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The Writer's Workout
Mar 30, 20235 min read

April Contests




These are some great magazine and contest opportunities closing in the next six weeks.

Read the host's information carefully and submit responsibly. Good luck!


Some April deadlines from the March post are also included here.



Nimrod Literary Awards

—CONTEST—

Deadline: April 1

Entry: $23

Prizes: $2,000 (1st); $1,000 (2nd); both incl publication and Tulsa Writing Conference attendance (and domestic travel)

Word count: 7,500 (f); 3-10 pg (p)

Details: "Nimrod supports and defends the literary tradition of small magazines, spotlighting lesser-known poets and writers and providing foundations for their literary careers. We promote a living literature, believing that it is possible to search for, recognize, and reward contemporary writing of imagination, substance, and skill."

Find all the details here: nimrodjournal.submittable.com/submit


Blurred Genre Contest

—CONTEST—

Deadline: April 7

Entry: FREE

Prizes: $750 (1st); $350 (2nd); $150 (3rd); publication for top five

Word count: 750 (f/nf/pp); theme of levity

Details: "The world around us continues to move, spin and bring chaos. Levity helps ground us, keep us sane. What does “levity” mean to you? How has it made an impact in your life? We would love to read how you interpret “levity,” through prose or poetry, or some combination of the two. All genres and themes are welcome."

Find all the details here: invisiblecitylit.com/contests


Samjoko

—Magazine—

Deadline: April 10

Entry: FREE

Payment: $20

Word count: 4,000 (f/nf); 50 (p)

Details: "fiction, poetry, non-fiction, articles, plays, screenplays, photography & art"

Find all the details here: samjokomagazine.com/submission-guidelines



Science Write Now

—Magazine—

Deadline: April 15

Entry: $3 AUD

Payment: $0.30/wd up to $390 (f); $70-180 (p)

Word count: 2,500 (f/nf), 4pc (p); theme of "Migration"

Details: "Science Write Now is a network of people and resources that support creative writing about science. We believe that truth comes in many forms, some of which—like fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and memoir—help us translate complex or remote ideas into everyday lives, build spaces for empathy and change."

Find all the details here: sciencewritenow.com/submissions



Consequence Forum

—Magazine—

Deadline: April 15

Entry: FREE

Payment: $20-150 (dependent)

Word count: 1,000 (flash), 5,000 (f), 4,000 (nf), 3pc (p)

Details: "Consequence Forum addresses the human consequences and realities of war and geopolitical violence through literature, art, and community events offering intellectual and emotional access to the experiences of combatants, victims, and witnesses. We provide the public with works and voices from around the world to promote a clearer and more nuanced understanding of what’s at stake in choosing to wage war or engage in conflict. "

Find all the details here: consequenceforum.org/submissions


Dancing Poet

—CONTEST—

Deadline: April 15

Entry: FREE

Prizes: LOTS!!

Word count: 38 (p) (up to 10 poems per person)

Details: "In honor of Richard Angilly, 1941-2022 co-founder of Dancing Poetry Festival and the Poetic Dance Theater Company"



Brouhaha

—CONTEST—

Deadline: April 15

Entry: ~$2

Prizes: publication for 20 winners

Word count: 2,000-3,000 (f)

Details: "We are looking for original, unpublished pieces of fiction, with a maximum word count of 3,000 words. The theme for this contest is “Brouhaha,” and we encourage all writers to interpret this theme in their own unique way. All genres are welcome."


Desperate Literature Prize

—CONTEST—

Deadline: April 16

Entry: €20

Prizes: LOTS!!

Word count: up to 2,000 (f)

Details: "The aim of the Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize is both to celebrate the best of new short fiction and to give winners the most visibility possible for their writing. That’s why we’ve teamed up with fifteen different literary and artistic institutions to offer not only a cash prize and writing retreats but to ensure that all our shortlisters have the opportunity to be published in multiple print and online journals, have their work put in front of literary agents, and perform in multiple countries."

