Online literary magazine CRAFT published the winners of its 2019 First Chapters Contest over the course of February.
The contest was judged by Naomi Huffman of MCDxFSG and FSG Originals.
In first place is “Paradise Pawn” by Meg Richardson.
In second place is “Little Squirrel” by Tim Hickey.
In third place is “Empire of Dirt” by Jonathan Bohr Heinen.
See the full list of finalists, honorable mentions, and read the first chapters at their website.
In December of 2019, Seneca Review announced the winner of its annual Deborah Tall Lyric Essay Book Prize.
Final judge Jenny Boully selected Living Room Horses by Minnesota-based essayist and playwright Jessica Lind Peterson. The book will be published in November 2020.
Finalists:
Vanessa Saunders, The Flat Woman
Dennis James Sweeney, You’re the Woods Too
Nance Van Winckel, Sister Zero
The Spring 2020 issue of Raleigh Review features the winner and two runners-up of the 2020 Flash Fiction Contest. The winner received $500 and publication, and the runners-up received Raleigh Review’s standard $15 payment as well as publication. The pieces are set apart in the latest issue with pages bordered in blue for the winner and purple for the runners-up.
Winner
“The Museum of Forgotten Emotions” by Alexander Weinstein
Runners-up
“Cezanne” by Alexander Steele
“The Year of Transformation” by Sarah Hardy
The Raleigh Review Fiction Team served as this year’s judges. The 2020 contest opened on July 1, 2019, so check back this summer for details on the 2021 contest.
Prism Review has announced their 2020 contest winners!
Short Fiction: Alan Sincic, “Porter Must Be Stopped”
Judge Aurelie Sheehan: ” “Porter Must Be Stopped” could not be stopped. The language tumbles and collides and crests and takes a breath and rolls in again, and somehow all the world is poised and spinning on the fingertip of a storyteller for our pleasure. The story relies on and is in service to beauty—it conjures beauty out of thin air.”
Poetry: Anna Sandy-Elrod, “Only Two”
Judge Michelle Brittan Rosado: “In “Only Two,” the speaker transforms the difficulty of communicating into a charmingly awkward dance of pairs. These (mis)matchings include the Spanish and Portuguese spoken respectively by the customer and shopkeeper; the unnamed city’s buildings appearing “blue against blue, pink against cream”; and the imagined “two small cups on a plate” as metaphor for the speaker and their lover. This poet reminds us of the inadequacy of language to capture the true experience, even as it assures us that we can be both “failed and triumphant.” ”
Both winners receive $250 and will be published in the next issue. The editors thank all the entrants—the decisions were not easy!
The Malahat Review annually hosts the Constance Rooke Creative Nonfiction Prize. The editors consider submissions of “a genre that embraces, but is not limited to, the personal essay, memoir, narrative nonfiction, social commentary, travel writing, historical accounts, and biography, all enhanced by such elements as description, dramatic scenes, dialogue, and characterization.” The Winter 2019 issue features the 2019 winner, chosen by Judge Yasuko Thanh: “Bat Reign” by Jeanette Lynes.
In an interview, Thanh said she was looking for “A story with a heartbeat, the ring of truth; to be surprised on every page with turn of phrase, or metaphor, or image so apt it’s breathtaking. Insight. A climactic “punchline” in the sense that its timing is perfectly paced and creates a resolution as inevitable as unexpected.”
Pick up a copy of the Winter 2019 issue of The Malahat Review to see how Lynes meets these expectations with “Bat Reign,” and check back in May of this year for details on the 2020 prize.
The newest issue of Mudfish features the winner and honorable mentions of the 14th Mudfish Poetry Prize. The 2019 judge was John Yau.
Winner
“Fluencies” by Mark Wagenaar
Honorable Mentions
“Not Yet Across” by G. Hanlon
“Crossing Lake Pontchartrain” by Stokes Howell
The 15th Mudfish Poetry Prize is currently open until March 15 and will be judged by poet and novelist Erica Jong.
