Whiting Launches Lit Mag Prizes, Kirkus Prize Finalists, and More
Advice for those who fear ageism in the literary world; a history of poetry’s financial dependence on academia; winners of Honey & Wax’s book-collecting prizes; and other news.
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
Prose Contests With Upcoming Deadlines
Fiction and nonfiction writers: consider taking a chance and submitting your story, essay, or prose manuscript to a writing contest. Below is a list of contests with deadlines in the second half of September. Each contest offers a first-place prize of at least $1,000.
Ghost Story Supernatural Fiction Award: A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Ghost Story website is given twice yearly for a short story with a supernatural or magic realism theme. Deadline: September 30. Entry fee: $20
Hackney Literary Awards Novel Contest: A prize of $5,000 is given annually for an unpublished novel. Deadline: September 30. Entry fee: $30
Literal Latté Essay Award: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Literal Latté is given annually for a personal essay. Deadline: September 30. Entry fee: $10
Manchester Metropolitan University Fiction Prize: A prize of £10,000 is given annually for a short story. The winner will be invited to attend an award ceremony in Manchester, England, in November. Bonnie Greer, Angela Readman, and Nicholas Royle will judge. Deadline: September 29. Entry fee: $23
Travelers’ Tales Solas Awards: A prize of $1,000 and publication in the annual anthology The Best Travel Writing and on the Travelers Tales’ website is given annually for a travel essay. Writers from Arizona and Vermont are eligible for publication, but not the cash prize. Deadline: September 21. Entry Fee: $25
University of Iowa Press Iowa Short Fiction Award: Two awards of publication by University of Iowa Press are given annually for first collections of short fiction. Writers who have not published a book of fiction are eligible. Deadline: September 30. Entry fee: 0
University of Massachusetts Press Juniper Prizes: Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by University of Massachusetts Press are given annually for a short story collection and a novel. Deadline: September 30. Entry fee: $30
Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines and submission details. Check out our Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more upcoming contests in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.
Liu Xiaobo’s Last Written Text, Ann Beattie on Procrastination, and More
Imprisoned Turkish writer Ahmet Altan pens essay on the eve of his trial; the Merriam-Webster dictionary adds 250 words this month; a Trump poetry contest; and other news.
Literary Writers Conference
The 2020 Literary Writers Conference was held online from December 2 to December 4. The conference, which was hosted by the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses, featured agent pitch sessions, pitch clinics, a query letter clinic, and panel discussions. The faculty included fiction writer Emily Temple, agents Claudia Ballard (William Morris Endeavor) and Regina Brooks (Serendipity Literary Agency), and editors Danielle A. Jackson (Oxford American), Jonathan Lee (Catapult), and Jyothi Natarajan (Margins).
Type:
CONFERENCE
Ignore Event Date Field?:
yes
Event Date:
November 25, 2025
Rolling Admissions:
ignore
Application Deadline:
November 25, 2025
Financial Aid?:
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline:
November 25, 2025
Free Admission:
no
Contact Information:
Literary Writers Conference, Community of Literary Magazines and Presses, 154 Christopher Street, Suite 3C, New York, NY 10004. David Gibbs, Contact.
David Gibbs
Contact
Contact City:
Online
Contact Zip / Postal Code:
10004
National Poetry Series Winners, Essays on Bodegas, and More
Having your book adapted for the screen; Jennifer Egan on her latest novel, Manhattan Beach; the influence of celebrity book endorsements; and other news.
Melville House Book Campaign, Tracy K. Smith Begins Term as Poet Laureate, and More
The longlist for the 2017 National Book Award in fiction; House passes spending bill that upholds funding for NEA and NEH; writer J. P. Donleavy has died; and other news.
Northwestern to Launch MA-MFA Program, Kirkus Collections, and More
The longlist for the 2017 National Book Award in nonfiction; Eileen Myles on poetry, capitalism, and Trump; Ron Charles argues that the Booker Prize has become too American; and other news.
Editing and Revising
Earlier this year scientists published a study in the journal Nature detailing the first time genes with serious disease-causing mutations have been successfully edited in human embryos to produce healthy mutation-free embryos. Write a personal essay about the moral and ethical implications of gene-editing science as it continues to progress. In a hypothetical time when these advances might be a part of routine medical procedures, what decisions would you make for yourself and your family and loved ones? Read National Geographic’s “5 Reasons Gene Editing Is Both Terrific and Terrifying” for more insight.
Booker Shortlist, Florida Bookstores Recover After Hurricane, and More
The longlist for the National Book Award in poetry announced; a last interview with feminist Kate Millett; the rumor that the Voynich manuscript had been solved; and other news.
Eileen Myles on the Festival Neue Literatur
Caption:
“As an English language writer, I’m not often asked to stretch culturally...” Eileen Myles talks about writing and nationalism, and the importance of international events like the Festival Neue Literatur. Myles’s debut memoir, Afterglow (a dog memoir) (Grove Press, 2017), is featured in Page One in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
Genre:
Pages
