Authors & Artists Eligible

A solar flare is short-lived but has a huge amount of energy. Sunspot Lit is looking for the single short story, novel or novella excerpt, artwork, graphic novel, or poem that provides a noteworthy flare of creative energy. 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 500 words for short stories or nonfiction, 12 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 May 1

Close: Every year on May 31

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Works should be unpublished except on a personal blog or website.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. 

This announcement is from Sunspot Lit’s trusted friends over at Winning Writers. Check it out! They always have great contests.

North Street Book Prize

The contest is sponsored by Winning Writers and Duotrope. One grand prize winner will receive $10,000, the top winner in each category will receive $1,000, one honorable mention in each category will receive $300. Fee: $79. Submit self-published or hybrid-published books in one of these categories: Mainstream/Literary Fiction, Genre Fiction, Creative Nonfiction & Memoir, Poetry, Children’s Picture Book, Middle Grade, Graphic Novel & Memoir and Art Book. Deadline: July 1, 2024.

See guidelines, past winners, and submit online at http://winningwriters.com/north

The Goldilocks Zone contest has been judged. Here’s the full list of finalists and associated subcategories:

Finalists

His T-shirt and Mine / Milo Harvey / Poem

Maybe Both / Jordan Nishkian / Fiction

Incoming Message From @mr_wolf… / Freya Morris / Fiction

At the Edge of Things / William Winston / Poem

Best of

Lucky Stones / Christy O’Callaghan / Fiction

Winner

How We Learned to Fly / Anita Hunt / Poem

The finalists have been offered publication alongside the winner. They can be found in the next digital quarterly edition, which can be downloaded free by visiting SunspotLit.com and going to the Editions tab.

They will also appear in the 2024 print edition, which can be preordered (shipping to US addresses included at no charge) here:

https://sunspotlit.submittable.com/submit/280386/preorder-2024-print-edition

The journal’s standard open calls are still open. Deadlines vary, but the guidelines and current open categories can always be found here.

Authors & Artists Eligible

A solar flare is short-lived but has a huge amount of energy. Sunspot Lit is looking for the single short story, novel or novella excerpt, artwork, graphic novel, or poem that provides a noteworthy flare of creative energy. 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 500 words for short stories or nonfiction, 12 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 May 1

Close: Every year on May 31

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.