The Winter 2010 issue of the Western Humanities Review includes the works of poetry competition winner Esther Lee and prose contest winner Natanya Ann Pulley. Judges of both genres give thorough remarks on their selections in the Editor’s Note of this issue.

Naugatuck River Review – a journal of narrative poetry – Issue 3 Winter 2010 is the all-contest-entry issue, featuring a piece by Contest Judge Lesl

Grain‘s new issue includes their new byline: The journal of eclectic writing. Grain’s Winter 2010 issue, TROPHY, features the winners of Grain‘s 21st Annual Writing Contest, judged by Tonja Gunvaldsen Klaassen (Poetry) and Elise Levine (Fiction). All seven winning entries are included, most notably the 1st and 2nd Prize fiction – Matthew Heiti and Marilyn Gear Pilling – and poetry winners – Danny Jacobs and Medrie Purdham.

Full details for Grain’s 2010 contest are available on their website and are published in the back of TROPHY.

The newest issue of Southeast Review (v28n1) includes the winning entries from their 2009 writing contests — Dina Hardy in the Poetry category, Martin Cloutier in the Short Short category, and Heather Bryant in the Narrative Nonfiction category as well as finalists for each.

Richard P. Krepski’s prose contest winning essay “Center of the Universe” is published in the newest issue of Tiferet: A Journal of Spiritual Literature (Issue 13). “It is based on a chapter in Mr. Krepski’s forthcoming book, Alchemical Gold – Exploring Substance to Realize Spirit, targeted for publication later in 2010.”

The Winter 2010 issue of The MacGuffin from Schoolcraft College includes the 14th National Poet Hunt Winner, Helen Marie Casey as well as honorable mention, Carol Gilbertson, as selected by Poet Hunt Judge Thomas Lynch.

Just in: The Spoon River Review Summer/Fall 2009 issue features the The Spoon River Poetry Review’s Editors’ Prize as judged by Claudia Emerson: First Place Rebecca Warren; Runner-up Hanna Marta Norris and Stephanie Coyne DeGhett; and Honorable Mention: Michael Meyerhofer, Lusia Slomkowska, Jared Walls, Rebecca Warren, and Jeff Miles.

The most recent issue of Water~Stone Review includes the winner of this year’s Jane Kenyon Poetry Prize: “Four Corners” by Michelle Bonzcek. Also included in the issue are two poems selected for honorable mention: Myron Ernst’s “Beyond the Green Line” and Brett Foster’s “Sponge Bath as Answer to the Problem of Knowledge.” Marck McMorris was the judge for this year’s prize.

Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their December Fiction Open competition. This competition is held quarterly and is open to all writers for stories with a word count range between 2000-20,000. No theme restrictions. The next Fiction Open competition will take place in March. Glimmer Train’s monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.

First place: Stephanie Soileau (pictured), of San Francisco, CA, wins $2000 for “Chemiere Caminada.” Her story will be published in the Spring 2011 issue of Glimmer Train Stories, out in February 2011.

Second place: Diane Chang, of Chicago, IL, wins $1000 for “The Teacher and the Revolution.” Her story will also be published in an upcoming issue of Glimmer Train Stories.

Third place: Naama Goldstein, of Allston, MA, wins $600 for “Stronghold.”

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here.

Deadline soon approaching! February Short Story Award for New Writers: February 28

This competition is held quarterly and is open to writers whose fiction has not appeared in a print publication with a circulation over 5000. No theme restrictions. Word count should not exceed 12,000. (All shorter lengths welcome.) Click here for complete guidelines.

The newest issue of Calyx: A Journal of Art and Literature by Women features “How to Become the Oracle” by Linda Strever, the winner of the 2009 Lois Cranstron Memorial Poetry Prize. Readers of the publication can also go online and offer feedback as to which works by genre they enjoyed best and provide comments for improving the publication. Nice!

Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their November Short Story Award for New Writers competition. This competition is held quarterly and is open to any writers whose fiction hasn’t appeared in a print publication with a circulation greater than 5000. No theme restrictions. Word count should not exceed 12,000. (All shorter lengths welcome.) The next Short Story Award for New Writers competition will be held in February. Glimmer Train’s monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.

First place: D.M. Gordon of Leeds, MA, wins $1200 for “The Work of Hunters Is Another Thing.” Her story will be published in the Spring 2011 issue of Glimmer Train Stories, out in February 2011. [Photo credit: Ellen Augarten.]

Second place: Amanda Korman of Williamstown, MA, wins $500 for “From the Needle of Gwen.”

Third place: Tara Stillions of La Mesa, CA, wins $300 for “General, After the Tornado.”

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here.

Also: Very Short Fiction competition (deadline soon approaching! January 31)

Glimmer Train hosts this competition twice a year, and first place is $1200 plus publication in the journal. It’s open to all writers, no theme restrictions, and the word count must not exceed 3000. Click here for complete guidelines.

The newest issue (159) of The Antigonish Review includes the winners of the 2009 Great Blue Heron Poetry Contest – First, Jennifer Houle; Second, Eve Joseph; Third, Eleonre Schomaier – and the Sheldon Currie Fiction Prize – First, Sheila McClarty; Second, Laura Rock; Third, Ian Bullock.

Judy Copeland was the winner of The Malahat Review‘s 2009 Creative Non-Fiction Prize. Final Judge John Threlfall chose her entry “Where Sea Meets Sky” from among 105 submissions. Copeland’s childhood memory of postwar Japan can be read in the most current issue, 169/Winter 2009.