Check out new and forthcoming award-winning books we’ve received recently. Continue reading “Award-Winning Books Published December 2019 – February 2020”
Winners of Louisville Literary Arts’ annual Writer’s Block Prize are published in The Louisville Review. The Fall 2019 issue includes the winner of the 2019 prize: “The Things We Leave Behind” by Aimée Lehmann.
Lehmann’s fiction was selected by 2019 judge Garth Greenwell. In addition to publication, Lehmann also received a $500 prize for her winning piece. The 2020 Writer’s Block Prize is open during the summer months, so stay tuned for updates on this year’s deadline.
Magazine Review by Katy Haas
Mary Birnbaum’s nonfiction piece “Owosso” caught my eye in the latest issue of Crazyhorse, not only because it’s the winner of the Crazyhorse Nonfiction Prize, but because it’s a familiar name (though a surprise to see in a national literary journal); the tiny town in Michigan is a mere hour away from where I’ve lived my whole life. It’s also where Birnbaum’s grandfather lived, she learns as she reads his obituary at the gym. This discovery leads her on an exploration of the concept of ghosts and hauntings.
Across the country, Birnbaum writes of the ghostly characters of The Turn of the Screw by Henry James and personal ghost stories shared by two friends. This leads her to look at the ghosts of her own life. These are not supernatural beings haunting the darkness, but are her father and her grandfather, two strangers removed from her life.
Birnbaum’s thoughts about her father and grandfather are complex and complicated. She breaks her ideas apart into small chunks, making them easily digestible as she bounces back and forth between ghost stories, the “what-ifs” of finding and confronting her father, and her discovery at the gym. At one point she wonders, “if it’s worse to be a ghost or to be haunted. I wonder if both are possible in me,” leading me to consider the ways in which I myself am a ghost or am being haunted in my own life.
As the essay wraps up, Birnbaum decides to label Owosso a mythical location. But while the small city is something separated from herself, it did conjure up from the shadows a tiny, welcomed connection between writer and this reader.
Spoon River Poetry Review’s Winter 2019 issue features the 2019 SRPR Editors’ Prize winner and runners-up.
Winner
“The Mammoth Steppe” by Mirande Bissell
Runners-Up
“I Thought I Was the Scream that Woke Me” by Abigail McFee
“After weeks apart” by Alex Chertok
“Burning the Field” by Mitchell Untch
“Evolution” by Andrea Deeken
“Hoodoos” by Robin Rosen Chang
“Arizona” by Harry Bauld
Final Judge Rachel Webster introduces Bissell’s work and explains her choice, stating, “And maybe what I appreciate most about this poem is the fact that it introduces me to a speaker, a family and a landscape that are new to me, and piercingly vivid.” This year’s contest is currently open until April 15.
Grab the first Kenyon Review issue of the year for the winners of the 2019 Kenyon Review Short Fiction Contest.
Winner
“Brown Girls” by Daphne Palasi Andreades
Runners-up
“Solitaria” by Emily Everett
“You Break It, You Own It” by Susan Falco
Fiction Editor Kirsten Reach introduces the three selections. Be sure to check this intro out for Judge Mia Alvar’s thoughts on her choices. Also not to be missed is the cover art for this issue, a literary illustration by Milan-based illustrator Emiliano Ponzi.
Spoon River Poetry Review’s Winter 2019 issue features the 2019 SRPR Editors’ Prize winner and runners-up.
Winner
“The Mammoth Steppe” by Mirande Bissell
Runners-Up
“I Thought I Was the Scream that Woke Me” by Abigail McFee
“After weeks apart” by Alex Chertok
“Burning the Field” by Mitchell Untch
“Evolution” by Andrea Deeken
“Hoodoos” by Robin Rosen Chang
“Arizona” by Harry Bauld
Final Judge Rachel Webster introduces Bissell’s work and explains her choice, stating, “And maybe what I appreciate most about this poem is the fact that it introduces me to a speaker, a family and a landscape that are new to me, and piercingly vivid.” This year’s contest is currently open until April 15.
The New Guard Volume VIII features the winners of the Machigonne Fiction Contest and Knigtville Poetry Contest, as well as the contests’ finalists and semi-finalists.
