Authors & Artists Eligible

The Goldilocks Zone appears wherever conditions make a planet habitable. Sunspot Lit is looking for the single short story, novel or novella excerpt, artwork, graphic novel, or poem that combines excellence in craft with reader or audience appeal, and thus falls into the Goldilocks Zone. Literary or genre works accepted. 

First prize is $500 plus publication. Runners-up and finalists are offered publication. No restrictions on theme or category. Maximum of 2,500 words for short stories or nonfiction, 24 lines for poetry, and 8 pages for graphic novels. No size requirements for painting, photography, video stills or sculpture, although each entry is limited to one image. 

Open: Every year on April 1

Close: Every year on April 30

Entry fee: $10

Prize: $500 cash and publication for the winner; publication offered to runners-up and finalists. 

All fees are final and nonrefundable. Revised entries can be made by withdrawing the original entry and resubmitting, paying a new fee for the new submission. 

Sunspot asks for first rights only; all rights revert to the contributor after publication. Works, along with the creators’ bylines, are published in the next quarterly digital edition an average of two months after contest completion, as well as in the annual print edition. 

Works should be unpublished except on a personal blog or website. Artists offered publication may display their pieces in galleries, festivals or shows throughout the publication contract period.  

Enter as many times as you like, but only one piece per submission. Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Please withdraw your piece if it is published elsewhere before the winner is selected.

 Enter through Sunspot’s Submittable form or through Duotrope.  

32nd annual contest sponsored by Winning Writers and Duotrope. $10,000 in cash prizes, including $3,500 for the best story and $3,500 for the best essay. The top 12 entries will be published online. Both published and unpublished work welcome. Fee: $22 per entry. Final judge: Mina Manchester. Deadline: May 1.

This contest is recommended by Reedsy. See guidelines, past winners, and submit online at https://winningwriters.com/tomstory

Authors & Artists Eligible

The Goldilocks Zone appears wherever conditions make a planet habitable. Sunspot Lit is looking for the single short story, novel or novella excerpt, artwork, graphic novel, or poem that combines excellence in craft with reader or audience appeal, and thus falls into the Goldilocks Zone. Literary or genre works accepted. 

First prize is $500 plus publication. Runners-up and finalists are offered publication. No restrictions on theme or category. Maximum of 2,500 words for short stories or nonfiction, 24 lines for poetry, and 8 pages for graphic novels. No size requirements for painting, photography, video stills or sculpture, although each entry is limited to one image. 

Open: Every year on April 1

Close: Every year on April 30

Entry fee: $10

Prize: $500 cash and publication for the winner; publication offered to runners-up and finalists. 

All fees are final and nonrefundable. Revised entries can be made by withdrawing the original entry and resubmitting, paying a new fee for the new submission. 

Sunspot asks for first rights only; all rights revert to the contributor after publication. Works, along with the creators’ bylines, are published in the next quarterly digital edition an average of two months after contest completion, as well as in the annual print edition. 

Works should be unpublished except on a personal blog or website. Artists offered publication may display their pieces in galleries, festivals or shows throughout the publication contract period.  

Enter as many times as you like, but only one piece per submission. Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Please withdraw your piece if it is published elsewhere before the winner is selected.

 Enter through Sunspot’s Submittable form or through Duotrope.  

Authors & Artists Eligible

Beginnings have the power to spark passion or curiosity. They might immediately connect a specific place and time with an emotional tone. The best openings offer a feeling, atmosphere, action, or image that is gripping, and hints at more to come. Meaning, thoughtfulness, emotions, or tone draw audiences into the moment. 

A poem handles this differently than a flash piece, which handles an opening differently than a novel. The first photo, painting or frame presented in a gallery, series, or graphic novel strives for the same intent. Openings contain a spark that promises to burn.  

For Sunspot Lit’s Inception contest, send your best opening. There are no restrictions on theme, category, or the length of the piece or collection from which the excerpt comes. Word limit is 250 for prose, 25 words for poetry.  

Graphic novel and comic book entries should be the first page (unlimited number of panels on that page) with a maximum of 250 words (cut the number of panels in order to meet the word count, if needed).  

