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Victoria Chang’s Dear Memory: Letters on Writing, Silence, and Grief, forthcoming from Milkweed Editions on October 12, 2021.
“I had been thinking about this story for probably seven years before I drafted it,” says Sterling HolyWhiteMountain in an interview for Guernica’s Back Draft series about writing his short story “Featherweight,” which was recently published in the New Yorker. HolyWhiteMountain offers a glimpse into the first draft of the story’s opening paragraph and the final draft, and discusses his revision process for his story revolving around the breakup of a relationship. Write an essay that uses revision as a theme. Perhaps you might revise a family story you’ve been told, or consider different points of view of a memorable event. What will you leave out, and what will you add?
As the Olympics kick off, seek out some worthy competition of your own. Opportunities abound for poets, fiction writers, and nonfictions writers in these nine contests with deadlines of July 31. All award a cash prize of $1,000 or more and many award publication. Good luck, writers!
Howling Bird Press Book Contest—A prize of $2,500 and publication by Howling Bird Press is given in alternating years for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. The 2022 prize will be awarded in fiction. Novels, novellas, and story collections are eligible. Entry fee: $25.
Mudfish Poetry Prize—A prize of $1,200 and publication in Mudfish is given annually for a single poem. Marie Howe will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $20 ($3 for each additional poem).
Munster Literature Center Seán Ó Faoláin International Short Story Competition— A prize of €2,000 (approximately $2,382) and publication in Southword is given annually for a short story. The winner also receives a weeklong residency at the Anam Cara Writer’s Retreat in West Cork and accommodation at the Cork International Short Story Festival. Simon Van Booy will judge. Entry fee: €18 (approximately $21).
Narrative Spring Story Contest—A prize of $2,500 and publication in Narrative is given annually for a short story, a short short story, an essay, or an excerpt from a work of fiction or creative nonfiction. A second-place prize of $1,000 is also awarded. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $27.
New Millennium Writings Writing Awards—Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in New Millennium Writings and on the journal’s website are given twice yearly for a poem, a short story, a short short story, and an essay that have not appeared in a print publication with a circulation over 5,000. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $20.
Prairie Heritage, Inc. Jan Garton Prairie Heritage Book Award—A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a published book of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction that “illuminates the heritage of North America’s mid-continental prairies.” Authors, publishers, and the general public may submit two copies of a book published between 2017 and 2020. Entry fee: None.
Press 53 Award for Poetry—A prize of $1,000, publication by Press 53, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Tom Lombardo will judge. Entry fee: $30.
Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize—A prize of $1,000 and publication in Red Wheelbarrow is given annually for a single poem. The winner will also receive 20 copies of a letterpress broadside of the winning poem, printed by Felicia Rice at Moving Parts Press. Mark Doty will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $15.
Sewanee Review Fiction, Poetry, and Nonfiction Contest—Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Sewanee Review are given annually for a group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Paisley Rekdal will judge in poetry, Brandon Taylor will judge in fiction, and Stephanie Danler will judge in nonfiction. Entry fee: $30 entry fee (includes a subscription to Sewanee Review).
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.
In an interview in the September/October 2013 issue of Poets & Writers Magazine, Jordan Pavlin, who was recently promoted to editor in chief at Knopf, speaks about how “there are often two essential people in the life of a passionate reader: a great local librarian and a brilliant, inspiring high school English teacher.” Did you have an English teacher who inspired you to become the writer you are today? Write an essay discussing the influence a teacher or mentor had on the books you read and the early stages of your writing.
Submissions are open for the Jan Garton Prairie Heritage Award. Sponsored by the nonprofit organization Prairie Heritage, Inc., the annual award honors a book in any genre “that illuminates the heritage of North America’s mid-continental prairies.” The organization particularly looks to celebrate books that center non-European experiences of life in the region, as well as those that consider how “denizens of the prairie, human and non-human, have lived or can live together without the destruction and exterminations that have characterized the past.” The winner will receive $1,000.
Authors, publishers, and the general public may nominate books for the award. Submit two copies of a book published between 2017 and 2020 by mail by July 31. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
The mission of Prairie Heritage, Inc., is to “preserve the tallgrass prairie and its heritage,” with a particular concern for sharing the stories of the region’s Black settlers. The organization is based in Junction City, Kansas. The 2020 winner of its book award is Phong Nguyen, who received the honor for his novel The Adventures of Joe Harper (Outpost19, 2016).
