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We found over three dozen excellent free poetry and prose contests with deadlines between October 15-November 30. This issue features "There Came a Wind Like a Bugle" by Emily Dickinson, from Julian Peters' Nature Poems to See By. Annie Mydla confronts "bad tension" in your story and how to transform it into productive release.
This month's tip shares an invaluable web resource for finding reputable agents, editors, designers, marketers, website builders, and other publishing professionals. If you have a tip, recommendation, or warning, please email it to info@winningwriters.com.
CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of our 34th annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest! Jaime Gill submitted the winning story, "Black Sky, Blue Earth". Jonah Walters submitted the winning essay, "The Burnable Seas". The winners each received $3,500 and a gift certificate from Duotrope, and we commissioned original art for both entries. We also awarded 10 Honorable Mentions and $500 to Vinod Busjeet, Jordan Guevara, David McArthur, Kim McLarin, Sena Moon, Gina Ochsner, Xavier Prince, Jillian Grant Shoichet, Tracey Slaughter, and Corinne Young.
This contest received 1,893 entries from around the world. Tamra Badgett judged, with assistance from Sarah Halper. We would also like to recognize the exceptional contest administration and service provided by Annie Mydla, Paweł Zagawa, and Ewa Stachyra. Read the press release. Read the winning entries with the judge's remarks.
Our new Fiction & Essay contest is open now. We will again award two $3,500 prizes and ten $500 Honorable Mentions. Duotrope rejoins us as a co-sponsor. The contest deadline is May 1, 2027. Tamra Badgett returns as final judge. We extend deep gratitude to Sarah
Halper, our departing first-round judge. Her role will be taken up by our managing editor, Annie Mydla. We have increased the entry fee from $25 to $27 to keep compensation for our judges competitive.
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Winning Writers Editor Jendi Reiter's poems "No One Asked Why I Wanted the Gun" and "Jaw" were accepted for publication in SHINE Quarterly, #10. The Rumpus published their interview with Dom&Ink, creator of the queer comic book Queens of the Crypt, Vol. 1, on August 24.
Winning Writers contest judge Ezra Fox's poem "Before I Had the Words" was published at Queer Poem-A-Day on October 6.
Have news? Please email it to jendi@winningwriters.com.
Do you use TikTok or Instagram? Send your news to the @winningwriters account so we can share it!
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Flash Sale TODAY ONLY
2027 Next Generation Short Story Awards
One-Day Flash Sale - October 15
Enter the Short Story Awards TODAY and get your second category FREE when you pay for your first.
The Next Generation Short Story Awards is a not-for-profit international awards program for authors of short stories.
- Submissions accepted: Original unpublished short stories and poems in English (5,000 words or fewer)
- Categories: 30+
- Deadline: Thursday, January 28, 2027
- Prizes: Winners in each category receive $75 cash prizes, gold medals, digital stickers, story inclusion in a digital Anthology of Winners available free to all, social media coverage, and website exposure. Three Grand Prize Winners selected from all entries receive $500 for 1st Prize plus a trophy, $300 for 2nd Prize, and $200 for 3rd Prize, and are invited to attend an awards reception held in conjunction with the Next Generation Indie Book Awards.
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Last Call! The Missouri Review's 36th Annual Jeffrey E. Smith Editors' Prize
Extended Deadline: October 16
$5,000 Fiction | $5,000 Nonfiction | $5,000 Poetry
Winners receive a cash prize, publication in the Spring 2027 issue of the Missouri Review, and promotion across our social media channels.
Guidelines
• Submit one piece of fiction or nonfiction up to 7,500 words or any number of poems between 6 to 12 pages. Please double-space fiction and nonfiction entries.
• Multiple submissions and simultaneous submissions are welcome, but you must pay a separate fee for each entry and withdraw the piece immediately if accepted elsewhere.
• Entries must be previously unpublished.
• Standard Entry fee: $25. Each entrant receives a one-year subscription to the Missouri Review in digital format (normal price $24) and a digital copy of the latest title in our imprint, Missouri Review Books, a short story anthology by former contributors (normal price $7.95).
• "All Access" Entry fee: $30. In addition to the one-year digital subscription to the Missouri Review and Missouri Review Books e-book, this entry fee grants access to the last 10 years of digital issues and the audio recordings of each digital issue.