Visual art entries should be the first in a series, the first in a gallery lineup, the first in a themed collection, etc. Entries are limited to one image. 

Open: Every year on March 1

Close: Every year on March 31

Entry fee: $10

Prize: $500 cash plus publication for the winner.  

All fees are final and nonrefundable. Revised entries can be made by withdrawing the original entry and resubmitting, paying a new fee for the new submission. 

Publication will be offered to runners-up and finalists. Sunspot asks for first rights only; all rights revert to the contributor after publication. Works, along with the creators’ bylines, are published in the next quarterly digital edition an average of two months after contest completion as well as the annual fall print edition.  

Works should be unpublished except on a personal blog or website. Artists offered publication may display their pieces in galleries, festivals or shows throughout the publication contract period.   

Enter as many times as you like through Submittable or Duotrope, but only one piece per submission. Submission files that contain multiple pieces will be disqualified without review. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your piece if it is published elsewhere before the winner is selected. 

The Prague Summer Program for Writers is a three-week-long, family-run summer writing residency in Prague, Czech Republic. In addition to having ample time to write in a beautiful and historic city, participants take part in weekly workshops, a private conference, weekly readings, special lectures, literary walking tours and more.

Speaking from personal experience, this is one of the best literary workshops you can attend. It’s packed with cultural and literary events and opportunities. If you’ve never been, this is the year to go!

Find more information at https://www.praguesummer.com/.

This is from our friends over at Winning Writers, a trusted resource for authors.

TOM HOWARD/JOHN H. REID FICTION & ESSAY CONTEST
32nd annual contest sponsored by Winning Writers and Duotrope. $10,000 in cash prizes, including $3,500 for the best story and $3,500 for the best essay. The top 12 entries will be published online. Both published and unpublished work welcome. Fee: $22 per entry. Final judge: Mina Manchester. Deadline: May 1.

This contest is recommended by Reedsy. See guidelines, past winners, and submit online at https://winningwriters.com/tomstory

igel offers $500 plus publication to the winner, and offers publication to select finalists. No restrictions on theme or category. The length for prose is restricted to a maximum of 1,500 words for short stories, 14 lines for poetry, and 6 pages for graphic novels/comics/scripts/screenplays. 

Excerpts from longer works are eligible. An excerpt selected as the winner or as a finalist will be offered publication only for the submitted sample.

Titles do not count toward the limit for any prose piece. Epigraphs are included in the word count. Artwork should consist of a single piece. 

Open: February 1

Close: February 29

Entry fee: $12.50

Prize: $500 cash and publication for the winner; publication offered to runners-up and finalists. 

Enter through Submittable here or Duotrope here.

This is from the folks over at Writers’ HQ:

Join Sarah, Team WHQ and a specially curated gang of super awesome, award-winning short story writers for a month of short story workshops, masterclasses and write-a-longs designed to get you writing or to elevate your craft from good to GREAT.

Throughout March, the Writers’ HQ Write A Short Story Festival will give you the opportunity to explore everything you need to know about the short form, from starting, middling and ending. We’ll go deep into the craft of short story writing and finish the month by finding out how to submit your work to lit mags and publishers. 

You can start at the beginning and write a story alongside other festival writers, or you can drop in and out depending on where you are with your writing. 

Plus, through regular write-a-longs we’ll help you stay on track and build a writing practice that fits into your life and goals. 

With over a decade of experience supporting writers through their challenges and guiding them through their arghs and blarghs, this festival is sure to get your words moving.

Festival curator and director of Writers’ HQ Sarah Lewis says, “People are always telling me how much easier it is to write with other people so I thought it would be fun to create a series of events where we all write a short story alongside each other. The result is the Writers’ HQ Write A Short Story Festival and it’s going to be super fun and you should definitely join us for it.”

Writers’ HQ is dedicated to supporting writers on a low income and bursary places are available.

More information at https://writershq.co.uk/landing-pages/the-writers-hq-write-a-short-story-festival/

With Geminga: $500 for Tiny Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, or Art, Sunspot Lit honors the power of the small. No restrictions on theme or category. 

