“Contests build your platform.” –Brenda Knight, Mango Publishing Group
“They also build your credibility.” — B. Lynn Goodwin, Writer Advice
December Deadlines
I have not double-checked each link. If one doesn’t work, please let me know using the Contact box.
Which contests are you submitting to? If you want to make a list and share it, we’d love to see it. We might ask you to write a follow up article telling what you submitted and where you were successful. Why not give it a try? Thanks!
Hippocampus Magazine. Genre: Memoir Excerpts, Personal Essays, and Flash Nonfiction. Payment: $40. Deadline: Fee free from December 1 — December 14, 2023.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Cat Stories. Genre: True stories and poems. “We are looking for first-person true stories and poems up to 1200 words that highlight the unique personalities that dogs have. Celebrate your dog, or a dog you know, with a wonderful story about what he or she does. Stories can be serious or humorous, or both.” Payment: $200. Deadline: December 15, 2023.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Dog Stories. Genre: True stories and poems. “We are looking for first-person true stories and poems up to 1200 words that highlight the unique personalities that cats have. Celebrate your cat, or a cat you know, with a wonderful story about what he or she does. Stories can be serious or humorous, or both.” Payment: $200. Deadline: December 15, 2023.
Baffling Magazine. Genre: Speculative flash fiction. Payment: 8 cents/word. Deadline: December 15, 2023.
Lost Boys Press: Romantasy. Genre: Romance set in a fantasy world. Word count should be between 60,000 and 120,000 words. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: December 15, 2023.
Brazenhead Review. Genre: Poetry. Payment: $200. Deadline: December 15, 2023. Note: Closes when cap is reached.
Midstory Magazine. Genre: Personal essays about love, loss, and friendship at midlife. We are looking for a strong, clear writing voice and raw, honest storytelling, in keeping with our mission to elevate the voices of midlife women. Preferred word count: 750–2000 words. Payment: $50 for accepted essays. Deadline: December 15, 2023.
The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts. Genre: Fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, mixed media, visual arts, “and even kitchen sinks, if they are compressed in some way.” Payment: $50. Deadline: December 15, 2023.
Samjoko Magazine. Genre: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, play, screenplay. Payment: $20. Deadline: December 15, 2023.
Muse Magazine. Genre: Nonfiction articles for children. Payment: Not specified. Deadline: December 15, 2023. See themes. Queries only.
Funemployment Quarterly. Genre: Science-fiction/fantasy. See theme. Payment: $20 CAD. Deadline: December 18, 2023.
Havok. Genre: Flash fiction. See themes. Payment: $50 via PayPal for each story selected for an Anthology. No payment for online publication. Deadline: December 29, 2023.
Body Type
Body Type publishes essays about body image, the power of exercise unrelated to looks, beauty standards, eating disorder recovery, body discourse in pop culture, the nuances of body change (weight loss/gain, aging, etc.) and more. Editor Mikala Jamison is looking for essay pitches along those lines. Pay: $250 for 800-1000 words. Send your pitches to bodytype@substack.com by Dec 30. Please put “PITCH” in subject line.
In the Eyes of the Hungry. Genre: Short horror stories, 2500 to 6000 words, in the style of Steinbeck. Payment: $50. Deadline: December 31, 2023.
HuffPost Personal. –No deadline given.
huffpost.com/section/huffpost-personal
Head of HuffPost Personal, editor Noah Michelson is seeking pitches. They feature distinct voices and points of view writing about a variety of topics, including identity; health and mental health; sex/love and relationships, in every sense of the word; family and parenting; work, money and career; body and body image; and just plain ol’ great stories about unique life experiences. Pay: up to $0.08 per word. Pitch Noah at Noah.Michelson@HuffPost.com.
All of these opportunities and more are available at https://publishedtodeath.blogspot.com, an interesting and comprehensive site I plan to explore more thoroughly when I find the time. More opportunities will be added later in the month.
Vulture (no deadline given)
Editor Emily Palmer Heller is always open to pitches for Vulture. They are an entertainment news website that covers TV, movies, comedy, music, theater, art, books, and more. Check out their pitch guidelines and pitch Emily at emily.heller@voxmedia.com.
Deadline is 12/31/23 Short Fiction & Creative Nonfiction $500.00
November Deadlines
There are 15 literary magazines with November deadlines listed on CLMP.
Do you know about the calls for submissions on New Pages?
Have you looked at Writer Advice’s Latest Contest?
Curious Curls Fiction Contest 2023
15 November 2023
More details here
Ironclad Short Story Competition
Deadline: 16 November 2023
More details here
InkWellness Writing Competition
Deadline: 17 November 2023
More details here
Wild Words Poetry Submissions
Deadline: 19 November 2023
More details here
Ghost Stories at the Bookshop
Deadline: 23 November 2023
More details here
WOW! Women on Writing Fall 2023 Flash Fiction Contest
Deadline: 30 November 2023
More details here
Tadpole Press 100-Word Writing Contest
30 November 2023
More details here
Anthology Travel Writing Competition
30 November 2023
More details here
The Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Competition
30 November 2023
More details here
Narratively 2023 Memoir Prize
30 November 2023
More details here
WRITER’S DIGEST SHORT SHORT STORY COMPETITION
$30 ENTRY FEE. Early-bird deadline November 15, 2023. One First Place Winner will receive $3,000, their short story title published in Writer’s Digest magazine’s September/October 2024 issue, and a paid trip to the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference, including a coveted Pitch Slam slot. The Second Place Winner will receive $1,500 and their short story title published in Writer’s Digest magazine’s September/October 2024 issue. The Third Place Winner will receive $500 and their short story title published in Writer’s Digest magazine’s September/October 2024 issue. Fourth through Tenth Place Winners will receive $100 and their short story titles published in Writer’s Digest magazine’s September/October 2024 issue. The Eleventh through Twenty-Fifth Place Winners will receive a $50 gift certificate for writersdigestshop.com. Limit 1,500 words.
WOW! WOMEN ON WRITING FALL FLASH FICTION CONTEST
$10 ENTRY FEE. Deadline November 30, 2023. Seeking short fiction of any genre between 250-750 words. The mission of this contest is to inspire creativity, great writing, and provide well-rewarded recognition to contestants. Open internationally. Limit: 300 entries. First Place: $400, publication, interview, and $25 Amazon Gift Certificate. Second Place: $300, publication, interview, and $25 Amazon Gift Certificate. Third Place: $200, publication, interview, and $25 Amazon Gift Certificate. Seven Runners Up receive $25 Amazon Gift Cards, publication, and interview. Ten Honorable mentions receive a $20 Amazon Gift Card. Top 10 stories are published in the WOW! Women On Writing ezine, and contestants are interviewed on WOW’s blog, The Muffin.
Questions? Please ask either the publication or me. Use whichever seems more appropriate.
What’s your genre? What are you looking for? Tell us and we’ll suggest places you might submit. Want an edge in contests? Consider having a professional editor respond to your writing. Try Writer Advice’s Manuscript Consultation and Editing Services. Scroll down to see what others have said.
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