Machigonne Fiction Contest
Judge Rick Moody
“The View From Beachy Head” by Thos. West
Knigtville Poetry Contest
Judge Patricia Smith
“Once Upon a Time” by Damen O’Brien
In addition to the winners, finalists, and semi-finalists, the issue also features a section of eleven letters to writers’ younger selves.
Pick up the Winter 2019 issue of Rattle for the Rattle Poetry Prize winner and finalists.
Winner
“Stroke” by Matthew Dickman
Finalists
“Punch Line” by Kathleen Balma
“Bonanza” by Susan Browne
“Mother and Child” by Barbara Lydecker Crane
“Foreign-ness” by Maya Tevet Dayan
“Cathedrals: Ode to a Deported Uncle” by Daniel Arias Gómez
“The Never-Ending Serial” by Red Hawk
“Gender Studies” by Sue Howell
“From Oblivious Waters” by Kimberly Kemler
“Red in Tooth and Claw” by James Davis May
“Self-Portrait, Despite What They Say” by Gabrielle Otero
Along with the winner and finalists, there are twenty-three other poets included in this issue in the “Open Poetry section.”
![Caitlin O'Neil [cropped headshot]](https://www.newpages.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/reading-tampa-review-caitlin-oneil-cropped.jpg)
The editors of Tampa Review are pleased to announce that Caitlin O’Neil, of Milton, Massachusetts, has won the thirteenth annual Danahy Fiction Prize for her short story entitled “Mark.” She will receive an award of $1,000, and the story will be published in the forthcoming Spring/Summer issue of Tampa Review.
O’Neil is a graduate of the MFA program at Columbia University and currently teaches in the English Department at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She says that her winning story came directly from her life experiences as a college professor and as a human being living in America today.
“I watched multiple school shootings unfold on television with sadness and fear,” O’Neil says. “Given the gridlock around gun control, I began to think about what a world that had adjusted to guns and gun violence might look like.”
O’Neil’s story is set in a near-future in which guns become an even more pervasive part of the culture.
Learn more about the winning story and the runners up here: tiny.cc/danahyprize13.
Find the Fiction and Poetry winners of the 2019 Zone 3 Literary Awards in the Fall 2019 issue. Winners were chosen by the genre editors.
Fiction
“Five Variations on Parnell’s Blues” by Matthew Fiander
Poetry
“Sandy” by Jasmine Dreame Wagner
For more contest winners, readers can pick up the Spring 2019 issue to check out the winner of the nonfiction prize: “In Praise of the Plains” by Sarah Fawn Montgomery. The Literary Awards are currently open until April 1.
The Fall 2019 Issue of The Main Street Rag includes an interview with Cathryn Cofell. The interview touches upon career, inspiration, and the Cofell’s submission process.
Cofell was named the winner of the 2019 Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award and readers can also find three of her poems in this issue: “Rush Hour,” “What I Learned from My Father,” and “Resignation Notice.”
Stick Figure with Skirt, the winning book, was released in November 2019 and is available at the Main Street Rag bookstore. Readers can also find additional sample poems from the book at the store.
The featured fiction piece in the Fall 2019 issue of Colorado Review is the winner of this year’s Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction: Bryna Cofrin-Shaw’s “Loss and Damage.”
Joan Silber selected the winner, and says of her selection: “How many writers could turn a conference on climate change into a very smart tale of sexual intrigue? It has ideas (all too rare in fiction), irony so good it’s unexpected, and great characters.”
Pick up a copy of the latest issue of Colorado Review to take in this story and the rest of the quality work inside the issue, or check out the winning piece online.
december‘s Fall/Winter 2019 issue features the winners and honorable mentions of the 2019 Curt Johnson Prose Award in Fiction and Nonfiction.
This year’s Award in Fiction was judged by Rita Mae Brown, and the Award in Nonfiction was judged by Amy Chua. Contest Editor Lauren Lederman introduces the winners, and readers can find a full list of finalists inside the issue.
2019 Curt Johnson Prose Award in Fiction
First Place
“The Land Behind the Fog” by Andrea Eberly
Honorable Mention
“The Augmentation Dilemma” by TN Eyer
2019 Curt Johnson Prose Award in Nonfiction
First Place
“Gumdrop Electric” by Sarah Treschl
Honorable Mention
“The One Who Didn’t Stay” by Samantha Rogers
Kate Manne, associate professor of philosophy at Cornell University, has won the 2019 Book Prize from the American Philosophical Association (APA) for her Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny.