“There’s a real cognitive dissonance as a person in the world,” says Katie Kitamura in an article by Brandon Yu for the New York Times on the inspiration for writing her new novel, Intimacies (Riverhead Books, 2021). “Your consciousness can only accommodate so much, and certainly it’s been incredible to me how I can simultaneously be very worried about the state of democracy and also thinking, has the turkey gone off?” The novel introduces readers to the mind of a language interpreter at The Hague confronting a moral ambivalence about a former president on trial for war crimes, while simultaneously grieving the loss of her father. Inspired by Kitamura’s character, write an essay in which you recount a time you faced moral ambivalence about a situation. What two seemingly disparate realities were you balancing at once?
In this Poets & Writers Live virtual event, poet and scholar Clint Smith speaks about his new book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America (Little, Brown, 2021), with poet and novelist Destiny O. Birdsong. Smith is featured in a profile written by Birdsong in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
The summer literary contest season is in full swing! With deadlines of July 15 or July 16, these opportunities include multiple contests for single poems and a set of prizes for work concerned with health and illness. All offer a cash prize of $1,000 or more.
Bellevue Literary Review Prizes in Poetry and Prose: Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Bellevue Literary Review are given annually for a group of poems, a story, and an essay about health, healing, illness, the body, and the mind. Crystal Valentine will judge in poetry, Amy Hempel will judge in fiction, and Michele Harper will judge in creative nonfiction. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: July 15. Entry fee: $20.
Cincinnati Review Robert and Adele Schiff Awards: Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Cincinnati Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Rebecca Lindenberg will judge in poetry, Michael Griffith will judge in fiction, and Kristen Iversen will judge in nonfiction. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: July 15. Entry fee: $20 (includes subscription).
Comstock Review Muriel Craft Bailey Memorial Award: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Comstock Review is given annually for a single poem. Juan Felipe Herrera will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: July 15. Entry fee: $27.50 for up to five poems (or $5 per poem via postal mail).
Futurepoem Other Futures Award: A prize of $1,000, publication by Futurepoem, and 25 author copies is given annually for a book of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or hybrid-genre work. The editors will judge. Deadline: July 15. Entry fee: $28.
Ledbury Poetry Festival Poetry Competition: A prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,318) and publication on the Ledbury Poetry Festival website is given annually for a single poem. The winner is also invited to read at the Ledbury Poetry Festival in Ledbury, England, in July 2022; travel expenses are not included. Anthony Anaxagorou will judge. Deadline: July 15. Entry fee: £5.75 for one poem (approximately $6), and £3.50 (approximately $4) for each additional poem.
Narrative Poetry Contest: A prize of $1,500 and publication in Narrative is given annually for a poem or group of poems. The poetry editors will judge. Deadline: July 16. Entry fee: $25 (includes three months of access to Narrative Backstage).
Rattle Poetry Prize: A prize of $15,000 and publication in Rattle is given annually for a single poem. A Reader’s Choice Award of $5,000 is also given to one of ten finalists. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: July 15. Entry fee: $25 (includes subscription).
Regal House Publishing Petrichor Prize for Finely Crafted Fiction: A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing is given annually for a novel. The editors will judge. Deadline: July 15. Entry fee: $25.
The Story Prize: A prize of $20,000 is given annually for a short story collection written in English and published in the United States in the current year. Two runners-up receive $5,000 each. The $1,000 Story Prize Spotlight Award is also given for an additional short story collection “of exceptional merit.” Larry Dark and Julie Lindsey will select the three finalists and Spotlight Award winner; three independent judges will choose the Story Prize winner. The deadline for books published between January 1 and June 30 is July 15. The deadline for books published during the second half of the year is November 15. Entry fee: $75.
The Word Works Tenth Gate Prize: A prize of $1,000, publication by the Word Works, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who has published at least two full-length books of poetry. Lauren Camp will judge. Deadline: July 15. Entry fee: $25 (fee waivers available).
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.
Eleanor Henderson’s Everything I Have Is Yours, forthcoming from Flatiron Books on August 10, 2021.
