For more information on publishing your work, see articles on how to publish your short stories -- and how to know if you're even ready to publish.
To submit the names of contests and awards for the month that I may have missed, please email me at fictionwriting.guide@about.com.
To check out short story contests for other months, click here. Or read about our criteria for judging whether it's a legitimate contest or a writing scam.
- Boston Review Short Story Contest -- October 1
A prize of $1,500 and publication in the Boston Review is given to one writer each year for a story of no more than 4,000 words. Send submissions to: Short-Story Contest, Boston Review, 35 Medford St., Suite 302, Somerville, MA 02143. $20.00 entry fee. - Bronx Writers' Center Chapter One Fiction Competition and Reading Series -- October 1
CHAPTER ONE IS ON HIATUS FOR 2009-2010. Four prizes of $1,000 each to emerging novelists residing in NYC. Submit four copies of your entry to: Bronx Council on the Arts, 1738 Hone Avenue, Bronx NY 10461, Attn: CHAPTER ONE. No entry fee. - Christopher Isherwood Foundation Fiction Fellowships -- October 1
Grants awarded to writers who have published at least one book of fiction to enable writers to set aside time for writing. Mail completed applications to: James White, Christopher Isherwood Foundation, 1708 21st Ave South #301, Nashville, TN 37212. No entry fee. - Georgetown Review Contest -- October 1
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Georgetown Review for an unpublished short story or creative essay. Send entries to 2009 Contest, Georgetown Review, 400 East College Street, Box 227, Georgetown, KY 40324. $10.00 entry fee. - Harvard University Radcliffe Institute Fellowships -- October 1
Support scholars, scientists, artists, and writers of exceptional promise and demonstrated accomplishments who wish to pursue work in academic and professional fields and in the creative arts. Stipends up to $65,000. Apply via mail or online. No entry fee. - Mighty River Short Story Contest -- October 1
Southeast Missouri State University Press is looking for the best short story relating in some way to the Mississippi River, the River Valley, or a sister river. Winner receives an award of $500 and publication in Big Muddy: A Journal of the Mississippi River Valley. Mail mss (max of 30 pages) to: MRSS Contest, Southeast Missouri State University Press, MS 2650, One University Plaza, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701. $15 entry fee. - Mississippi Review Prizes -- October 1
$1,000 each in fiction and poetry. Fiction entries should be 1,000-5,000 words; poetry, up to 10 pages. Send entries to: Mississippi Review Prize, 118 College Drive #5144, Hattiesburg, MI 39406-0001. $15.00 entry fee. - Missouri Review Editors' Prizes -- October 1
Submit 25 typed, double-spaced pages of prose and ten pages of poetry. One winner and three finalists will be chosen; the winner receives $3,000. Submit entry online or mail to Missouri Review Editors' Prize, 357 McReynolds Hall, UMC, Columbia, MO 65211. $20.00 entry fee. - “Scare the Dickens Out of Us” Ghost Story Contest -- October 1
Submit ghost stories of 4,000 words or fewer to either junior or adult contests. Stories must include a character from any of Charles Dickens’ works as part of the original story and be set in the month of December and around any of the December holidays. Download entry fee from site; submit to: Ghost Story Contest, co/Friends of the Library, P.O. Box 821, Lockhart, TX 78644. (Note that deadline is a postmark deadline.) $20 entry fee goes to support the Eugene Clark Library of Lockhart, Texas, the oldest library in Texas used continuously as a public library. - Ventura County Writers Club Annual Short Story Contest -- October 1
A grand prize of $500 and publication in the Ventura County Star newspaper to an original story of 10 pages or fewer. Entries will be judged on the basis of plot (25 pts.), character development (25 pts.), intent/focus (15 pts.), reader interest (15 pts.), style/voice (10 pts), grammar/punctuation (5 pts), and title (5 pts). Mail all entries to: VCWC, P.O. Box 3373, Thousand Oaks, CA 91359. Entry fee: $15 for members, $25 for non-members. - The Wilda Hearne Flash Fiction Contest -- October 1
Southeast Missouri State University Press seeks the best short-short story -- 500 words max -- on any theme. Winner receives an award of $200 and publication in Big Muddy: A Journal of the Mississippi River Valley. Mail mss to: Wilda Hearne Flash Fiction Contest, Southeast Missouri State University Press, MS 2650, One University Plaza, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701. $10 entry fee.