In Down Girl, Kate Manne calls attention to an underappreciated question in the literature: how should we understand misogyny? She advances a new account of it to make sense of some of the most fundamental issues in feminist thought and political philosophy.
Readers can find the 2019 Auburn Witness Poetry Prize winner and finalists in the Fall 2019 issue of Southern Humanities Review. The contest honors the late Jake Adam York [pictured], and the winner of the contest receives $1000 in addition to publication. This year’s contest was judged by Vievee Francis.
Winner
“Burning Churches” by Dante Di Stefano
Finalists
“Transubstantiation” by Jubi Arriola-Headley
“All-American Mexican” by Michael Torres
“A Different Alphabet” by Susan Cohen
“Near Miss” by Allison Adair
The Fall 2019 issue also features four pieces of fiction and two pieces of nonfiction, as well as work by five additional poets.
The current issue of Nimrod International Journal is entirely made up of the winners, finalists, semi-finalists, and honorable mentions of the Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction and the Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry.
Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction:
First Prize
“Capybara” by Jonathan Wei
Second Prize
“This Might Hurt Some” by John Tait
Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry:
First Prize
”Negligee and Hatchet: A Sonnet Crown” by Robert Thomas
Second Prize
“The Adorned Fathomless Dark Creation,” “Getting Out,” “Boys Beyond June,” and “Legend” by Matt W. Miller
The Fall/Winter 2019 issue features over thirty writers, a diverse selection of fiction and poetry. A full list of contributors, including a handful of excerpts, can be found at the Nimrod International Journal website.
Brilliant Flash Fiction recently announced the winners of the FEED US Writing Contest, held between June and September this year. Judge Kathy Fish selected three prize winners.
First Prize
“TALKING” by Shikhandin [pictured]
Second Prize
“Two Ostomates” by Alexis Wolfe
Third Prize
“Mother’s Milk” by Anastasia Kirchoff
Find the three winning stories, the shortlisted stories, and the longlist at the Brilliant Flash Fiction website. There you can also grab a copy of their first anthology: Hunger: The Best of Brilliant Flash Fiction, 2014-2019.
In the Fall 2019 issue of Raleigh Review, readers can find the winners and finalists of the 2019 Laux/Millar Poetry Prize, selected by Dorianne Laux & Joseph Millar. Readers can easily find these pieces in the current issue as they’re outlined in gradient blue (winner) and pink (finalists).
Winner
“Iguana Iguana” by Caylin Capra-Thomas
Finalists:
“At the Bar” by Cameron McGill
“The Land in Both Our Names” by Suzanne Grove
“After Watching The Quiet Man” by Hannah Dow
“Sertraline” by Emily Nason
Submissions to the 2020 Laux/Millar Poetry Prize will reopen in April and run through May.
The Fall 2019 issue of Carve Magazine features the winners of the 2019 Raymond Carver Contest, guest-judged by Claire Fuller. These can be found online, as well as in the print issue. An interview with each writer can be found after their stories in the print edition.
First Place
“Private Lives” by April Sopkin
Second Place
“Gravity House” by Carolyn Bishop
Third Place
“The Enchanted Forest” by Brian Crawford
Editor’s Choice
“The Ghost Rider” by Erica Plouffe Lazure
The Raymond Carver Contest reopens for submissions in April. The Carve Magazine Prose & Poetry Contest is currently open until November 15.
The Fall 2019 issue of Ruminate features the winning entries for the publication’s annual William Van Dyke Short Story Prize. The final judge for 2019 was Tyrese Coleman.
First Place
“DrownTown” by Joshua Gray
Second Place
“Parkside” by Kate Bradley
Honorable Mention
“Standard Uniform” by Shelley Linso
Read more about each author in addition to the judge’s comments about their works here.
The 2020 William Van Dyke Short Story Prize, awarding $1500 to the winner, is open until February 15, 2020.
