Summer’s final deadlines are upon us! Contests with a deadline of August 31 span poetry and prose, and include awards celebrating queer writers, writers over the age of 60, and writers living in upstate New York. Each offers a prize of at least $1,000.

Aesthetica Creative Writing Award: Two prizes of £1,000 (approximately $1,225) each and publication in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual are given annually for a poem and a short story. The winner in poetry also receives a membership to the Poetry Society in London, and the winner in short fiction receives a consultation with the literary agency Redhammer Management. Both winners receive a subscription to Granta and a selection of books from Bloodaxe Books and Vintage Books. Katy Guest, Oz Hardwick, Liz Jones, Teresa Palmiero, Martine Pierquin, and Steve Toase will judge. Entry fee: £12 (approximately $15) for a poem of up to 40 lines, or £18 (approximately $22) for a short story of up to 2,000 words.

Black Lawrence Press St. Lawrence Book Award: A prize of $1,000 and publication by Black Lawrence Press is given annually for a debut collection of poems or short stories. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Ex Ophidia Press Poetry Book Contest: A prize of $1,000, publication by Ex Ophidia Press, and 15 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Richard-Gabriel Rummonds will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Gemini Magazine Flash Fiction Contest: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gemini Magazine is given annually for a short short story. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $6.

Grid Books Off the Grid Poetry Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication by Grid Books is given annually for a poetry collection by a writer over the age of 60. Jon Davis will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Masters Review Short Story Award for New Writers: A prize of $3,000 and publication in Masters Review is given twice yearly for a short story by a writer who has not published a novel (writers who have published story collections are eligible). The winning story will also be sent to agents Victoria Cappello from the Bent Agency, Sarah Fuentes from Fletcher & Company, Andrea Morrison from Writers House, and Nat Sobel from Sobel Weber Associates. Tope Folarin will judge. Entry fee: $20.

Omnidawn Publishing Open Book Prize: A prize of $3,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 100 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Rachel Zucker will judge. Entry fee: $27.

Red Hen Press Quill Prose Award: A prize of $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a short story collection, a novel, or an essay collection by a queer writer. Uzodinma Iweala will judge. Entry fee: $10.

University of New Orleans Press Publishing Lab Prize: A prize of $10,000 and publication by University of New Orleans Press is given annually for a short story collection or a novel. Entry fee: $28.

Utica College Eugene Paul Nassar Poetry Prize: A prize of $2,000 is given annually for a poetry collection published in the previous year by a resident of upstate New York. The winner will also give a reading and teach a master class at Utica College in April 2020. Entry fee: none. 

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.

“Glamour Shots was once the coolest store in every mall,” writes Mark Dent in the New York Times article “The Last Five Glamour Shots Locations in the United States.” In the mid-nineties, there were more than three hundred and fifty of these stores—part salon, part photography studio—around the world. Customers were treated to makeovers, and camera filters smoothed out any wrinkles or blemishes, a task that smartphones can now easily accomplish. For this week’s prompt, write a story that takes place in a chain store that has outlived its glory days. Who are the regulars that frequent this space and what ties them together?

For many of us, the elevation in temperature and invitation to spend more time outdoors during the summer can usher in a flurry of changes—both atmospheric and emotional. As Nina MacLaughlin writes in her Paris Review summer solstice series: “In summer we tend skyward. It invites us out and up…. We can stand outside when it’s dark and lift our faces to the sky and get spun back to childhood or swung into the swishing infinity above.” Write a poem that embodies this transformation. What smells, sounds, and sensations do you associate with the season? For more examples of warm weather poetry, see the Poetry Foundation’s collection of summer poems.

In just under two weeks I will be holding the first of what I hope to be an ongoing event series, the Detroit Writers Circle. On August 30, I am inviting Detroit writers, reading series hosts, and literary event planners to join me at the Tuxedo Project (7124 Tuxedo Street) from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM to write, share, and discuss the mini-grants offered by the Readings & Workshops program. Our writing workshop will focus on poetry, and an open mic will follow. We will close the evening by offering a step-by-step tutorial of the application process for the mini-grants. This will be a great time to ask questions and gain clarity about the guidelines.

We will also open the floor for suggestions on events in the Detroit area, including future workshop leaders, potential featured performers, and available venues. I am hoping to see a number of literary entities on August 30! Can’t wait to build community with you. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at Detroit@pw.org.

