I’ll be highlighting a new lit contest each day this week. For starters, there’s the Lamar York Prize for Creative Nonfiction. A prize of $1,000 and publication in Chattahoochee Review is given annually for a creative essay. All entries will be considered for publication. Submit an essay of up to 5,000 words with a $10…Continue reading lit contest week!

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Iowa Review are given annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Cole Swensen will judge in poetry, James Alan McPherson will judge in fiction, and Lia Purpura will judge in creative nonfiction. Submit up to 10 pages of poetry or no more than 25 pages…Continue reading iowa review awards

from the Chicago Tribune: The Nelson Algren awards are for short fiction. Submissions must be written by an American and must be unpublished. One (1) $5,000 prize and three (3) runner-up prizes of $1,500 are awarded. The award is given in memory of Chicago author Nelson Algren. Stories must be typed and double-spaced, between 2,500…Continue reading nelson algren awards

Wilkes University sponsors this prize for a novel-in-progress by a U.S. writer who has not previously published a novel. The winner takes home $10,000. Deadline: March 1 Submit only the first 50 pages. Finalists will be asked to submit an additional 50. The fine print: The first-prize winner must accept the award at the James…Continue reading James Jones First Novel Fellowship

Yiyun Li of Oakland has won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award for her debut collection, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers. She gets 50,000 big ones–that’s pounds, not dollars–and lots of love, which began with a gala dinner and award ceremonyin Cork, Ireland. Li is originally from Beijing, but, not surprisingly, is a…Continue reading Bay Area Author wins big