Writing Contests & Book Contests
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Deadline: June 15, 2021
Swan Scythe Press announces its 2021 poetry chapbook contest. Entry fee: $18. We are accepting submissions from March 1 to June 15 (postmark deadline). Winner receives $200 and 25 perfect-bound chapbooks. The 2020 winner is Lana Issam Ghannam for Evolution of Stone. For full submission guidelines, visit www.swanscythepress.com and swanscythepress.submittable.com/submit.

Deadline: June 15, 2021
Since 2008, the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award competition has recognized the best stories from the previous year. Our judges consist of professional writers, book reviewers, librarians, publicists, and other industry professionals. As this competition was created to help beginning and emerging authors reach new audiences, the focus is on quality, not popularity. There is a $250 cash prize for the best overall work and physical awards are given to the winners of each category. Finalists & semi-finalists will receive written feedback on their work from our judges. Deadline is June 15, 2021. Learn more at killernashville.com/awards/silver-falchion-award/.

Deadline: June 15, 2021
Autumn House Full-Length Prizes (Poetry, Fiction, and Nonfiction): Winners of each prize receive publication of their full-length manuscripts. Each winner also receives $2,500 ($1,000 honorarium and a $1,500 travel/publicity grant to promote the book). The submission period closes June 15 (Eastern Time). To submit online, please visit our online submission manager. The judges for the 2021 full-length prizes are Eileen Myles (poetry), Deesha Philyaw (fiction), and Steve Almond (nonfiction).

Deadline: July 15, 2021
Submissions are open for Nimrod’s Francine Ringold Awards for New Writers. The Ringold Awards offer prizes of $500 and publication for fiction and poetry. They are open only to writers with no more than two previous publication credits in their genre. For poetry, submit up to five pages; for fiction, one short story, 5,000 words maximum. The contest is open internationally. All finalists will also be published and paid at our normal rates. Manuscripts may be mailed or submitted online via Submittable. Each entry must be accompanied by a $12 entry fee. Email or visit artsandsciences.utulsa.edu/nimrod/ for complete rules.

Deadline: September 1, 2021
Puerto del Sol will be accepting entries to our annual contest in poetry and prose between May 1 and September 1. Judges are Eileen Pollack in prose and Todd Dillard in poetry. Winners receive $500 and publication. $9 entry fee includes one-year subscription. All manuscripts entered will be considered for publication. See website for complete guidelines—puertodelsol.org.

Deadline: July 4, 2021
Headmistress Press, a lesbian-identified publisher of books of poetry by Lesbian/Bi/Trans poets, announces our 7th annual Charlotte Mew Chapbook Contest. Our judge this year is Julie Marie Wade. First-prize winner receives $300 plus 20 copies of the winning book. All entries considered for publication. Submissions open from May 4 to July 4, 2021. Winner will be announced in the fall. Sliding scale fee. Click for further details.

Deadline: July 1, 2021
Submit your best flash fiction to the tiny journal’s summer contest. Award-winning fiction writer and Guest Judge Tom DeMarchi will select the winning entries from a pool of finalists. The first prize winner will be awarded $100 and publication in issue iv. All other work will be considered for publication in our annual issue. Visit www.thetinyjournal.org for further guidelines. Send us your best small and mighty stories.

Deadline: June 15, 2021
We are currently accepting submissions for our annual Lucille Clifton Poetry Prize. The prize is for a previously unpublished, single poem. The winner is awarded $500, publication via our website, and a set of three poetry collections by Clifton via Boa Editions. Honorée Fannone Jeffers will judge. See website for full guidelines: backbonepress.org/lucille-clifton-prize/.

Deadline: May 31, 2021
River Styx’s International Poetry Competition is open for submissions. Judged by Adrian Matejka, the competition features a grand prize of $1,000 and publication in River Styx. Runner-ups will also be published at our standard rate. For more information and to submit, visit www.riverstyx.org/submit/poetry-contest/.

Deadline: June 1, 2021
Salamander's 2021 Fiction Contest, judged by Yiyun Li, is open for submissions from May 1-June 1. First prize is $1000 and publication; second prize is $500 and publication; all manuscripts will be considered for publication. Entry fee is $15 and includes a one-year subscription. Guidelines can be found at salamandermag.org/contests.

Deadline: July 31, 2021
RED WHEELBARROW POETRY PRIZE 2021: Judged by Mark Doty. $1,000 for first place and a letterpress broadside printed by Felicia Rice of Moving Parts Press, $500 for second, $250 for third. Top five published in Red Wheelbarrow Literary Magazine. Submit up to 3 original, unpublished poems. $15 entry fee. Deadline: July 31, 2021. For complete guidelines, see redwheelbarrow.submittable.com/submit.

