Writing Contests & Book Contests
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Extended Deadline: March 31, 2021
MAYDAY has extended the submission deadline for the annual fiction and poetry prizes. Winners receive $1,000, publication, and 25 broadsides of the winning poem or an excerpt from the winning story. Use the online submission system to submit up to 3 poems for the poetry prize or up to 6,000 words for the fiction prize. $20 entry fee. All entries considered for publication. Jacques Rancourt will judge the poetry prize and Kali Wallace the fiction prize. For more info, visit maydaymagazine.com/contests.

Deadline: March 31, 2021
Submission Dates: January 1 – March 31, 2021. Eligibility: Open to any poet writing in English regardless of publication history. Must not have studied with Tom Daley (the judge) within past ten years. Awards a standard book contract and virtual or in-person launch. Member of CLMP. lilypoetryreview.submittable.com/submit

Deadline: April 1, 2021
Submissions are open for The Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry and The Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction, with prizes of $2,000 and $1,000 and publication, as well as readings at our Awards Ceremony. Finalists and selected semi-finalists will be published and paid at a rate of $10/page. For poetry, submit 3-10 pages (one long poem or several short poems); for fiction, one story, 7,500 words maximum. Manuscripts may be mailed or submitted online: nimrodjournal.submittable.com/submit. Each entry must be accompanied by a $20 entry fee, which includes a one-year subscription. Email or visit our website for complete rules.

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: April 1, 2021
20th year. Top prize: $2,000. Total prizes: $3,500. Sponsored by Winning Writers, co-sponsored by Duotrope, and recommended by Reedsy. Winning entries published online. Submit one humor poem online, up to 250 lines long. Both published and unpublished work accepted. Final judge: Jendi Reiter. Enter for free at winningwriters.com/werglenp21.

Deadline: March 31, 2021
The National Indie Excellence® Awards (NIEA) are open to all English language printed books available for sale, including small presses, mid-size independent publishers, university presses, and self-published authors. NIEA is proud to be a champion of self-publishing and small independent presses going the extra mile to produce books of excellence in every aspect. All entries for the 15th Annual NIEA contest must be postmarked by March 31st, 2021. www.indieexcellence.com

Deadline: March 31, 2021
We are open to any subject, style, or genre. All five winners will be published online in the June/July 2021 issue of Gemini. Both new and experienced writers have won our contests. All entries are read blind so everyone gets an equal chance. Maximum length: 6,000 words. First prize: $1,000. Second: $100. Three honorable mentions: $25 each. Entry fee: $8. All winning stories may be read online. Advice from Ray Bradbury: “I’ve had a sign over my typewriter for over 25 years now, which reads ‘DON’T THINK!’ You must never think at the typewriter—you must feel.” Enter at www.gemini-magazine.com/shortstorycomp.html.

Deadline: April 1, 2021
The 2021 Orison Prizes in Poetry & Fiction offer $1,500 and publication by Orison Books for a full-length manuscript in each genre. Judges: Jericho Brown (poetry) & Debra Spark (fiction). Entry fee: $25. Entry period: December 1, 2020 - April 1, 2021. For complete guidelines visit our Duotrope listing.

Extended Deadline: March 15, 2021
A prize of $200 will be awarded for one poem or short prose piece in Cloudbank 15, which will be published in July. Entry fee is $15 and includes a two-issue subscription. Submissions accepted via Submittable or by mail. Complete contest guidelines can be found at our website. Recent issues have featured poems by Robert Morgan, Richard Jones, Alice Friman, and Bruce Bond. For information about past issues, including winning poems, visit CLOUDBANK. Revive us with your fire.

Deadline: March 15, 2021
The Great Midwest Writing Contest awards $500 and publication in Midwest Review in 3 categories. We’re looking for thoughtful and thought-provoking writing that examines, interprets, and redefines the wide spectrum of life, past and present, in the Midwest. The Midwest is the region of the north central United States that includes the Great Lakes area and the upper Mississippi River valley (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, and Missouri). Of course, the Midwest is also a state of mind. This year’s judges: Kim Chinquee, fiction. Kimberly Blaeser, poetry. Ander Monson, creative nonfiction.

