poetry, Pam Houston will judge in fiction, and Jenny Boully will judge in nonfiction. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $30.

BOA Editions
Short Fiction Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication by BOA Editions is given annually for a story collection. BOA publisher Peter Conners will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Bridport Arts Centre
Bridport Prizes
Two prizes of £5,000 (approximately $6,034) each and publication in the Bridport Prize anthology are given annually for a poem and a short story. A second-place prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,207) and publication is also given in each category. Additionally, a prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,207) and publication is given for a work of flash fiction. Roger Robinson will judge in poetry, Colin Barrett will judge in short story, and Christopher Allen will judge in flash fiction. Entry fee: £12 (approximately $14) for poetry, £14 (approximately $17) for fiction, and £11 (approximately $13) for flash fiction.

The Center for Fiction
Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellowships
Nine fellowships of $5,000 each, a one-year membership to the Center for Fiction in New York City, and a year of access to the Writers Studio writing space at the center are given annually to fiction writers living in New York City who have not yet published a book of fiction. Winners also have the opportunity to meet with editors and agents who represent new writers, and to receive critical feedback on their work from an editor. Applicants who on June 1, 2023, will be enrolled in a degree-granting program or are currently under contract with a publisher for a work of fiction are ineligible. Entry fee: none.

Elixir Press
Fiction Award
A prize of $2,000, publication by Elixir Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a story collection or a novel. Kirk Wilson will judge. Entry fee: $40.

Milkweed Editions
Max Ritvo Poetry Prize
A prize of $10,000 and publication by Milkweed Editions is given annually for a debut poetry collection by a U.S. poet. Louise Glück will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Southern Poetry Review
Guy Owen Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Southern Poetry Review is given annually for a single poem. Entry fee: $20, which includes a subscription to Southern Poetry Review.

University of Georgia Press
Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Georgia Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Lori Ostlund will judge. Entry fee: $30.

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.

Submissions are still open for the Masters Review’s new Spring Small Fiction Awards, offering three $1,000 cash prizes and online publication to winners in the categories of micro fiction, flash fiction, and sudden fiction. Emerging writers, including but not limited to those who have self-published books or who have titles published by independent presses, are eligible to apply.  

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Using the online submission system, submit a work of micro fiction of up to 500 words, a work of flash fiction between 501 and 1,000 words, and/or a work of sudden fiction between 1,001 and 1,500 words with a $20 entry fee by June 1. Submissions may include up to two stories in any combination of the three categories. K-Ming Chang, author of the novel Bestiary and a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree, will judge. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Founded to celebrate “the mighty power of the compressed form,” the Spring Small Fiction Awards are meant to broaden the Masters Review’s search for “the very best in small fiction.” Contest entrants will receive a response by the end of August, and the winners will be announced by the end of September. With a commitment to “celebrating new and emerging writers” the Masters Review launched in 2011 “with the hopes of bridging the gap between new and established writers.”

During these increasingly sunny days, stay cool indoors and submit to contests with deadlines of April 30 and May 1! A poet residing or working in Inland Southern California could win $1,000 and publication by the Inlandia Institute; a fiction writer with a supernatural story to tell could receive $1,500 and publication on the Ghost Story website; and a nonfiction writer with work focusing on the desert “as both subject and setting” could be awarded $3,000, an invitation to a High Desert Museum ceremony in Oregon, and a writing residency. All contests offer a cash prize of $1,000 or more. Keep cool as your literary careers heat up, writers!  

Backwaters Press
Backwaters Prize in Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and publication by University of Nebraska Press is given annually for a poetry collection. An honorable mention prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Nebraska Press is also given. Deadline: May 1. Entry fee: $32.

Beloit Poetry Journal
Adrienne Rich Award for Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Beloit Poetry Journal is given annually for a single poem. Marie Howe will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $15. 

Ghost Story
Supernatural Fiction Award
A prize of $1,500 and publication on the Ghost Story website is given twice yearly for a short story with a supernatural or magic realism theme. The winning work will also be published in the print anthology 21st Century Ghost Stories—Volume III. The editors will judge. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $20.

High Desert Museum
Waterston Desert Writing Prize  
A prize of $3,000 is given annually for a work of nonfiction that recognizes “the vital role deserts play worldwide in the ecosystem and the human narrative, with the desert as both subject and setting.” The winner will also be provided with travel and lodging to attend a reception and awards ceremony at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon, in September, as well as the opportunity to attend a residency at PLAYA at Summer Lake. Works-in-progress as well as published and unpublished prose are eligible. Deadline: May 1. Entry fee: none.

Inlandia Institute
Hillary Gravendyk Prizes
Two prizes of $1,000 each, publication by the Inlandia Institute, and 20 author copies are given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S. resident and a poetry collection by a poet residing or working in Inland Southern California, including Riverside and San Bernardino Counties and any non-coastal area of Southern California, from Death Valley to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $20.

Noemi Press
Book Award
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Noemi Press is given annually for a book of poetry. The editors will judge. Deadline: May 1. Entry fee: $25.

Oversound
Chapbook Prize
A prize of $1,000, publication by Oversound, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Andrew Zawacki will judge. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $18, which includes a subscription to Oversound.

University of Pittsburgh Press
Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize
A prize of $5,000 and publication by University of Pittsburgh Press is given annually for a debut poetry collection. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $25.

Wick Poetry Center
Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize
A prize of $2,500 and publication by Kent State University Press is given annually for a debut poetry collection. The winner is also invited to teach a weeklong writing workshop at Kent State University and give a reading with the judge, Marilyn Chin. Deadline: May 1. Entry fee: $30.

Winning Writers
Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest
Two prizes of $3,000 each, two gift certificates for two-year membership to the literary database Duotrope, and publication on the Winning Writers website are given annually for a short story and an essay. Unpublished and previously published works are eligible. Mina Manchester will judge. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $22.

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.

Calling all parent-writers with young children! Submissions are still open for the Pen Parentis Writing Fellowship for New Parents. Given annually to a fiction writer who is the parent of a child under the age of 10, the winner will receive a $2,000 cash prize; a year of mentorship; publication both in print and online in Dreamers Creative Writing Magazine, a Canadian journal “dedicated to heartfelt writing;” and an invitation to give a virtual reading on November 14. The winner will be paired with three established authors who are also parents for their reading; previous participants have included Jennifer Egan, Mira Jacob, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, and Darin Strauss. Additionally, the winning story will be included in the annual Dreamers Creative Writing anthology.

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Using the online submission system, submit a story of up to 531 words with a $20 entry fee by April 17. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

With the goal of “motivating all writers to continue to create new high-quality creative writing at the very busiest time of the parenting journey,” the word count for applications to the fellowship is kept intentionally low to gently nudge parents towards creating new work. The winner will be announced on the Pen Parentis website by September 1, and for one year after their win they will be encouraged to attend Pen Parentis Literary Salon events as well as a weekly accountability group to help introduce them to other authors and to aid them in networking with editors, agents, and readers.