Upcoming Fiction Contests in Fall of 2007

If you're an author seeking publication for your fiction consider these upcoming fiction contests. Winning a contest can not only flesh out your resume and your bank account but can also give you immediate credibility with agents and publishing houses.

Here are several with deadlines in the next several months of 2007.

The Baltimore Review Fiction Contest offers a $500 dollar prize and publication. There are also second and third place prizes and it's open to any writer for a $25 fee. The deadline is December 1^st. The web site is www.baltimorereview.org.

The Boulevard Short Fiction Contest for Emerging Writers is aimed specifically at all writers who have not yet published any fiction in a nationally distributed press. The deadline is December 15^th and the fee is $15. The prize is hefty at $1500 and publication in an upcoming issue of Boulevard Magazine. The web site is www.richardburgin.net/boulevard.

The Carolyn A. Clark Flash Fiction Prize requires three flash (short-short) stories per entry. They must be under 500 words and the deadline is November 30^th. The fee is only $5 per entry and first place is $100. The web site is www.soulmakingcontest.us.

The William F. Deeck Malice Domestic Grants for Unpublished Writers is a great opportunity for authors who enjoy writing "malice literature." This is a genre of mysteries which usually feature an amateur detective and no explicit sex or violence. The deadline is December 15^th and the prize is $1000. The web site is www.malicedomestic.org.

The Fish International Short Story Competition has a huge first prize of 10,000 Euro. The second prize is almost better as it's a week at the Anam Cara Writer's Retreat in West Cork, Ireland and 250 Euro. There are 15 prizes in all and all winners are to be published in the Fish Short Story Anthology and invited to the West Cork Literary Festival in June. The deadline is November 30^th and the fee is $30 per story. The web site is www.fishpublishing.com.

The H.E. Francis Short Story Award is for any unpublished work of 5000 words or less. The deadline is December 31^st and the fee is $15 per story. The prize is big at $1000. The web site is at www.uah.edu/colleges/liberal/english/whatnewcontest.html.

The Phillip Good Memorial Prize is an international short story contest for all writers over 18. The deadline is December 31^st and the fee is 5 pounds for each story of 5000 words or less. The first prize is 300 pounds and each winner is also published in QWF Magazine. The web site is www.qwfmagazine.co.uk.

The Long Story Contest, International is perfect for the writer who enjoys writing longer stories of 8000-14,000 words. It's open to any writer and the deadline is December 15^th. The fee is $15 for the first story and $5 for the second (packaged in the same envelope.) The prize is $500 and publication. The web site is members.aol.com/wecpress.

Oncewritten.com Fiction Contest is seeking high quality short fiction and the deadline is October 31^st. They charge $17 per story but the first place is $1000. The web site is www.oncewritten.com.

The Science Fiction/Fantasy Short Story Contest is open to any writer. The deadline is October 30^th and the fee is $5 per entry, $2 per additional entry. The first prize is $200. Their web site is at www.flash.net/~sfwoe.

The Sheila K. Smith Short Story Prize is open to any writer and the deadline is November 30^th. The fee is $5 per entry of 5000 words or less and the prize is $100. The web site is www.soulmakingcontest.us.

The WD Popular Fiction Awards are looking for stories of 4000 words or less in the genres of romance, mystery/crime fiction, sci-fi/fantasy, thriller/suspense/ and horror. The deadline is November 1^st and the fee is $12.50. The Grand Prize is $2500 along with some other goodies and there are other prizes as well. The web site is www.writersdigest.com.

Whim's Place Changing of the Seasons Flash Fiction Writing Contest is for those who enjoy writing stories of 500 words or less. The deadline is December 30^th, the fee is $5 and the first place prize is $150. The web site is www.whimsplace.com/contest/contest.asp.

The Writer's Forum International Story Competition takes submissions on a monthly basis, by the fifth of every month. It's open to any writer and annually awards the best short story 1000 pounds, although there are other winners and prizes also. There is a 6 pound fee. The web site is at www.writers-forum.com.

You can't win if you don't enter! Good luck and good writing.