Off-site story and poetry contests

[Louanne Learning]

Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest​

Please submit during October 15, 2025-May 1, 2026
Prizes:

• STORY: First Prize, $3,500
• ESSAY: First Prize, $3,500
• The top two winners will also receive two-year gift certificates from our co-sponsor, Duotrope (a $100 value)
• 10 Honorable Mentions will receive $500 each (any category)
• Top 12 entries published online
• Enter via Submittable

For this contest, a story is any short work of fiction, and an essay is any short work of nonfiction. Final judge: Tamra Badgett, assisted by Sarah Halper. Please submit as many entries as you like. All themes accepted. Entries may be published or unpublished. Length limit: 6,000 words maximum. No restriction on age of author. All countries eligible except Iran, North Korea, Crimea, Russia, or Belarus (due to US government restrictions). Fee: $25 per entry. Read the winning entries from the 33rd contest.

 

[DLC]

Cost to enter - $25

 

[Louanne Learning]

Cost to enter - $25

less than the cost of two Big Mac combos

 

[Louanne Learning]

The Adrienne Rich Award for Poetry​

• with the support of the Adrienne Rich Literary Trust
• $1,500 prize for a single poem
• Judge: TBA
• Submissions Open February 1 - April 30

Guidelines​

• Submit 1-3 unpublished poems on any subject in any style up to a maximum of 10 pages per entry. (We enjoy long poems!)
• Reading fee of $15 per entry. A limited number of complimentary entries are available to poets for whom the fee presents a hardship. Contact us at bpj@bpj.org for more information.
• Submitters paying the reading fee may purchase a discounted 1-year subscription to the BPJ. (An additional shipping charge applies to international subscribers.)
• Simultaneous submissions welcome. Please notify us immediately of publication elsewhere by leaving a message in Submittable.
• We regret we that cannot accept entries after the deadline or changes to poems after submission.
• Please no translations (though we are happy to see these during our regular reading periods).
• Kindly refrain from placing your name anywhere on the attached manuscript.
• The editors will consider all submissions for publication.
• Finalists will be notified in late summer/early fall; the winner will be announced and published in a subsequent issue of the BPJ.
• We follow the CLMP Guidelines for contests and are committed, in all we do, to the highest ethical standards. If you are a personal friend, family member, or student of any BPJ editor or of the judge, or if you are a former or current intern, staff or board member of the BPJ, please refrain from submitting.

“…every poem breaks a silence that had to be overcome…”
—Adrienne Rich

 

[Louanne Learning]

Claret Press Short Story Competition ​

Guidelines​

We're looking for stories that reflect today's politics.

This is a big topic and can encompass a lot of themes, for example:
- Healthcare
- The right to protest
- Freedom of speech
- LGBTQ+ issues
- Feminism
- Housing
- Global politics

The deadline for entries has been extended to 1st March, 2026.

 

[Homer Potvin]

The deadline for entries has been extended to 1st March, 2026.

Can't imagine why they're not bursting at the seams with submissions.

 

[Louanne Learning]

Can't imagine why they're not bursting at the seams with submissions.

Hopefully, more will let their voices be heard

 

[Homer Potvin]

Or nobody has any interest in reading or writing about anything political. The Covid contest deadline has been extended to 2026.

 

[Louanne Learning]

Or nobody has any interest in reading or writing about anything political.

I think you underestimate the masses

 

[Homer Potvin]

I think you underestimate the masses

Underestimating the masses is impossible.