Deadline: April 30, 2021
Inlandia Books’ The Hillary Gravendyk Prize, an open poetry book competition for all writers regardless of the number of previously published poetry collections. One national and one regional winner will each be awarded $1000 and book publication. Submit 48–100 pages, all styles and forms. Only electronic submissions accepted via Inlandia’s Submittable portal. Entries must be received between February 1 and April 30 at midnight Pacific Standard Time. Reading fee is $20. The winners will be announced late Summer/Fall, for publication in the next year. Judged blind. Final Judges: Margaret Ronda and Megan Gravendyk Estrella. tinyurl.com/HillaryGravendykPrize

Deadline: April 12, 2021
Fix, Grist’s solutions lab, is launching a new climate-fiction contest, Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors. Imagine calls for short stories envisioning the next 180 years of climate progress, judged by renowned authors Adrienne Maree Brown, Morgan Jerkins, and Kiese Laymon. The top contest winners will be awarded $3000, $2000, and $1000 respectively, and nine finalists will receive a $300 honorarium. Winners and finalists will be published in an immersive digital collection. We want to see—and share—stories that bring into focus what a truly just and regenerative future could look like. Submit your story by April 12 at grist.submittable.com/submit and contact us at .

Deadline: March 31, 2021
Fall for the Book and the Institute for Immigration Research’s New American Voices Award recognizes recently published books that illuminate the complexity of the human experience as told by immigrants, whose work is historically underrepresented in writing and publishing. The prize will be juried by Irina Reyn, Justin Torres, and 2019 New American Voices winner Melissa Rivero. All three finalists and the judges will appear at the Fall for the Book festival in October 2021 for the fourth annual award presentation. The winning writer will receive $5,000 and the two finalists each will receive $1,000. Full guidelines: fallforthebook.org/submitnav/.

Deadline: April 15, 2021
“The world is full of paper. Write to me.”—Agha Shahid Ali, “Stationery.” Submit your poetry manuscript to the Agha Shahid Ali Prize in Poetry, judged this year by Matthew Olzmann. The winner will receive a $1,000 cash prize, publication by The University of Utah Press, plus a $500 honorarium for reading in the University of Utah’s Guest Writers Series. Deadline: April 15, 2021. Entry fee: $25. We are on Submittable. Read about our guidelines Here: www.uofupress.com/ali-poetry-prize.php. Email Hannah New with any questions .

Deadline: March 31, 2021
$1,000 first prize in each category plus publication in Prime Number Magazine. Reading fee $15. Poetry judged by Stacy R. Nigliazzo, author of Sky the Oar and Scissored Moon. Short Fiction judged by Dennis McFadden, author of Jimtown Road, winner of the 2016 Press 53 Award for Short Fiction. Open January 1 to March 31. Submit online through Submittable. Details at www.Press53.com/prime-number-magazine-awards.

Deadline: March 31, 2021
Entries for the Ernest Hemingway Flash Fiction Prize should be approximately 1,500 words or less. Simultaneous submissions ARE welcome. Deadline: March 31st. Entry fee: $10. Winner will receive $200 and publication in Fiction Southeast. All entries will be considered for publication in Fiction Southeast. Finalists will receive publication in Fiction Southeast. fictionsoutheast.com

Deadline: February 28, 2021
The Headlight Review’s Annual Chapbook Prize in Prose is open for submissions! Send us your very best literary fiction, 6k-10k words, and you will be considered by our expert panel of judges for a $500 cash prize and publication of your manuscript. Submissions are $20 each, and all finalists will also be considered for publication. Publication in THR’s regular genres (Poetry, Nonfiction, Fiction, Book Reviews, & Interviews) is also year-round, and it is free to submit. Submission Guidelines for The Chapbook Prize, and for our year-round submissions, can be found on our website. We look forward to reading your work!

Deadlines: March 15 & March 31, 2021
2021 ABLE MUSE CONTESTS :: SUBMIT NOW. WRITE PRIZE (poetry & fiction): $500 each + publication. Final Judges: Jehanne Dubrow (poetry), William Baer (fiction); $15 entry; deadline: March 15, 2021. BOOK AWARD (poetry): $1000 + book publication. Final Judge: Mark Jarman; $25 entry; deadline: March 31, 2021. ENTER NOW—go to www.ablemusepress.com for details.