The Sept/Oct 2019 issue of Kenyon Review features the 2019 Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers winner and runners up, along with an introduction by Richie Hofmann. Each work can also be found on the Kenyon Review website along with an audio recording by the poet.
First Prize
Jay Martin: “November Picnic with Louise“
Runners Up
Martha Schaffer: “Stars“
Stephanie Chang: “Post Meridiem“
The Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers is open to high school sophomores and juniors. The winner receives a full scholarship to the Kenyon Review Young Writers workshop in addition to publication with two runners up.
This spring, Witness, published by the Black Mountain Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, announced the winners of its inaugural Literary Awards in Fiction and Poetry.
Poetry Winner
Judge Hanif Abdurraqib
“Apophatic Ghazal” by Sophia Stid [pictured]
Poetry Runner-up
“lump” by Renia White
Fiction Winner
Judge Lesley Nneka Arimah
“The Nine-Tailed Fox Explains” by Jane Pek
Fiction Runner-up
“The Kristian Vang Fan Club” by John Tait
For more information on the winning entries as well as a full list of finalists, click here. Winning entries can be read in the Spring 2019 issue.
Submissions for the 2020 contest are open until October 1, as well as general submissions on the theme “Magic.”
Based out of Schoolcraft College in Michigan, The MacGuffin Spring 2019 features the winners of the Detroit Working Writer’s MacGuffin Poetry Prize, awarded at the group’s annual conference last Fall:
First Place
“Ann Arbor” by Diana Dinverno [pictured]
Second Place
“I Thought I Couldn’t Take It With Me” by Vicki Wilke
Honorable Mention
“Whispers” by Jack D. Ferguson
Also included in this issue is a biographical sketch and selection of poems from The MacGuffin’s 24th Poet Hunt Contest Guest Judge Richard Tillinghast. Winners of the Poet Hunt Contest will be published in the next issue of The MacGuffin.
The newest issue of Ruminate Magazine (Summer 2019) features the first and second place winning entries of their 2019 VanderMey Nonfiction Prize selected by final judge Jessica Wilbanks:
First Place
“The Foundation Above Us” by Porter Huddleston [pictured]
Second Place
“The Proctor’s Manual” by Kristin Leclaire
Honorable Mention
“The Emperor’s Clothes, The Empire’s Language” by Jamila Osman
For a full list of finalists and judge’s comments about the winning entries, click here.
In addition to publication, this annual prize awards $1500 to the first-place entry and $200 to the second-place entry. The deadline for entry is October 27, 2019. See full guidelines here.
The Summer 2019 issue of The Malahat Review features winners of their biannual Long Poem Prize for 2019 judged by Jordan Abel, Sonnet L’Abbé and Gillian Sze:
“Cold Dying Black Wet Cold Early Thing” by John Elizabeth Stintzi [pictured]
Read judges’ comments and an interview with John Stintzi here.
“Weight” by Erin Soros
Read judges’ comments and an interview with Erin Soros here.
Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their final Short Story Award for New Writers competition. The award was given for a short story by a writer whose fiction has not appeared with a circulation greater than 5000.
1st place goes to Rachael Uwada [pictured] Clifford of Baltimore, Maryland, who wins $2500 for “What the Year Will Swallow.” Her story will be published in Issue 106, the final issue of Glimmer Train Stories. This will be her first fiction publication.
2nd place goes to Douglas Kiklowicz of Long Beach, California, who wins $500 for “I Used to Be Funny.” His story will also be published in Issue 106 of Glimmer Train, increasing his prize to $700. This will be his first fiction publication.
3rd place goes to Ashley Alliano of Orlando, Florida, who wins $300 for “Trust.” Her story will also be published in Issue 106 of Glimmer Train, increasing her prize to $700. This will be her first fiction publication.
Here’s a PDF of the Top 25.
Glimmer Train has chosen the winning stories for their final Family Matters competition. This award was given for a short story about families of any configuration.
1st place goes to Robin Halevy [pictured] of Big Pine Key, Florida, who wins $2500 for “Bright Ideas for Residential Lighting.” Her story will be published in Issue 106, the final issue of Glimmer Train Stories. This will be her first fiction publication.
