Narrative Prize

Narrative Magazine is holding a fabulous writing competition. According to their site:

"The $4,000 Narrative Prize will be awarded annually for the best short story, novel excerpt, poem, or work of literary nonfiction published by a new or emerging writer in Narrative.

The deadline for entries for each year’s award is June 15.

The winner is announced each September, and the prize is awarded in October.

Notices of the award, citing the winner’s name and the title and genre of the winning piece, will be placed in prominent literary periodicals. Each winner will also be cited in an ongoing listing in Narrative. The prize will be given to the best work published each year in Narrative by a new or emerging writer, as judged by the magazine’s editors. In some years, the prize may be divided between winners, when more than one work merits the award.

All submissions are carefully considered for publication. To submit your work for the Narrative Prize, please see the submission form below or visit our Submission Guidelines page.

Submissions by new and emerging writers are eligible for the prize, and we accept submissions year-round. For further information, please read our Submission Guidelines."

$150 Dollars For 50 Words!!

That's the prize for feedback being offered by The Summerset Review. All you have to do is send them your opinion, (at least fifty words worth), of stories and essays appearing in the current issue! In addition, winners will receive a copy of Volume One. They will publish your comments in the following issue, along with your name and home town. Only one entry is allowed per person per quarter, and the entry must pertain to a piece appearing in the current issue. They are particularly interested in how the story or essay affected you; what impact it had, what memory it stirred. Be honest and lucid. The deadline for comments is two weeks before the release date. Issues are released on the 15th of March, June, September and December. Email your entry to editor(at)summersetreview(dot)org, and be sure to include your name, town, state and country (if outside the USA). There's nothing to lose and much to gain: check out their website to read the current stories and essays, and then read some of the previous winning comments to get an idea of what they like.

"I Love Cats" Magazine Accepting Submissions

For those of us with delightful furry companions, Lisa Allmendinger, editer of I Love Cats is now looking at stories for 2009 and beyond. They seldom publish poetry, but are interested in feature stories about cats and their owners, (no talking cats, please), interesting or odd happenings with cats, tips for cat owners, health issues, non-fiction, behavior problems, etc. They ask that you not send pieces about cats that go or live outdoors. She prefers stories with with photos or drawing that are between 500 - 800 words (1,000 words max). Payment upon publication is $50, ($25 for short fillers, which are also welcome). Please send your queries and/or completed stories to ilovecatseditor(at)sbcglobal.net. Check out the I Love Cats website for sample copies and further submission guidelines.

Finding Something "On the Premises"

Nothing beats a contest that provides a writing prompt, and On the Premises has one going on now with a delightful theme: "Found." If words are indeed like suitcases, how much can be packed inside this one, yes? The challenge is to write a creative, compelling, and well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words that clearly uses the premise, to wit: "One or more characters unexpectedly finds one or more physical objects somewhere. Something about the object(s) raises questions the character(s) want answered." Send your entry before midnight, Eastern Time, Saturday, May 31st, 2008, to entries(at)onthepremises(dot)com. Prizes are as follows:

• 1st Prize: $140
• 2nd Prize: $100
• 3rd Prize: $70
• Honorable Mention: $25

On the Premises is published every four months, and the stories published are the winning entries. They also occasionally run mini-contests with smaller prizes. To be eligible to enter these, all that is necessary is to sign up for their free, short, monthly newsletter.
Also delightful: there are no entry fees for any of their contests! Please go to their website to read the current issue and check out the rest of the contest guidelines.

Whose Fawlt Is It?

Nobody's perfect, and now there is a magazine based on that premise: Fawlt Magazine is dedicating each of it's quarterly issues to human flaws. Guess I'll stop procrastinating long enough to tell you about it. ;) They are now taking submissions for their next issue, which will focus on Perfectionism. You have until August 1, 2008 to submit previously unpublished prose, poetry, art and photographs that will examine such issues as: who is affected by it, its impact on individuals, in which circumstances it can be especially bad (or actually good!), and any other aspect of the flaw that may be worth investigating. Please send your submissions to fiction(at)fawltmag.com, poetry(at)fawltmag.com, or artandphoto(at)fawltmag.com, depending on the category (don't forget to attach a cover letter). The Perfectionism issue will be launched online on September 15, 2008. They are also taking submissions for upcoming issues, Apathy and Arrogance. They ask that you do not send more than three prose pieces or five poems at a time, and if you are submitting to more than one issue, please send your submissions separately.

A Cappella Zoo Short-Story Contest ~

If you can think of a beginning, a start, a famous first step, this new magazine may be perfect for you. A Cappella Zoo is looking for short stories with the theme, "origins," to celebrate their first issue. For a mere $5 entry fee, you may submit stories between 1,000 and 10,000 words via email to contest(at)acappellazoo(dot)com, or via snail mail to A Cappella Zoo, 635 1/2 E. Benton, Pocatello, ID, 83201. The first place prize is $250 dollars, publication in their first issue, as well as a complimentary copy of said first issue. The rest of their contest guidelines may be found at this link.
They are also accepting submissions of fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, plays, bi-lingual works, translations, photography, art, and "genre-bending" works, up to 10,000 words for prose, or up to 3 poems or visual works of art. They are currently paying $5 per printed page, up to $50. Submissions may be sent via email to submissions(at)acappellazoo(dot)com, or snail mail. For the rest of the submission guidelines, please go to their website.
They are especially looking for work that is unique and experimental in technique, form, language and thought, so if you are a "square peg," who knows better than to try to fit into "round holes," you may find your work very welcome here.

Fireside Publications Contests

Fireside Publications, a brand new independent publisher, while not currently accepting submissions, they do have the following upcoming contests:

Mystery / Suspense / Thriller Novel Contest Deadline May 31, 2008

Short Stories about Cats: Deadline is June 30, 2008

Contemporary Novel Contest: Deadline is June 30th, 2008