Deadline: July 31, 2021
Enter your fiction or poetry manuscript for a chance to win $500 and publication by Winter Goose Publishing. Honorable mentions may also receive publication. Submissions are being accepted from 5/1 – 7/31. ENTER TODAY before time runs out!

Deadline: June 1, 2021
The Conium Review 2021 Innovative Short Fiction Contest is open for submissions. The winner receives $500, publication in the next print edition, five copies of the issue, and a copy of the judge’s latest book. This year’s judge is Elle Nash, author of Nudes (SF/LD) and Animals Eat Each Other (Dzanc Books). June 1st deadline. $15 entry fee. Full guidelines here: coniumreview.com/contests/.

Deadline: May 31, 2021
$2,000 in prizes. From March 1 to May 31, Flying South 2021, a publication of Winston Salem Writers, will be accepting entries for prizes in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. Best in Category winners will be published and receive $500 each. One of the three winners will receive The WSW President's Favorite award and win an additional $500. All entries will be considered for publication. For full details, please visit our website: www.wswriters.org/flying-south.

Deadline: July 31, 2021
$1,000 and 50 copies awarded to an outstanding, unpublished collection of poems of approximately 60 to 120 pages. Open to poets 18 years of age and older who live in the US or one of its territories. Tom Lombardo, Press 53 Poetry Series Editor, will serve as judge. Press 53 will publish the winning manuscript as a Tom Lombardo Poetry Selection; all prizes will be awarded upon publication. Deadline: Midnight Eastern, July 31, 2021. Winner and finalists announced on or before November 1. Reading fee: $30. Complete information at www.press53.com/award-for-poetry/.

Deadline: June 30, 2021
Now in its seventh year, the North Street Book Prize is sponsored by Winning Writers and co-sponsored by BookBaby and Carolyn Howard-Johnson. Self-published books in seven categories can win up to $5,000 plus additional benefits. Submit online or by mail. Winning Writers is a partner member of the Alliance of Independent Authors, and this contest is recommended by Reedsy. Entry fee: $65 per book. Free gifts for everyone who enters. Deadline: June 30. winningwriters.com/northnp21

Deadline: June 15, 2021
Indigo Moor judges the MacGuffin’s 26th Poet Hunt contest, open April 1 through June 15! $500 first prize plus publication; up to two Honorable Mentions will also be published. All entrants receive one copy of this issue. Send no more than five poems per $15 entry fee. Include a cover page that lists your contact info and poem titles. On the following page(s), include your poem(s), beginning each poem on a new page devoid of personally identifiable information to preserve the blind review process. Enter via Submittable, or to enter by email or post, see full rules at schoolcraft.edu/macguffin/contest-rules.

A firm deadline of June 1, 2021 at midnight EST.
The 2021 Laux/Millar Raleigh Review Poetry Prize is now underway. Dorianne Laux & Joseph Millar are the judges of the finalists. This contest closes to submissions on 01 June 2021 at midnight Eastern Standard Time. Our deadlines are firm at Raleigh Review. Top prize is $500. There is a $15 entry fee to submit, and all entrants will receive a free copy of the fall 2021 prize issue. raleighreview.submittable.com/submit

Deadline: May 15, 2021
The Cow Creek Chapbook Prize is brought to you by Emerald City and Pittsburg State University. We’re open to all styles and subjects. As long as the poems challenge and capture the imagination, we want to see them. This year’s judge is Kayleb Rae Candrilli. The winning poet will receive $1,000 and 25 author copies. The chapbook will be published as a perfect bound book and sold both online and in limited bookstores. Guidelines and the submission portal can be found at www.cowcreekchapbook.org. There is a $15 fee to enter. Deadline: May 15.

Deadline: May 15, 2021
Carve Magazine's Raymond Carver Short Story Contest is open April 1 - May 15. Accepting submissions from all over the world, but story must be in English. Max 10,000 words. Prizes: $2,000, $500, $250, + 2 Editor's Choice $125 each. All 5 winners published in Fall 2021 issue and reviewed by lit agencies. Entry fee $17 online. Guest judge Leesa Cross-Smith. www.carvezine.com/raymond-carver-contest/

Deadline: May 31, 2021
No theme for our summer contest. Subject matter is entirely up to you. Surprise us! But keep it short. Three categories: flash fiction, flash creative nonfiction, and prose poem. We want to be amazed at how you abracadabra 1,000 words or less into magic. And maybe be a little jealous of how you do that. One writer in each category will be awarded a $300 prize and published in the summer issue. All entries considered for publication and payment. See www.baltimorereview.org for complete details and to read sample issues. Deadline: May 31, 2021. Fee: $5.