Read prizewinning stories by Melissa Yancy, Rachel Yoder, and Thomas Dodson, essays by Peter Selgin and Dave Zoby, and a selection from poetry winners Katie Bickham, Kai Carlson-Wee, and Alexandra Teague. You can also check out readings and conversations with past winners on our YouTube channel.
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Cutthroat Will Award $1,500 in Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction
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Discover New Art Prize for Poetry & Prose
Early Bird deadline: November 30
For fifteen years, Discover New Art has championed the craft and careers of literary writers through our diverse magazines and pioneering educational programs. This substantial financial award celebrates our impact and raises our commitment to remove barriers for writers and to push bold, new work across the finish line.
For this prize, we're proud to have partnered with a
selection of distinguished judges: Kaveh Akbar, Carl Phillips, and Aimee Nezhukumatathil for poetry, and Lauren Groff, Rebecca Makkai, and Roxane Gay for prose.
• Submissions accepted: Submit up to fifteen pages of your manuscript for poetry or twenty-five pages for prose. This award is open to writers who have not published or are not contracted to publish a single-author work of creative poetry or prose with a Big Five publisher (or their imprints) between January 31, 2017 and January 31, 2027.
• Deadline: January 31, 2027
• Prizes: Two $25,000 awards for the winners, one in poetry and one in prose, each to a promising manuscript-in-progress to support the manuscript's journey to publication. Five finalists in each category will also receive $1,000 awards.
The DNA Prize is offering a reduced-fee Early Bird submission window through November 30 to all writers! For full guidelines and more info, click here.
Annie in the Middle
Bad Tension
By Annie Mydla, managing editor
Bad tension happens when a reader develops strong questions about a book that the book doesn't answer. Page-turning energy plummets as the reader's mind tries to digest the content. Often, bad tension manifests when an author's unconscious biases surface in ways they didn't expect. Let's explore the signs of bad tension and harness four techniques to transform it into productive tension and release.
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2026/2027 Fiction, Nonfiction, Memoir & Indigenous Writers Contest from IML Publications
Initial submission period: November 1-December 20
IML Publications, a boutique press, will award $1,000 in prizes to authors of unpublished full-length works in fiction, nonfiction, and memoir. There is a special call for indigenous writers to submit for possible publication in association with Global Voice Foundation.
During the initial submission period, please enter 50 pages double-spaced along with a one-page synopsis of your manuscript. $40 entry fee ($10 for indigenous authors). Finalists will be asked to submit their completed manuscripts (up to 100,000 words) by February 28, 2027. Judges: Jacqueline Gay Walley and Dr. Michael Lechuga. This contest is recommended by Reedsy!
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2027 DISQUIET Literary Prize
Deadline: January 4, 2027
The 2027 DISQUIET Prize is now open for submissions.
Entries are accepted in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. One winner in each category will be published in Electric Literature (fiction), NinthLetter.com (nonfiction), or The Common (poetry).
One grand prize winner will receive a full scholarship, accommodations, and a travel stipend to attend the fifteenth annual DISQUIET International Literary Program in Lisbon (June 27-July 9, 2027).
Genre winners will receive a tuition waiver for DISQUIET 2027 in addition to publication.
Winners who are unable to attend the program in Lisbon may elect to receive a $1,000 cash prize in lieu of the tuition waiver.
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A Peculiar Legacy by Rashid Darden
Winner, 2025 North Street Book Prize, Mainstream/Literary Fiction
The silence of a spiritual community is shattered by the murder of one of their own.
Jordan and Rahman Gaffney-Bruce, newly married men, move into the eccentric Washington neighborhood known as Slope to start building a life together. Built precariously on a hill, Slope is home to descendants of the Great Migration and is now a lower-middle-class Black community trapped in a cycle of spiritual depression.
In the midst of this community, the Gaffney-Bruces gather with the other residents every Sunday in quiet prayer and contemplation, in hopes that their collective dreams will be realized: To be seen. To be known. To thrive—on their own terms.
Alongside them is Pops, the quiet old man who has seen it all; Miss Sandra, the matriarch and maven of Sunday dinners; Royce, one of the few good cops left; and the Gang of Four—soft-spoken Peek, angry Korey, flamboyant Ziggy, and Gino, the natural leader.