Find all the details here: desperateliterature.com/prize


Proud to Be

—Anthology & CONTEST—

Deadline: April 21

Entry: FREE

Contest Prize: $250 + Publication

Word count: 5,000 (f); 3 poems or five pages (p)

Details: "Created by the Missouri Humanities Council, the Warrior Arts Alliance, and Southeast Missouri State University Press, this series of anthologies preserves and shares military service perspectives of our soldiers and veterans of all conflicts and of their families. It is not only an outlet for artistic expression but also a document of the unique aspects of wartime in our nation’s history.

Writing must be by veterans, military-service personnel, or their families. Include the connection in your short bio."



ABR Elizabeth Jolley

—CONTEST—

Deadline: April 24

Entry: $20-30 AUD

Prize: $6,000 (1st); $4,000 (2nd); $2,500 (3rd); (AUD)

Word count: 2,000-5,000

Details: This contest is presented by the Australian Book Review and is open worldwide.

Find all the details here: [ABR Jolley Prize]



The Adrienne Rich Award for Poetry

—CONTEST—

Deadline: April 30

Entry: $15

Payment: $1,500

Word count: 1-3 poems

Details: “…every poem breaks a silence that had to be overcome…”

—Adrienne Rich; judged by Marie Howe

Find all the details here: bpj.org/submit/rich-award-guidelines



Fiction Potluck

—CONTEST—

Deadline: April 30

Entry: FREE

Prizes: top three published, top ten spotlight

Word count: 7,500 (f); challenge TBA

Details: "Each quarter, we'll host a guest judge who picks a challenge. WW staff will read the entries blind and choose ten finalists to feature, then the guest judge picks three winners to be published on our blog at the end of the quarter for Fiction Potluck Friday!"

Find all the details here: writersworkout.net/potluck



Honeyguide

—Magazine—

Deadline: April 30

Entry: FREE

Payment: PDF contributor copy

Word count: 3,000 (f); 20 lines (p); theme of ocean animals

Details: "Honeyguide Magazine is a bi-annual magazine that features fiction, poetry, nonfiction, art, and blog posts about animals and their human neighbors."

Find all the details here: honeyguidemag.com/submit



The First Line

—Magazine—

Deadline: May 1

Entry: Free

Payment: $20-50 plus contributor copy

Word count: 300-5,000 (f); poetry accepted

Details: "The purpose of The First Line is to help writers break through the block that is the blank page. Each issue contains short stories that stem from a common first line; it also provides a forum for discussing favorite first lines in literature."

Find all the details here: thefirstline.com



Parsec

—CONTEST—

Deadline: May 1

Entry: FREE

Prize: $200 (1st); $100 (2nd); $50 (3rd)

Word count: 3,500 (f); theme of preserve or purge

Details: "We ask that authors try and incorporate both concepts into their speculative work. This can be conveyed in the setting, plot, characters, dialogue; the only limit is your imagination. The theme must be integral to the story in some way and not just mentioned in passing."

Find all the details here: parsec-sff.org/short-story-contest



WayWords

—Magazine—

Deadline: May 20

Entry: FREE

Payment: No

Word count: 5,000 (f/cnf); 15 lines, limit 2 (p); theme of seasons

Details: "Editor's tip: seasons aren't just about the weather; they signify the passage of time. Show us seasons of perfect and imperfect timing—no matter the time of year."

Find all the details here: writersworkout.net/waywords



Tales of the Strange

—Anthology—

Deadline: Sept 18

Entry: FREE

Payment: No

Word count: 7,500 (f); theme of "the strange"

Details: "Tales is an annual WW anthology. For 2023, I hope you'll explore the beautifully weird, the slightly off, and the unusual. Break free from the norm to investigate the strange!"

Find all the details here: writersworkout.net/tales



Cobalt

—Magazine—

Deadline: Rolling?

Entry: FREE

Payment: No

Word count: ~3,000; varies

Details: "Each Wednesday, we publish one author’s work in The Cobalt Weekly on cobaltreview.com. This could be a short story, essay, one or more poems, a book review, an interview, or something entirely different."

Find all the details here: cobaltreview.com/submit



You can find more great opportunities on Chill Subs and Reedsy!

Please submit responsibly.


 

About the author: Theresa is the co-founder of The Writer's Workout, a crime fiction writer, and a developmental editor at Premier Literary Services.


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