2nd place goes to Arthur Klepchukov of Germantown, Maryland, who wins $500 for “The Unfinished Death of My Grandfather.” His story will also be published in Issue 106 of Glimmer Train, increasing his prize to $700.
3rd place goes to Christa Romanosky of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who wins $300 for “Ways to Light the Water on Fire.” Her story will also be published in Issue 106 of Glimmer Train, increasing her prize to $700.
Here’s a PDF of the Top 25.
The Spring 2019 issue of The Missouri Review includes the 2018 Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize Winners.
Fiction
“Salt Land” by Amanda Baldeneaux
Essay
“Jamilla” by Jo Anne Bennett
Poetry by Diane Seuss [pictured]
This annual contest closes October 1 each year, and in addition to publication, the winners each receive $5000. All entries are considered for publication.
The Chattahoochee Review Spring 2019 issue features the winners of the 2019 Lamar York Prize:
Winner for Fiction
Judge Kevin Wilson
“A Box of Photographs” by Peter Newall [pictured]
Winner for Nonfiction
Judge Adriana Páramo
“The Black Place” by Whitney Lawson
To read the judge’s commentary and see a full list of finalists, click here.
Entries for the Lamar York Prize are accepted from November 1 – January 31 of each year. In addition to publication, winners receive a prize of $1000.
Each year, The Briar Cliff Review holds a contest for poetry, fiction, and nonfiction with the winners receiving $1000 and publication. The following 2018 winners appear in the most recent issue (31, 2019):
Poetry Winner
“I’d hoped to finish this poem before it came true” by Kateri Kosek
Fiction Winner
“Drink It Dry” by Rachel E. Hicks
Nonfiction Winner
“Trauma in Our Country” by Beverly Tan Murray [pictured]
The Briar Cliff Contest is open annually from August 1 – November 1.
The Spring 2019 issue of The Malahat Review features winning entries from two of their annual contests:
2018 Constance Rooke Creative Nonfiction Prize
Judge Lynne Van Luven
“Found Objects” by Rowan McCandless [pictured]
Poetry
Judge Shane Book
“Timepiece” by Rami Schandall
Fiction
Judge Carmelinda Scian
“Exile” by Janika Oza
Creative Nonfiction
Judge Kyo Maclear
“Letters To My Mother” by Lishai Peel
The newest issue of Gulf Coast (31.2) is chock-full of award winning writing!
2018 Barthelme Prize
Judge Laura van den Berg
Winner
“Something Clear” by Sarah Minor [pictured]
Honorable Mentions
“Hunger” by Yi Jiang
“Some Weather” by Aliceanna Stopher
2018 Translation Prize in Poetry
Judge Ilya Kaminsky
Co-Winners
“Air Raid” by Polina Barskova, Transl. by Valzhyna Mort
“Colonies of Paradise” by Matthias Göritz, Transl. by Mary Jo Bang
Honorable Mention
“Nobility” by Álvaro Lasso Transl. by Kelsi Vanada
2018 Beauchamp Prize in Critical Art Writing
Judge Wendy Vogel
Winner
“A Long, Dull Shadow: Georg Baselitz’s Legacy of Misogyny” by Maura Callahan, originally published on Momus
Honorable Mentions
“Playing in the Institute: On Tag at the ICA Philadelphia” by C. Klockner
“Intimate Structures: Dorothea Rockburne at Dia: Beacon” Chloe Wyma
For a full list of entries, finalists, links to work, and information about these annual contests, visit Gulf Coast.
Winning entries for the 2018 Ginsberg Poetry Award are featured in the 2019 issue of Patterson Literary Review.
First Prize $1000
“Dancing Room Only”
Jim Reese [pictured], Yankton, SD
Second Prize $200
“Cu Tantu Si Cala ‘U Culu Si Para”
Maria Fama, Philadelphia, PA
Third Prize $100
“New Suit”
Lorraine Conlin, Wantagh, NY
A full list of Honorable Mention and Editor’s Choice recipients can be seen here.
The Alan Ginsberg Poetry Award for 2019 has closed, but submissions are open for the 2020 award.
