Terrain.org’s 11th Annual Contest

Accepting submissions in poetry, nonfiction, and fiction till September 7

The first-place winner in each genre will be awarded $500 plus publication. Finalists in each genre will also receive publication and a $100 prize. All submissions are considered for publication.

Winners will be announced no later than December 2020.

For more information, visit the contest guidelines or contact us.

SUBMT NOW!
What to Submit
You may submit up to three entries (at $15/entry) in any or all genres:

Poetry
Submit 3-5 poems or one long poem (5+ pages) per entry. Combine all poems into a single document. For poetry, we are seeking not just the best poem, but the best set of 3-5 poems or the best long poem, with the hopes of awarding our prizes to poetry sets or long poems rather than individual, shorter poems, when possible. No maximum lines per poem.

Fiction
Submit one story, up to 5,000 words total, or up to three flash fictions (up to 1,000 words each) per entry.

Nonfiction
Submit one essay or article, up to 5,000 words total, or up to three flash essays (up to 1,000 words each) per entry. We will consider all nonfiction, but are most interested in creative nonfiction, including personal essays, lyric essays, memoir, literary journalism, and other literary forms.

Submit and pay online after reviewing the contest guidelines.

VIEW FULL CONTEST GUIDELINES
Contest Judges
Poetry: Arthur Sze
Arthur Sze’s tenth book of poetry, Sight Lines (Copper Canyon), won the 2019 National Book Award for Poetry.

Nonfiction: Julian Hoffman
Julian Hoffman is the award-winning author of Irreplaceable: The Fight to Save Our Wild Places and The Small Heart of Things.

Fiction: Joy Castro
Author of the literary thrillers Hell or High Water and Nearer Home and the short story collection How Winter Began, Joy Castro teaches literature, creative writing, and Latinx studies at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

10th Annual Contest Winners
Poetry
“In the Forest,” “The Water, the Truth, the Water,” and “Grounded” by Stacey Balkun
Judged by Camille T. Dungy

Fiction
“The Night of the Day of the Dead” by Michael McGuire
Judged by Tara Lynn Masih

Nonfiction
“Hysteresis” by Cara Stoddard
Judged by Alison Hawthorne Deming

SUBMIT YOUR WORK NOW!