AWP Intro Award Winners Rebecca Morgan Frank (Poetry – “Intellectual Property”) and Kendall Sand (Fiction – “Bad Poetry”) are published in the most recent issue of Hayden’s Ferry Review (Fall/Winter 2009-2010).

Every year, Fifth Wednesday Journal reviews the work of contributing artists to make selections for the Editor’s Prize in short fiction, poetry, and photography. The fall 2009 issue includes the editors comments on their selections. This year, Ann Leahy selected the work of Ray Gonzalez (“Canto” fall 2008), with a special note of recognition to Rebecca B. Rank and Mary Biddinger. Andrew Coburn’s fiction (“Hearty Women” spring 2009) was selected by Keith Gandal, and Barbara DeGenevieve selected the photography of Harry Wilson (“Classroom Turkey” fall 2008), with an honorable mention to Leigh Wells.

Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their September Fiction Open competition. This competition is held quarterly and is open to all writers for stories with a word count range between 2000-20,000. No theme restrictions. The next Fiction Open competition will take place in December. Glimmer Train’s monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.

First place: Carrie Brown [pictured] of Sweet Briar, VA, wins $2000 for “Bomb.” Her story will be published in the Fall 2010 issue of Glimmer Train Stories, out in August 2010.

Second place: Ken Barris of Cape Town, South Africa, wins $1000 for “Life Underwater.” His story will also be published in an upcoming issue of Glimmer Train Stories.

Third place: Lydia Fitzpatrick of Brooklyn NY, wins $600 for “Ellijay.”

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here.

Glimmer Train has also selected the 50 winning entries for their Best Start competition. Each wins $50 and makes Glimmer Train’s Best Start list.

Deadline soon approaching!

November Short Story Award for New Writers: November 30

This competition is held quarterly and is open to writers whose fiction has not appeared in a print publication with a circulation over 5000. No theme restrictions. Word count should not exceed 12,000. (All shorter lengths welcome.) Click here for complete guidelines.

Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their August Short Story Award for New Writers competition. This competition is held quarterly and is open to any writers whose fiction hasn’t appeared in a print publication with a circulation great than 5000. No theme restrictions. Word count range: 500-12,000. Their monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.

First place: Evan Christopher Burton (pictured) of New York, NY, wins $1200 for “Exposure.” His story will be published in the Winter 2011 issue of Glimmer Train Stories, out in November 2010. [Photo credit Patrick Buckley.]

Second place: David Rothman of Jackson Heights, NY, wins $500 for “Guided by Voices.” His story will also be published in an upcoming issue of Glimmer Train Stories, raising his prize to $700.

Third place: Scott Tucker of Seattle, WA, wins $300 for “Touring.”

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here. Also: Family Matters competition (deadline soon approaching! October 31) Glimmer Train hosts this competition twice a year, and first place is $1,200 and publication in the journal. It’s open to all writers for stories about family. Word count range: 500-12,000. Click here for complete guidelines.

This latest issue of New Ohio Review (6, Fall 2009) features the 2009 New Ohio Review Contest Winners, as selected by Peter Ho Davies and Philip Levine: Christine Nicolai for fiction Cecilia Woloch for poetry. Nicole Lee, one of the finalists, will have her story published in the spring 2010 issue.

The Malahat Review announced Eliza Robertson the winner of the 2009 Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction, selected from over 100 entries by final judge Anne Simpson. Robertson’s story is included in the latest issue (168, Fall 2009).

The newest issue of Ruminate: Faith in Literature and Art (Issue 13, Fall 2009) features the 2009 Janet B. McCabe Poetry Prize Winners as well as poems from many of the fifteen finalists. First prize went to Courtney King Kampa, runner-up was Lauren Schmidt, and honorable mentions to Karen Luke Jackson and Adie Smith, all whose poems appear in this issue.

The 2009 Narrative Prize winner is Maud Newton for her story “When the Flock Changed”: “My mother was a preacher until the cops shut her down. Well, okay, she kept at it halfheartedly in our living room for a while, but the fire had wiped out not just her warehouse church, but her passion, her commitment, and deep down, her belief. Worse, her flock knew it and was slipping away.”

The $4,000 Narrative Prize is awarded annually for the best short story, novel excerpt, poem, or work of literary nonfiction published by a new or emerging writer in Narrative.

Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their July Very Short Fiction Award. This twice yearly competition is open to all writers for stories on any theme, with a word count not exceeding 3000. Their monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.

First place: J.P. Lacrampe (pictured) of San Francisco, CA, wins $1200 for “Farmers’ Market.” His story will be published in the Winter 2011 issue of Glimmer Train Stories, out in November 2010.

Second place: Stephanie Reents of Providence, RI, wins $500 for “The Indefinite Article Is a Different Story.”

Third place: James Scoles of Carbondale, IL, wins $300 for “To Cook an Egg Gently.”

A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here.

Deadlines soon approaching!

Best Start: September 30

This competition is held quarterly and is open only to writers whose fiction has not appeared in a print publication with a circulation over 3000. Each submission should be an engaging, coherent narrative, but does not need to be a complete story, just an important part of a story in progress. Word count: under 1000. Click here for complete guidelines.

Fiction Open: September 30

This competition is held quarterly and is open to all writers for stories with a word count range between 2000-20,000. No theme restrictions. Click here for complete guidelines.

The newest issue of American Short Fiction (Fall 2009) includes the first- and second-place winners of their inaugural American Short(er) Fiction Prize:

First Place: Mary Kay Zuravleff “The Things They Paid For”
Second Place: Kaitlyn Greenidge “The Innocent”