Fall 2020 Contests and Markets

“A good [short story] would take me out of myself and then stuff me back in, outsized, now, and uneasy with the fit.” ~ David Sedaris

Contests For Those Who Write Short

NOTE: Do you have a contest you’d like us to list? Please let me know. Use the Contact button.

Taken from Aerogramme, https://www.aerogrammestudio.com/2020/01/16/short-story-contests-2020/

Zoetrope All-Story’s Annual Fiction Contest, https://www.all-story.com/workshops, has the aim of seeking out and encouraging talented writers, with the winning and runners-up’s work being forwarded to leading literary agents. A first prize of US$1000 is also offered. Entries open on 1 July and are expected to close in October.

Larry Brown Short Story Award https://manager.submittable.com/opportunities/opportunity/63647
is run by literary magazine Pithead Chapel. The contest is open to stories up to 4000 words and first prize is US$500. The entry fee is US$10. Entries open on 1 August and close on 31 October.

CBC Short Story Prize, https://www.cbc.ca/books/literaryprizes
is open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. The winner will receive CA$6000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, will have their story published on CBC Books and will have the opportunity to attend a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Entries open on 1 September and close on 31 October.

John Steinbeck Short Story Award https://www.reedmag.org/john-steinbeck-award-for-fiction
is one of three prizes offered by Reed Magazine. This award is for a work of fiction up to 5000 words. The winner receives a cash prize of US$1000 and all entries are considered for publication. Entries open on 1 June and close 1 November.

Chris O’Malley Prize in Fiction, https://www.themadisonrevw.com/contests
is offered annually by The Madison Review. The winning story will be awarded US$1000 and publication. Entries may be up to 30 pages. The entry fee is $10. Entries open on 1 October and close on 1 December.

From ARDOR, http://www.ardorlitmag.com/poetry-contests.html

October Poetry Contests

The Jake Adam York Prize, http://copper-nickel.org/bookprize/

Entry Deadline: 10/15/2020
Entry Fee: $25
Prize: $2,000

James Hearst Poetry Prize, https://northamericanreview.org/hearst-poetry-prize

Entry Deadline: 10/31/2020
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $1,000

November Poetry Contest

Tethered By Letters Fall Poetry Contest, https://tetheredbyletters.com/resources/contest-list/

Entry Deadline: 11/1/2020
Entry Fee: $8
Prize: $300 MANY contests here

December Poetry Contests

Annual Gival Press Poetry Award, https://www.givalpress.com

Entry Deadline: 12/15/2020
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $1,000 SCROLL DOWN

Jeff Marks Memorial Poetry Prize, https://decembermag.org/2021-jeff-marks-memorial-poetry-prize/

Entry Deadline: 12/15/2020
Entry Fee: $20
Prize: $1,000

Flash Fiction Contests

Since many of you found us through Flash Contests and we have our Scintillating Starts Contest in the fall, I’d like to share a few resources. Give them a try if they appeal. Let me know how it goes.

These were found at https://thejohnfox.com/2016/03/flash-fiction-contest/

There’s lots of good items there including more flash contests.

NYC Midnight

http://www.nycmidnight.com/Competitions/FFC/Challenge.htm

NANO Fiction

http://nanofiction.org

Fiction Southeast

https://fictionsoutheast.com/ernest-hemingway-flash-fiction-award/

River Styx

http://www.riverstyx.org/submit/microfiction-contest/

The Lascaux Review

https://lascauxreview.com/contests/