When one of the youths is felled by gun violence, generations-old secrets threaten to unravel the serenity of this peculiar community.
With diverse queer representation and distinctive character voices, this novel demonstrates the power of empathy and forgiveness.
—From the critique by Jendi Reiter, final judge of the North Street Book Prize
His story and characters are funny, poignant, illuminating, surprising, tragic, bawdy, and redemptive. I wept reading the last chapter.
—Steve Chase, author of Letters to a Fellow Seeker: A Short Introduction to the Quaker Way
Rashid Darden's A Peculiar Legacy pulled me into a world where history and mysticism intertwine, long-held traditions echo across generations, and tenderness emerges in the most unexpected places. Set against a backdrop of risk and revelation, Darden crafts a novel as bold as it is immersive. This book lingers long after the final page—unsettling, moving, and utterly original.
—Peterson Toscano, performance artist, storyteller, and co-host of the Quakers Today podcast
October Tip
Your First Stop to Find Publishing Professionals
WW president Adam Cohen writes:
People often ask us where they can find reputable agents, editors, designers, marketers, website builders, and other publishing professionals. I send them to the Recommended Resources page on Jane Friedman's website. Jane is the author of The Business of Being a Writer and publishes the newsletters Electric Speed (free) and The Bottom Line. She's a strong advocate for authors.
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Kris Kringle and the Great Magic Swindle by Michael Wardner
Winner, 2025 North Street Book Prize, Middle Grade
After a successful night of bringing Christmas cheer to millions of good little boys and girls and a triumphant victory over his nemesis Krampus, Santa wakes up to discover that all the elves have been summoned to the Main Meeting Hall by the High Elf. Kringle tracks down his Chief Toymaker and learns, quite shockingly, that the elves must leave Christmas Town immediately. It seems that all the magic in the Natural World is disappearing, so the High Elf must take the Christmas elves back to the Magic Realm before it is too late. Oskar, the Chief Toy-making Elf, consults with Ms. Kringle and Santa and explains that there is enough magic left for Santa to carry on―he will just need to duplicate the toys they
already have.
Somewhat relieved but quite sad, Santa bids farewell to the elves as they depart. But then a knock at the door reveals the Supreme Council of Sorcery, Witchcraft, and Tricks―who declare that Santa has violated one of their chief precepts: that Kringle cannot wield magic without a magical being accompanying him. They revoke his Magic License and seize all the magic―which leaves Christmas Town in ruins.
Undeterred, Santa travels to the Infernal Mountain in the Magic Realm, on a quest to get a magic rock which will give him enough magic to save Christmas. But calamity follows him and soon he is on a quest to save Christmas and himself. Kris Kringle and the Great Magic Swindle is a high-spirited adventure story starring Santa Claus, Ms. Kringle, and a cast of holiday favorites as they try to save all the magic in the world.
Michael Wardner's middle-grade novel Kris Kringle and the Great Magic Swindle is a witty romp that will entertain both children and adults. Santa's elves have quit, and the Supreme Council of Sorcery, Witchcraft, and Tricks is about to revoke his magic license. But there's a bigger conspiracy afoot to steal all the magic in the world. With help from trolls, elves, the Easter Bunny, and Ms. Kringle in her airplane, our jolly friend discovers that dividing people into "naughty" and "nice" may be the root of the problem...
The authorial voice is a large part of what makes Great Magic Swindle so great. One hears a real storyteller behind the words, a jovial raconteur holding court before an audience of youngsters who still believe in Santa and older folks who need something unexpected to rekindle their interest in the old tropes. It's a tall-tale-teller's voice reminiscent of Mark Twain or L. Frank Baum (whose books outside the Oz series include The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, by the way).
—From the critique by Jendi Reiter, final judge of the North Street Book Prize
26 illustrations. A great gift for children 8-12.
Read an excerpt from the book.
Spotlight Contests (no fee)
Some contests are best suited to writers at the early stages of their careers. Others are better for writers with numerous prizes and publications to their credit. Here is this month's selection of Spotlight Contests for your consideration:
Emerging Writers
Drinking Gourd Chapbook Poetry Prize. Northwestern University Press and Northwestern University’s Poetry and Poetics Colloquium will award $500 and chapbook publication for a poetry manuscript, 25-35 pages, by an emerging poet of color who is a US citizen and has not previously published a book-length volume of poetry. Entries must be received by October 31.
