Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time in Fall 2021

This contest submissions season covers deadlines from September 1, 2021 through November 30, 2021. Thanks to Literistic, Poets & Writers, Submittable Discover, and New Pages for many of these contests.

Much like editors are looking for reasons to reject work, I want to focus on opportunities worth my time. Thus, my list of writing contests below includes reasons to submit to that particular writing contest. May you find a promising opportunity among this list and spend less time searching for where to send your exceptional work.

September 2021

American-Scandinavian Foundation – ASF Translation Awards – $0 fee

Deadline: September 1, 2021

“The American-Scandinavian Foundation annually awards three translation prizes for outstanding translations of poetry, fiction, drama, or literary prose written by a Scandinavian author born after 1900.” Awards over $2,000 and include publication.

Reasons to submit:

• Blind submissions are fine submissions!
• Flag-bearer—open to international submissions
• Friendly to novelists
• Oh, wordy!—generous word count limit
• Regional restriction—less competition
• Deadline extended—perhaps to encourage more submissions

Black Warrior Review – 2021 fiction contest – $15 fee

Deadline: September 1, 2021

Annual contest in fiction (up to 7,000 words) or flash (up to 3 pieces).

“Fiction winner “receive[s] $1000 and publication in BWR 48.2, our Spring 2022 issue. The first runner-up … receive[s] monetary compensation, acknowledgment in the print issue, and online publication (if desired). We may consider any submission for general publication.” 

Reasons to submit:

• Blind submissions are fine submissions!
• Oh, wordy!—generous word count limit
• Prestige—#88 in Pushcart ranking
• Share the wealth—multiple prizes

 

Gasher Press – First-Book Scholarship 2021 – $0 fee

Deadline: September 1, 2021

“In an effort to support equality and accessibility within literary publishing, Gasher Press is pleased to offer a $250 scholarship to an emerging writer currently submitting their first-book manuscript, in order to assist in the covering of submission costs for contests and open reading periods.” Submit at least 48 pages.

Reasons to submit:

• Blind submissions are fine submissions!
• Eligibility restriction—less competition
• Friendly to emerging writers
• Friendly to novelists
• Oh, wordy!—generous word count limit

 

University of Iowa Press – Iowa Short Fiction Award – $0 fee

Deadline: September 30, 2021

“Any writer who has not previously published a volume of prose fiction is eligible to enter the competition. … The manuscript must be a collection of short stories in English of at least 150 word-processed, double-spaced pages. … Stories previously published in periodicals are eligible for inclusion. There is no reading fee … Award-winning manuscripts will be published by the University of Iowa Press under the Press’s standard contract.”

Reasons to submit:

• Flag-bearer—open to international submissions
• Friendly to emerging writers
• Oh, wordy!—generous word count limit
• Rebirth—accepts published work

 

Sunspot Literary Journal – 2021 Inception Contest – $5 fee

Deadline: September 30, 2021
“For Sunspot Lit’s 2021 Inception contest, send your best opening. There are no restrictions on theme, category, or the length of the piece or collection from which the beginning comes. Word limit is 250 for prose … Prize: $500 cash, publication for the winner, publication offered to runners-up and finalists.”

Reasons to submit:

• Eligibility restriction—less competition
• Friendly to emerging writers
• Friendly to novelists
• No hunting for winners—can read past winners online

 

Ghost Story – Supernatural Fiction Award – $20 fee

Deadline: September 30, 2021

Fun fact: A previous winner of this contest is a Writer Unboxed reader who found it in this very roundup!

“Twice each year TGS awards $1,500 and both online and print publication to the winner of our short story competition. Two other writers receive Honorable Mention awards that include publication and cash prizes of $300. … Ghost stories are welcome, of course—but your submission may involve any paranormal or supernatural theme, as well as magic realism. What we’re looking for is fine writing, fresh perspectives, and maybe a few surprises in the field of supernatural fiction. Story length should run between 1,500 and 10,000 words.”

Reasons to submit:

• Flag-bearer—open to international submissions
• Friendly to emerging writers
• Friendly to novelists
• No hunting for winners—can read past winners online
• Oh, wordy!—generous word count limit
• Share the wealth—multiple prizes

 

Uncharted Magazine – Sci-Fi/Fantasy Short Story Award – $20 fee

Deadline: September 30, 2021

“Uncharted Magazine publishes Science Fiction/Fantasy Short Stories from fiction writers of any background or experience. We want stories that richly imagine the future of technology and science, that explore our world through a speculative lens. We want stories of fantasy that make us hunger for new worlds, new biomes, new places we can explore through thrilling sensual details and human empathy. We want stories that thrill us, that make us feel alive, that awaken our desires to explore and go on adventures. … Guest judge Ken Lui will choose three winning stories from a shortlist. We’re excited to offer the winner of this prize $3000 and publication, while the 2nd and 3rd place winners will receive publication and $300 and $200, respectively along with publication.” Submit 1 story of 1,001-5,000 words.

Reasons to submit:

• Friendly to emerging writers
• Prestigious judge
• Share the wealth—multiple prizes

 

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October 2021

The Missouri Review – Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize – $25-30 fee

Deadline: October 1, 2021

$5000 prize. “Winners receive publication, invitation to a reception and reading in their honor, and a cash prize. … up to 8,500 words … Each entrant receives a one-year subscription to the Missouri Review in digital format (normal price $24) … Winners will be announced in early 2021.” 