One hundred years from now, what physical objects from your life would you want preserved that express your work as a writer? In the New York Times, Thessaly La Force asks, “What should an artist save?” while examining the eclectic archives left behind by artists, including boxes of fabric in Louise Bourgeois’s basement, a rejection letter addressed to Andy Warhol, and David Wojnarowicz’s “magic box.” Jot down a list of objects, physical spaces, and writings that you would consider integral to understanding the intersections of your life and work. Write a lyric essay composed of reflections on each of these items and how they are connected to your personal creative intentions or beliefs.

As part of its perennial celebration of literature, the Westival Music and Arts Festival invites poets to submit to the Westival Poetry Competition. Semifinalists will be invited to read onstage at this year’s festival in Co. Mayo, Ireland, where a winner will be announced live. First prize is €1,000 (approximately $1,110). 

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Using the online submission system, submit up to three poems with a €15 entry fee (approximately $17) by August 30. Each poem should consist of no more than forty lines. Visit the website for complete guidelines. 

This year’s competition will be judged by Geraldine Mitchell, John McAuliffe, and Ger Reidy. The festival aims for emerging and established talent to share its stage; recent guests include Edna O’Brien, Dermot Healy, and Kevin Barry, as well as musicians, visual artists, and performers. The festival will be held from October 23 to October 28.

Earlier this month, Seamus Blackley, a physicist and the cocreator of the Xbox, baked a loaf of sourdough bread using yeast extracted from 4,500-year-old Egyptian ceramic vessels with the help of an Egyptologist and microbiologist at Harvard. This experiment provoked some to jokingly—or not—wonder if this might unleash the wrath of an Egyptian pharaoh’s curse. Write a short story that considers what kind of consequences, mundane or fantastic, could result from bringing back to life organisms from thousands of years ago. Do problems arise when your characters unleash their creation?

How’s the view from above? This week, browse through these aerial photographs from National Geographic of animals, including flamingos, sharks, elk, whales, camels, hippos, and salmon, to discover beautiful shapes, colors, and patterns in nature. How can a different perspective provide new insights, emotions, and modes of thought? Write a poem that considers a familiar subject—perhaps one you’ve written about before—from a bird’s-eye view. Consider what the tops of things look like and what you see from a wider range.

Submissions are open for a wealth of opportunities with a deadline of August 15 or August 16. Each contest offers a prize of $1,000 or more, or a prize of $500 with no entry fee—and one also awards two cases of beer. Cheers, writers!

Baton Rouge Area Foundation Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence: A prize of $10,000 is given annually to an emerging African American writer for a book of fiction published in the current year. The winner also receives travel and lodging expenses to attend an awards ceremony and participate in educational outreach events in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in January 2020. Anthony Grooms, Edward P. Jones, Elizabeth Nunez, Francine Prose, and Patricia Towers will judge. Deadline: August 15. Entry fee: none.

Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales Poetry Prize: A prize of $500, publication by Broadkill River Press, ten author copies, and two cases of Dogfish Head craft beer are given annually for a poetry collection written by a poet living in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., or West Virginia. The winner is expected to attend a reading and award ceremony at the Dogfish Inn in Lewes, Delaware, on December 14. Lodging is provided, but travel expenses are not included. Joseph Millar will judge. Deadline: August 15. Entry fee: none.

Grayson Books Poetry Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication by Grayson Books is given annually for a poetry collection. Robert Cording will judge. Deadline: August 15. Entry fee: $25.

Gulf Coast Barthelme Prize for Short Prose: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gulf Coast is given annually for a work of short prose. Deadline: August 16. Entry fee: $20, which includes a subscription to Gulf Coast.

Indiana Review “1/2 K” Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Indiana Review is given annually for a poem or a work of flash fiction or creative nonfiction. Megan Giddings will judge. Deadline: August 15. Entry fee: $20, which includes a subscription to Indiana Review. 

Kore Press Poetry Prize: A prize of $1,500, publication by Kore Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection by a woman, trans, or gender-nonconforming poet. Erica Hunt will judge. Deadline: August 15. Entry fee: $28, with some entry fee scholarships available.

Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Red Wheelbarrow will be given annually for a poem. The winner will also receive 20 copies of a letterpress broadside of the winning poem. Marilyn Chin will judge. Deadline: August 15. Entry fee: $15.

TulipTree Publishing Stories That Need to Be Told Contest: A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poem, a short story, or an essay that “tells a story.” The winner will also receive a two-year subscription to Duotrope and publication in the contest anthology, Stories That Need to Be Told. Deadline: August 15. Entry fee: $20.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.