Genre: Fiction

Cheesy Truths

The Time Is Now
10.8.25

Known for his postmodern satirical novels filled with secret conspiracies and government plots, Thomas Pynchon’s new novel, Shadow Ticket, out this week from Penguin Press, begins in Depression-era Milwaukee and follows a private detective whose search of a runaway cheese heiress gets him entangled with the Chicago mafia, the Bureau of Investigation, British intelligence, Nazism, and international capitalist conspiracies. This week write a short story that makes use of a current event that might seem absurd or stranger than fiction, spinning off from the actual details of the real event into something weirder. How can you inject humor into a story that gestures to real concerns about paranoia and dysfunctional politics?

Prose Prize

Georgia Review
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
January 15, 2026

A prize of $1,500 and publication in Georgia Review is given annually for a short story or an essay. Kiese Laymon will judge. Submit a story or essay of up to 9,000 words with a $25 entry fee by January 15, 2026; mailed submissions must include a cover page with contact information and a brief bio, a self-addressed envelope, and a check for entry-fee payment. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Cai Emmons Fiction Award

Red Hen Press
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
January 15, 2026

A prize of $5,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a story collection, a novella, a novel, or other book-length work of fiction. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of at least 150 pages with a $25 entry fee by January 15, 2026. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Stephen Mitchell Translation Prize

Green Linden Press
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
November 30, 2025

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Green Linden Press is given annually for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction translated from any language into English. Christopher Nelson will judge. Submit a manuscript of at least 48 pages with a $25 entry fee by November 30. All finalists will be considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Quill Prose Award

Red Hen Press
Entry Fee: 
$10
Deadline: 
November 30, 2025

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a story or essay collection, a novel, a memoir, or a hybrid work of prose by a queer writer. Andrew Lam will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of at least 150 pages with a $10 entry fee by November 30. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

C. Michael Curtis Short Story Book Prize

Hub City Press
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
December 31, 2025

A prize of $5,000 and publication by Hub City Press is given biennially for a short story collection. Emerging writers who have not published a story collection or more than one book in any other genre and who currently reside in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, or West Virginia and who have lived there for at least two consecutive years are eligible. Catherine Lacey will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 140 to 220 pages (no story should exceed 15,000 words) with a $25 entry fee by December 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

W.S. Porter Prize for Short Story Collections

Regal House Publishing
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
December 1, 2025

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing is given annually for a story collection. Heather Bell Adams will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 100 to 350 pages with a $25 entry fee by December 1. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Lascaux Prize in Short Fiction

Lascaux Review
Entry Fee: 
$15
Deadline: 
December 31, 2025

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Lascaux Review is given annually for a short story. Previously published and unpublished stories are eligible. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of up to 10,000 words with a $15 entry fee by December 31. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

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