Intermediate
Writers
Eric Gregory Awards. The Society of Authors will award prizes totaling 20,000 pounds for a collection of up to 30 poems, drama-poems, or belles-lettres, maximum 50 pages total, by a writer who will be under age 30 as of the deadline date. The author must be a British national or a resident in Great Britain and Northern Ireland for at least three years. Previously published work accepted. Entries must be received by October 31.
Advanced Writers
Stowe Prize for Literary Activism. The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center will award $10,000 to a US author whose prose work (fiction and nonfiction compete together) "illuminates a critical social justice issue in contemporary society in the United States". Nominated work must have been published in the US within the past 3 years. Authors may self-nominate. Nominations must be received by November 1.
See more Spotlight Contests for emerging, intermediate, and advanced writers within The Best Free Literary Contests database.
Calls for Submissions
Winning Writers finds open submission calls and free contests in a variety of sources, including FundsforWriters, Erika Dreifus' Practicing Writer newsletter, Erica Verrillo's blog, Authors Publish, Lit Mag News Roundup, Poets & Writers, Duotrope, and literary journals' own newsletters and announcements.
• Crooked Spine: "What You Worship" Issue (character-driven horror fiction and poetry about devotion and its price - October 23)
• Broken Sleep Books: Smutty Poetry Anthology (Welsh leftist poetry press seeks work about desire and the body - October 31)
• DMQ Review: Prose Poem Issue (online journal seeks prose poems of 500 words max - October 31)
• Platform (poems by authors with no full-length books - October 31)
• Reckoning: Flash Fiction Issue (short-short horror and weird fiction about environmental justice - October 31)
• Ninth Letter: "Manifest" Issue (web edition seeks poetry and prose on this theme - November 1)
• Santa Fe Literary Review: "Connection" Issue (poetry, short prose, drama, visual art on this theme - November 1)
• Prairie Fire: "Trees" Issue (poetry, fiction, essays on this theme - November 15)
• Catalogue Zine: "People, Places, Things" Issue (climate advocacy journal seeks creative writing, art, interviews, video and audio - November 30)
• Bag of Bones Press: "Stuck" Anthology (UK-based press seeks speculative, horror, dark fantasy, or sci-fi stories on this theme - January 31)
• Dionysian Public Library: Jewish Horror Anthology (arts collective seeks short fiction from Jewish authors - February 1)
Favorite New Resources
Here are some of our favorite newly added resources at Winning Writers. For a full list, see our Resource pages.
Homodoxy
Publisher of creative and scholarly books about LGBTQ life, Christianity, and spirituality
Identity Theory
Online literary journal publishes creative writing, book reviews, music and film criticism
Lore Generator
Name-generation guides for fantasy characters and places
Metphrastics
Online journal of ekphrastic poetry inspired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collections
Nieman Storyboard
Online magazine showcases exceptional narrative journalism
RhymeHamster
Human-edited rhyming dictionary includes slant rhymes and multisyllabic suggestions
So You Want the Ubergrid to Write You a Poem
Cultural critic and poet Noah Berlatsky on algorithmic poetry strategies
Comics
"There Came a Wind Like a Bugle" by Emily Dickinson
Illustrated by Julian Peters
"There Came a Wind Like a Bugle" appears in Nature Poems to See By, a new volume from Julian Peters available in ebook and hardcover formats. Order from the publisher or Amazon.
The Last Word by Jendi Reiter
October Links Roundup: Animism versus Empire
Autumn always feels like the real beginning of the year to me. Call it cultural memory of the Jewish calendar, or the rhythms of the school year that shaped my early life and now structures our time as parents. This is when I usually experience a new burst of energy to get things done. But folks, I am tired.
Tired of transphobia as the fascists' unifying cause du jour. Even more tired of Democrats who give credence to right-wing myths about "boys in girls' sports" and "surgeries for minors" to pander to the imaginary swing voter. And most of all, tired of cis liberal friends who tell me I'm expecting too much from said Democrats, as if my existence is a fringe issue or overly complex math problem.
Jendi Reiter is the editor of Winning Writers. Visit their website and subscribe to their Substack.
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