Genre: Fiction

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 Previously published and unpublished stories are eligible.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.

Steinbeck Fellowships in Creative Writing

San José State University
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
January 4, 2026

Six yearlong residencies at San José State University in San José, California, which include stipends of $15,000 each, are given annually to fiction writers and creative nonfiction writers. The fellows are required to give one public reading and reside in one of the counties within the San Francisco Bay Area or an adjacent county in the California central coast or central valley during most of the fellowship period. Using only the online submission system, submit up to 25 pages of prose, a project proposal, a résumé, and three letters of recommendation (uploaded by references) by January 4, 2026. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Anton Chekhov Award for Flash Fiction

LitMag
Entry Fee: 
$16
Deadline: 
November 30, 2025

A prize of $1,250 and publication in LitMag is given annually for a work of flash fiction. The winner will also have their work reviewed by agents Jenny Bent (Bent Agency), Sonali Chanchani and Erin Harris (Folio Literary Management), Emily Forland (Brandt & Hochman), David Forrer (InkWell Management), Sarah Fuentes (United Talent Agency), Mollie Glick (Creative Artists Agency), Nat Sobel (Sobel Weber Associates), and Monika Woods (Triangle House). The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of 500 to 1,500 words with a $16 entry fee by November 30. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Story Foundation Prize

Story
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
December 15, 2025

A prize of $1,500 and publication in Story is given annually for a short story. Deesha Philyaw will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of up to 10,000 words with a $25 entry fee, which includes a subscription to Story, by December 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Prose & Poetry Chapbook Contest

Action, Spectacle
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
December 31, 2025
A prize of $1,000, publication by Action, Spectacle, and 25 author copies is given annually for a chapbook of poetry, prose, or hybrid-genre work. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 20 to 32 pages with a $25 entry fee by December 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Virginia Woolf Award for Short Fiction

LitMag
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
December 31, 2025

A prize of $2,500 and publication in LitMag is given annually for a short story. The winner will also have their work reviewed by agents Lisa Bankoff (Bankoff Collaborative), Jenny Bent (Bent Agency), Sonali Chanchani and Erin Harris (Folio Literary Management), Emily Forland (Brandt & Hochman), David Forrer (InkWell Management), Sarah Fuentes (United Talent Agency), Mollie Glick (Creative Artists Agency), Nat Sobel (Sobel Weber Associates), and Monika Woods (Triangle House). The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of 3,000 to 8,000 words with a $20 entry fee by December 31. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

The Story Prize

The Story Prize
Entry Fee: 
$75
Deadline: 
November 15, 2025

A prize of $20,000 is given annually for a story collection written in English and first published in the United States in the current year. Two runners-up will receive $5,000 each, and one entrant will receive the $1,000 Story Prize Spotlight Award, given for a collection that merits further attention. Larry Dark and Julie Lindsey will select the three finalists and the Spotlight Award winner; three independent judges will choose the Story Prize winner. Publishers, authors, or agents may submit two copies of a book (one of which may be an electronic copy) published between July 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025, with an entry fee of $75 by November 15. The deadline for books published during the first half of the year was July 1. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

W.Y. Boyd Literary Award

American Library Association
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
December 31, 2025
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a novel published in the current year that is set in a period when the United States was at war. Publishers or authors may submit seven copies of a book published in 2025 by December 31. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

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