Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest
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Submit stories and essays on any theme, up to 6,000 words each. The winning story and essay will each receive $3,500. Ten Honorable Mentions will receive $500 each. The top 12 entries will be published online. Tamra Badgett is the final judge. This contest is proudly co-sponsored by Duotrope, which will award two-year gift certificates to the top two winners, a $100 value.
For this contest, a story is any short work of fiction, and an essay is any short work of nonfiction. You may submit published or unpublished work. This contest accepts multiple entries (submit them one at a time). Please omit your name from your entries. We prefer 12-point type or larger. Please avoid fancy, hard-to-read fonts. Double-spacing is recommended.
No restriction on age of author. All countries eligible except Iran, North Korea, Crimea, Russia, and Belarus (due to US government restrictions).
In general, stories and essays written with the aid of a text-generating AI such as ChatGPT are not eligible. If you quote AI-generated text in your work, please disclose this in your submission.
First time entering? We prepared this brief video to guide you. See also our short entry checklist.
Fee per entry: $25.