Writing Competition: Alligator Juniper

Call for submissions: Alligator Juniper’s National Writing Contest in Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, & Poetry

$1,000 First-Place Prize * Postmark Deadline: October 1, 2010

Alligator Juniper, which has won AWP’s prestigious National Program Directors’ Prize for Undergraduate Literary Magazines in Content three times (2001, 2004, and 2009), is accepting submissions for its national writing contests in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry.

Our annual contest awards $1,000 plus publication for the first-place winner in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Finalists in each genre will be recognized as such, published, and paid in copies.

Cost of entry: $15, checks or money orders payable to Alligator Juniper. Every entrant receives one copy of the 2011 issue, a $10 value. The issue will come out in late spring 2011. There is no theme for this issue; work is selected upon artistic merit. By entering our contest you agree to allow us to select your work for publication even if it does not place first. We encourage submissions from writers of all levels, especially emerging or early-career writers. We accept simultaneous submissions; inform us in your cover letter and contact us immediately if your work is selected elsewhere.

Submission Guidelines
Submissions accepted May 1–October 1, 2010 (postmark deadline).
Include a brief cover letter, including the statement below.
Include S.A.S.E for response only; manuscripts are recycled, not returned.
Include a $15 entry fee payable to Alligator Juniper for each story or essay (30-page limit), or up to five poems.
Additional entries require additional fee.
Indicate category with a large F, NF, or P on cover letter and mailing envelope.
Manuscripts must be typed with numbered pages. Prose double-spaced.
Double-sided copies are encouraged. No email submissions.
Send to:

Alligator Juniper, Prescott College
220 Grove Ave.
Prescott, AZ 86301

IMPORTANT: Unfortunately, due to recent problems with misinformed entrants and withdrawals, we ask that you include the following statement in your signed cover letter: “My work may be considered for publication, even if it doesn’t win the contest. This signed statement constitutes permission for publication if it is selected.”

Back issues are available for all but 1995 (the premier issue), 2001, and 2007. Send $10 to above address and request a copy from any year, 1996–2000, 2002–2006, or 2008–2010.

Selection Process
All entries are read and discussed by Prescott College students in the Alligator Juniper practicum class. This class is overseen each fall by two faculty members, both of whom are published writers, one a poet and one a prose writer. All entrants receive a personal letter from one of our staff regarding the status of their submission. We usually inform mid to late December. The individual attention we devote to each manuscript takes time. We appreciate your patience.

Questions? E-mail aj(at)prescott.edu (replace (at) with @) or visit our website.