Winner of Boulevard’s 2018 Nonfiction Contest for Emerging Writers, Gabe Montesanti’s essay “The Worldwide Roller Derby Convention” is featured in the Spring 2019 issue (#101/102). Montesanti lives in St. Louis where she skates for the local team, Arch Rival, under the name Joan of Spark.
In a commentary about her work, she says, “‘The Worldwide Roller Derby Convention’ became the final chapter of my MFA thesis at Washington University in St. Louis, and is now the final chapter of my full-length memoir about derby. This essay unlocked the whole project for me, in a way. Recognizing the themes of physicality and queerness led me to draw new parallels between roller derby and my unconventional and often violent upbringing. Having a vision of the end also gave me direction—a place I could write toward.”
The 2019 Nonfiction Contest for Emerging Writers opens June 2, 2019. The winner receives $1000 and publication.
River Styx 101 features the winners and honorable mentions of their 2018 International Poetry Contest, selected by Maggie Smith.
First Place
“Broken Season” by Andrew Hemmert [pictured]
Second Place
“Self-Portrait on the Beloved’s Body” by Michael Dhyne
Third Place
“Parting with Saddles” by Skyler LaLone
Honorable Mentions
“Oranges in Michigan” by Andrew Hemmert
“Street Vendor” by Mariano Zaro
The 2019 International Poetry Contest is open until May 31, 2019 with a $1500 first prize, judged by Oliver de Paz.
Published by Box Turtle Press, issue 20 of Mudfish features the winning entry and honorable mentions of their 13th Mudfish Poetry Prize judged by Philip Schultz.
Winner
“Barking, Pt. Reyes” by Rafaella Del Bourgo [pictured]
Honorable Mentions
1st – “We are Already at War” by John Sibley Williams
2nd – “Ode to My Body” by Tim Nolan
3rd – “Late Summer Sky” by Tony Gloeggler
See a full list of finalists here. The 14th Mudfish Poetry Prize with a $1200 first prize to be judged by John Yau is open until April 30, 2019.
The 50th Anniversary Spring 2019 issue of Ruminate features the winning entries of their 2019 Kalos Visual Art Prize, as selected by Final Juror Betty Spackman:
First Place
“Seen and Unseen” by Jennifer Cronin [pictured]
Second Place
“If I Were a King” by Margie Criner
Honorable Mentions
“The Lilies How they Grow” by Emily McIlroy
“EBB” by Hanna Vogel
For a full list of finalists as well as juror’s comments on the winners, click here.
“Etymology of a Mood” by Ama Codjoe won The Georgia Review’s 2018 Lorain Willams Poetry Prize, chosen by Natasha Trethewey.
The prize was started in 2013 with a gift from Lorain Williams and continued with the support of her estate after her passing in April 2016.
This year’s contest, which runs from April 1 – May 15, will be judged by Stephen Dunn. The prize has also been increased from $1000 to $1500.
See full details here.
The newest issue of Black Warrior Review (Spring/Summer 2019) features winners of their 2018 contest:
Flash Prose
Judged by Jennifer S. Cheng
Winner: “from Okazaki Fragments” by Kanika Agrawal
Runner-up: “Let’s eat baby the steak is getting cold” by Alice Maglio
Nonfiction
Judged by Kate Zambreno
Winner: “Social Body” by Amanda Kallis
Runner-up: “Dark Grove, Shinng” by J’Lyn Chapman
Fiction
Judged by Laura van den Berg
Winner: “Little Jamaica” by Ndinda Kioko [pictured]
Runner-up: “On Weather” by RE Katz
Poetry
Judged by Vanessa Angélica Villarreal
Winner: “La Piedra de los Doce Ángulos” by David Joez Villaverde
Runner-up: “from Okazaki Fragments” by Kanika Agrawal
See judges’ commentary on their selections and a complete list of finalists here.
The Winter 2018 issue of Able Muse: A Review of Poetry, Prose & Art, features winners, as well as a selection of entrants, of their 2018 Write Prize for Fiction and Poetry.