Close: January 31 at 11:59 pm EST

Entry fee: $12.50

Prize: $500 cash, publication for the winner, publication offered to runners-up and finalists.

Sunspot asks for first rights only; all rights revert to the contributor after publication. Works, along with the creators’ bylines, are published in the next quarterly digital edition an average of two months after contest completion, as well as in the annual fall print edition.

Works should be unpublished except on a personal blog or website. Artists offered publication may display their pieces in galleries, festivals or shows throughout the publication contract period.

Enter as many times as you like through Submittable or Duotrope, but only one piece per submission. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your piece if it is published elsewhere before the winner is selected.

Authors & Artists Eligible
Geminga is a neutron star so small it was difficult to detect. With Geminga: $500 for Tiny Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, or Art, Sunspot Lit honors the power of the small. No restrictions on theme or category. Word limit is 100 for fiction and nonfiction. Micropoetry is limited to 140 characters. Graphic novels should be 4 pages or less. Submissions may be excerpts from longer works. 

Titles are not included in the word count. Epigraphs are included in the word count. Compound words separated by hyphens, numbers, and letters of the alphabet are counted as a single word. In the micropoetry category, characters include spaces, punctuation, numbers, and letters of the alphabet.

Visual art entries should be paintings, drawings, or sketches no larger than 25 inches square. Sculptural forms should be no larger than 25 inches in any dimension (length, height, or width).

Open: January 1

Close: January 31

Entry fee: $12.50

Prize: $500 cash, publication for the winner, publication offered to runners-up and finalists.

Sunspot asks for first rights only; all rights revert to the contributor after publication. Works, along with the creators’ bylines, are published in the next quarterly digital edition an average of two months after contest completion, as well as in the annual fall print edition.

Works should be unpublished except on a personal blog or website. Artists offered publication may display their pieces in galleries, festivals or shows throughout the publication contract period.

Enter as many times as you like through Submittable or Duotrope, but only one piece per submission. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your piece if it is published elsewhere before the winner is selected.

Authors & Artists Eligible
Geminga is a neutron star so small it was difficult to detect. With Geminga: $500 for Tiny Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, or Art, Sunspot Lit honors the power of the small. No restrictions on theme or category. Word limit is 100 for fiction and nonfiction. Micropoetry is limited to 140 characters. Graphic novels should be 4 pages or less. Submissions may be excerpts from longer works. 

Titles are not included in the word count. Epigraphs are included in the word count. Compound words separated by hyphens, numbers, and letters of the alphabet are counted as a single word. In the micropoetry category, characters include spaces, punctuation, numbers, and letters of the alphabet.

Visual art entries should be paintings, drawings, or sketches no larger than 25 inches square. Sculptural forms should be no larger than 25 inches in any dimension (length, height, or width).

Open: January 1

Close: January 31

Entry fee: $12.50

Prize: $500 cash, publication for the winner, publication offered to runners-up and finalists.

Sunspot asks for first rights only; all rights revert to the contributor after publication. Works, along with the creators’ bylines, are published in the next quarterly digital edition an average of two months after contest completion, as well as in the annual fall print edition.

Works should be unpublished except on a personal blog or website. Artists offered publication may display their pieces in galleries, festivals or shows throughout the publication contract period.

Enter as many times as you like through Submittable or Duotrope, but only one piece per submission. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your piece if it is published elsewhere before the winner is selected.

Sunspot Lit accepts all types of prose including essays, memoir, travel, teleplays, film and stage scripts. Submissions under the Flash category can be one or two pieces of flash fiction or nonfiction, with the length of the entire submission not to exceed 1,000 words.

Up to three poems are also accepted under this call, with the total submission not to exceed three pages.

Flash graphic novels of 1 to 4 pages are welcome.

Artwork can be one or two images

Note that mix submission formats(for example, provide one poem and one flash piece as a single entry) are not accepted for this open call. 

Send in your work before the quarterly deadline using Submittable or Duotrope.