July’s final deadlines include several awards with purses of $1,000 or more for individual poems, short stories, and essays. Or, if you’ve been busy this summer and have a collection ready for submission, consider three contests for short story and essay manuscripts.
F(r)iction Short Story Contest: A prize of $1,000 is given three times a year for a short story. Entry fee: $15. Deadline: July 31.
Hidden River Arts Hawk Mountain Short Story Collection Award: A prize of $1,000 and publication by Hidden River Press is given annually for a story collection. Entry fee: $22. Deadline: July 30.
Munster Literature Centre Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Competition: A prize of €2,000 (approximately $2,250) and publication in Southword is given annually for a short story. The winner also receives a weeklong residency at the Anam Cara Writer’s Retreat on the Beara Peninsula in West Cork. Entry fee: €18. Deadline: July 31.
Narrative Spring Story Contest: A prize of $2,500 and publication in Narrative is given annually for a short story, a short short story, an essay, or an excerpt from a work of fiction or creative nonfiction. A second-place prize of $1,000 is also awarded. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $27. Deadline: July 31.
New Millennium Writings New Millennium Awards: Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in New Millennium Writings and on the journal's website are given twice yearly for a poem, a short story, a short short story, and an essay that have not appeared in a print publication with a circulation over 5,000. Entry fee: $20. Deadline: July 31.
Seneca Review Books Deborah Tall Lyric Essay Book Prize: A prize of $2,000 and publication by Seneca Review Books will be given biennially for a collection of lyric essays. Jenny Boully will judge. Cross-genre, hybrid, and verse forms, as well as image and text works, are also eligible. Entry fee: $27. Deadline: August 1.
Sewanee Review Poetry and Fiction Contest: Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Sewanee Review will be given annually for a group of poems and a short story. Carl Phillips will judge in poetry and Roxane Gay will judge in fiction. Entry fee: $30. Deadline: July 31.
University of Notre Dame Sullivan Prize in Short Fiction: A prize of $1,000 and publication by the University of Notre Dame Press is given biennially for a story collection. Writers who have published at least one story collection are eligible. Entry fee: $15. Deadline: July 31.
Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.