Write Prize for Fiction
Final Judge: Bret Lott
Winner: “Vigil” by Anthony J. Otte
Runner-up: “A Man of Fewer Words” by Claudette E. Sutton
Write Prize for Poetry
Final Judge: J. Allyn Rosser
Winner: “Wildfire” by Lynn Marie Houston [pictured]
Runner-up: “Moorings” by D. R. Goodman
Finalist: “A Cormorant in Yangshuo” by Gabriel Spera
Shortlist poetry included in the publication:
“Zheduo Pass, Sichuan Province” by David Allen Sullivan
“Connecticut, After Dark” by Ann Thompson
“Memento Mori” by Melissa Cannon
“Somerset, 1972” by Rob Wright
For a full list of finalists and for information about the 2019 contest (deadline extended), click here.
Winners of The MacGuffin’s 23rd Poet Hunt Contest along with commentary from guest judge Alberto Álvaro Ríos are featured in the Winter 2019 issue.
First Place
“Ed” by Matthew Spireng [pictured]
Honorable Mention
“Venetian Passageway” by Judith Rosenberg
This annual contest awards $500 and publication for first place and publication for up to two honorable mentions.
Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning stories for their Family Matters competition. This competition is open to all writers for stories about family of any configuration. Glimmer Train’s monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.
1st place goes to Marian Palaia [pictured] of San Francisco, California, who wins $2500 for “Wild Things.” Her story will be published in Issue 106, the final issue of Glimmer Train Stories.
2nd place goes to Peter Parsons of Riverside, California, who wins $500 for “Elvis, Alive and Limping.” His story will also be published in Issue 106 of Glimmer Train, increasing his prize to $700.
3rd place goes to Emily Lackey of Amherst, Massachusetts, who wins $300 for “Trust.” Her story will also be published in Issue 106 of Glimmer Train, increasing her prize to $700.
Here’s a PDF of the Top 25.
Deadlines soon approaching!
Final Fiction Open: February 28
This is Glimmer Train’s final Fiction Open. First place wins $3000 plus publication in the journal, and 10 copies of that issue. Second/third: $1000/$600 and consideration for publication. This category has been won by both beginning and veteran writers – all are welcome! There are no theme restrictions. Word count generally ranges from 3000 – 6000, though up to 28,000 is fine. Stories may have previously appeared online but not in print. Click here for complete guidelines.
Final Very Short Fiction Award: February 28
This is Glimmer Train’s final Very Short Fiction Award. First place winning $2000 plus publication in the journal, and 10 copies of that issue. Second/third: $500/$300 and consideration for publication. It’s open to all writers, with no theme restrictions, and the word count range is 300 – 3000. Stories may have previously appeared online but not in print. Click here for complete guidelines.
The Winter 2019 online issue of Baltimore Review includes winners from their annual Winter Contest for fiction, CNF, or poetry, this year’s themed “Tools,” as well as the “Pop-Up Contest” for flash fiction or CNF in response to the collage art “The Tripwire of a Dream” by Bill Wolak.
Winter Contest Winners selected by Final Judge Geoffrey Becker:
First Place
Leslie Carlin [pictured], “Occasionally Good”
Second Place
Christopher X Ryan, “Day Shapes”
Third Place
Amanda Newell, “Because I Am Lonely and You Will Not Know My Pain”
Pop-Up Contest Winners selected by BR Editors:
Ian Mahler, “Lapse”
Robert Watkins, “The Little Girl and the Universe Tool”
The Winter 2018 issue of Ruminate includes the following wining entries from the 2018 Janet B. McCabe Poetry Prize, selected by Final Judge Ily Kaminsky.
First Place
“You will dig me from the earth with your bare hands” by Paula Harris [pictured]
Second Place
“Our Hands Are Bowls of Dust” by Clemonce Heard
Honorable Mention
Shangyang Fang, “Marsysas Returning”
Kevin McLellan, “The Art of Fugue: Contrapunctus I”
Mark Wagenaar, “It Was While I Was Looking at the Oldest Wooden Wheel Ever Discovered”
Mark Wagenaar, “Oculi”
Renia White, “In this Village”
See a full list of finalists and judge’s comments here.
The 2019 Prize is open until May 15 with Final Judge Craig Santos Perez. The winner receives $1500 and publication; second place receives $200 and publication.