The Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest, sponsored by Winning Writers and co-sponsored by Duotrope, will award $3,500 for the best story and $3,500 for the best essay, and the top winners will receive prominent exposure on the Winning Writers home page. For this contest, a story is any short work of fiction, and an essay is any short work of nonfiction. Enter by May 1.

Key contest information:

Recommended by Reedsy
Final judge: Tamra Badgett
12 cash prizes totaling $12,000
All 12 winning entries published on our website
Entry fee: $25 per entry
Enter online using Submittable
Length limit: 6,000 words per entry
Subject: Any
Multiple entries OK? Yes
Previously published work OK? Yes
Writers from most countries eligible
See past winning entries with judges' remarks
Read Duotrope's interview with Winning Writers editor Jendi Reiter about this contest

Enter online now via Submittable

Advice from final judge Tamra Badgett

"Readers want to be led with confidence. Strong submissions show tight structure. Digressions and extraneous details should be weighed carefully and earn their way into the work. A professor of mine once said that everything in a standout story will serve a purpose, from the verbs to the POV to the characters. Before submitting to the contest, I encourage writers to reread their work through the lens of someone reading a hundred stories on the same subject: What makes this one unique? How is the content conveyed in a new way?"

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