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 You may submit published or unpublished work.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).
First time entering? We prepared this brief video to guide you. See also our short entry checklist.
Fee per entry: $27.
Any writing that you submit to a Winning Writers contest must be composed using your own words, and may not contain any AI-generated text. The text, narrative voice, characterization, and imagery must come entirely from the writer. Any use of AI in the creation of your entry must be specifically described at the time of submission.
Writers may consult AI to find grammatical and technical errors, or to point out passages in a first draft that need clarification or rearranging, but may not use generative AI to rewrite those passages. AI should do no more for you than a human beta-reader or a style manual would do.
AI guidelines inspired by Columbia Fiction Foundry