Reasons to submit:

• No hunting for winners—can read past winners online
• Oh, wordy!—generous word count limit
• Prestige—#14 in Pushcart ranking
• Read on—entry fee includes one-year subscription

 

Zoetrope: All-Story – Short Fiction Competition – $30 fee

Deadline: October 1, 2021

“First prize: $1,000 / Second prize: $500 / Third prize: $250 … We accept all genres of literary fiction. Entries must be: unpublished; strictly 5,000 words or fewer … Results will be announced at the website December 15 and in the Spring 2022 edition of Zoetrope: All-Story; and the winning story will be published as a special online supplement to that Spring 2021 edition. … The three prizewinners and seven honorable mentions will be considered for representation …”

Reasons to submit:

• Blind submissions are fine submissions!
• Flag-bearer—open to international submissions
• Prestige—#7 in Pushcart ranking
• Share the wealth—multiple prizes

 

New Letters – Editor’s Choice Award – $20 fee

Deadline: October 18, 2021

“We’re looking for work that experiments, that crosses the traditional boundaries of genre and form. Enter your hybrid work—your lyric essays, prose poems, short-shorts, collages, micro-memoirs . . . whatever you’re doing that’s experimental, that defies easy categorization. Max word count is 8,000. … Entries must cross the traditional boundaries of genre and form. … The winner will be announced in early March 2022. The winner will be published in New Letters and receive a $1,000 cash prize.”

Reasons to submit:

• Eligibility restriction—less competition
• Flag-bearer—open to international submissions
• Friendly to emerging writers
• Oh, wordy!—generous word count limit
• Prestige—#38 in Pushcart ranking
• Read on—entry fee includes one-year subscription

 

University of Louisville – The Calvino Prize – $25 fee

Deadline: October 15, 2021

“The Calvino Prize is an annual fiction competition sponsored by the Creative Writing Program in the English Department of the University of Louisville. They will be awarded to outstanding pieces of fiction in the fabulist experimentalist style of Italo Calvino. Please note that these prizes are meant to encourage experimental writing, in the mode of Calvino, and are not meant to encourage merely imitative work. The first place entry will be published in Miracle Monocle journal at the University of Louisville. Further, the winner will be invited to read the winning entry, all expenses paid (within the continental US), at the Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900 held at the University of Louisville every February. … First Place: $2000 and Publication; Second Place: $300.” Submit up to 25 pages. 

Reasons to submit:

• Blind submissions are fine submissions!
• Eligibility restriction—less competition
• Friendly to emerging writers
• Friendly to novelists
• Oh, wordy!—generous word count limit
• Rebirth—accepts published work
• Share the wealth—multiple prizes
• Wanderluster—prize includes lodging or travel

 

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November 2021

Fiction Collective 2 – Catherine Doctorow Innovative Fiction Prize – $25 fee

Deadline: November 1, 2021

“The Fiction Collective 2 (FC2) Catherine Doctorow Innovative Fiction Prize is open  to writers of, from, or in the US writing in English with at least three  books of fiction published. Submissions may include a collection of short stories, one or more novellas, or a novel of any length. There is no length requirement. Works that have previously appeared in magazines  or in anthologies may be included. … The Prize includes $15,000 and publication by FC2, an imprint of the University of Alabama Press. … Submit a previously unpublished manuscript of any length through our electronic submissions manager. … The manuscript must be anonymous.”

Reasons to submit:

• Blind submissions are fine submissions!
• Eligibility restriction—less competition
• Flag-bearer—open to international submissions
• Friendly to novelists
• Rebirth—accepts published work

 

Malahat Review – Open Season Award (Fiction) – $40-$45 fee

Deadline: November 1, 2021

“The Malahat Review invites entries for its annual Open Season Awards in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction with prizes totalling $CAN 6,000. The contest is open to Canadian and international writers anywhere in the world, with a final deadline of 11:59pm (PST) on 1 November 2021. All entries are judged anonymously. The winner in each category will receive a prize of $CAN 2,000 and be published in the magazine’s spring 2022 issue.” Submit up to 2500 words.

Reasons to submit:

• Blind submissions are fine submissions!
• Flag-bearer—open to international submissions
• Prestige—#171 in Pushcart ranking
• Read on—entry fee includes one-year subscription

 

PEN America – 2022 PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers – $0 fee

Deadline: November 15, 2021

“The PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers recognizes twelve emerging writers each year for their debut short story published in a literary magazine, journal, or cultural website, and aims to support the launch of their careers as fiction writers.

 

Each of the twelve winning writers receives a cash prize of $2,000 and the independent book publisher Catapult will publish the twelve winning stories in an annual anthology entitled Best Debut Short Stories: The PEN America Dau Prize, which will acknowledge the literary magazines and websites where the stories were originally published.”

Reasons to submit:

• Eligibility restriction—less competition
• Flag-bearer—open to international submissions
• Friendly to emerging writers
• Oh, wordy!—generous word count limit
• Rebirth—accepts published work
• Share the wealth—multiple prizes

 

JuxtaProse Literary Magazine – JuxtaProse Fiction Prize – $18 fee

Deadline: November 26, 2021

“$1,000 and publication in JuxtaProse Literary Magazine will be awarded to the winning piece. Up to three additional pieces, each by a different author, may be awarded “Honorable Mention” status, for which they will receive $100 and publication. All entries will be considered for publication, regardless of whether they receive honorable mention status. Manuscripts must not have been previously published in any form — including any form of online publication — in order to be eligible. … Entries should contain a single story that is between 500 and 7,000 words.”

Reasons to submit:

• No hunting for winners—can read past winners online
• Oh, wordy!—generous word count limit
• Share the wealth—multiple prizes

 

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Have I missed a great writing contest? Please leave a comment and let me know where you found it.

Happy submitting!

 

[coffee]

 

You can also read my story “A Damn Fine Town” in The Best American Mystery Stories 2019: