Hit ‘em with your best shot: spring writing contests

Writers know it’s spring when our inboxes fill with lists of writing contests!  Please note, some of these are requests for anthology submissions. Not exactly contests, but the same limited-time offer, minus the fees. Please note, I have not tested all of these, so feedback from contestants and former contests is welcome. Also listed – a couple of additional contest-rich sites and – a free reference to all the literary magazines you’ve been craving.

Here, listed in order of urgency:

Now – March 30: Corpus Press’s 2018 Halloween Anthology. With a name like Corpus, it’s got to be horror! The editors say these can be frightening, thought-provoking, humorous or satirical, but not “extreme horror” or “splatterpunk”. No fees and pays 3 cents/word. See the site for submission guidelines and editorial preferences. (Thanks to critique group member LD Masterson for sharing!)

image: pixabay

Now – March 31: The Masters Review seeks 10 stories or essays by great emerging writers for volume 7 of its anthology series. Entries may be fiction or narrative nonfiction, with a chance to be shared to agents and editors across the country. Fee: $20 per entry. See the site for details.

March 12 – April 1: DL Hammons’ WRiTE CLUB contest is back! Give it your best 500 words, and let readers’ votes determine the winners of bouts that begin April 16. Literary agents will determine the final bout. No fees. Prizes include free admission to the 2019 DFW Writers Conference in North Texas. See the site for details. I’ve participated in this contest for a couple of years, and found it thrilling both from a writer’s and reader’s view. However, since Hammons is now one of my critique partners, it’ll be tough for me to come up with anything he’s never seen before! 

April 1 – May 15: Carve Magazine’s Raymond Carver Short Story Contest is at the top of any short story writer’s list. Cash prizes, entry fees $17 (online), $15 mailed. Multiple submissions OK, but stories must be literary – no genre accepted. See the site for details and submission information.

Now – April 30: Level Best Books seeks stories for its 16^th Best New England Crime Stories anthology. Stories must be set in New England or be written by a New England author in the genres of mystery, thriller, suspense, caper or horror. All time periods (including future) are OK. No fees, but I don’t see any payment information at the site. See the site for details. (Thanks to LD Masterson for this one.)

Now – April 30: The Fiction Open and Very Short contests at Glimmer Train are in progress. Cash prizes for first through third-place winners, and guaranteed publication for first-place stories, although all stories are considered for publication. Reading fee is $21 for Fiction Open, $16 for Very Short. See the site for details and submission form.

Now – April 30: Craft Short Fiction Prize is open with cash and publication possibilities.  

Now –- May 1: Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts is accepting entries in fiction, nonfiction and poetry for prizes of $1,500! Entry fee of $23 includes a one-year subscription to the magazine. See the site for submission form and details, including judges.

Now – June 1: Dark Moon Digest is looking for – and I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it – pizza horror! How can anybody possibly write a horror story about pizza? The editors say, “We don’t know. But we sure would like to read it.” (Maybe with extra cheese?) No fee, pays 3 cents/word and both multiple and simultaneous submissions are OK. See the site for details. Again, thanks for LD Masterson for this one.

Now through June 1: Writer’s Digest’s annual writing competition seeks entries in several genres, including poetry. Nearly 500 chances to win cash and other prizes. Early bird (to May 4) entry fee is $20 for the first entry from a writer, $15 for additional entries. Regular entry fee (to June 1), $30 for first entry, $25 for each additional entry. See the site for details.

In addition to the sites listed above, Writer Unboxed’s Arthur Klepchukov gives us his seasonal list of fiction writing contests worth our time.  In addition to several anthology announcements, LD Masterson also provided the site of mystery story blogger Sandra Seamans who lists frequent mystery writing contests. And genre site Ralan.com is also rich in contest listings. 

Finally, Reedsy provides a searchable database of literary magazines that can put work before new audiences!