Writing Competitions: Crab Orchard Review

CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW's Annual Literary Contests:
The 2013 Richard Peterson Poetry Prize, Jack Dyer Fiction Prize, & John Guyon Literary Nonfiction Prize

$ 2000 prize for Poetry $ 2000 prize for Fiction $ 2000 prize for Literary Nonfiction

One winner and two finalists will be chosen in each category. The three category winners will be published and the finalists offered publication (with a minimum payment of $200) in the Winter/Spring issue of CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW. The winners and finalists will also be announced in the March/April POETS & WRITERS and on the CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW Website.

 Contest Guidelines

The postmark deadlines for this year's prize competitions are March 1, 2012 through May 2, 2012. Please do not send entries via FedEx, UPS, DHL, Express Mail--we don't want you to spend the extra amount when this is a POSTMARK deadline.

Online entries should be sent through Submittable (there is an additional $2.50 processing fee for online entries, making the entry fee for each online entry $22.50).

Entries must be previously unpublished*, original work written in English by a United States citizen or permanent resident (current students and employees at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are not eligible). Name, address, telephone number, email address, and work title (or titles for poetry entries) should appear only on a cover sheet for the entry. The author's name should not appear on any subsequent page. All entries must be postmarked or submitted online between March 1, 2012 and May 2, 2012 (online entries will be accepted until 12:00 AM (CDT) on May 2, 2012). Late entries will be returned unread. Postal submissions should enclose a #10, self-addressed, stamped envelope for notification of winners; online submissions will receive notification of the results by email. Do not include an envelope or postage for return of manuscript for postal submissions since entries will be recycled upon the decision of the final judges and notification of the winners.

*We have had people ask about what is eligible as unpublished work and at CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW we define "unpublished" as work that has not been published by an online or print publication and is not currently accepted for such publication; we do allow work that has been posted online by the writer (though we will ask that the work be taken down until after the time it is published in CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW) or is available online as part of a thesis or dissertation required for the completion of a degree. Simultaneous submissions are considered for the Annual Literary Contests, but the winning entries must meet the criteria as unpublished work described here.

Entry Guidelines (there is no theme for the Literary Prize entries; just send your best work):

Poetry entries should consist of 3 poems; 100 line limit per poem.
Prose entry length: up to 6000 words for fiction and up to 6500 words for literary nonfiction.

One poetry entry (3 poems; 100 line limit per poem), one story entry in fiction, or one essay entry in literary nonfiction per $20 postal entry fee/$22.50 online entry fee; a writer may send up to three entries in one genre or a total of three entries if entering all competitions.

Entry fee: $20 for each postal entry/$22.50 for each online entry (remember that a Poetry entry is 3 poems; 100 line limit per poem).

Please make checks for postal entries payable to CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW.

Each fee entitles entrant to one copy of the 2013 Winter/Spring issue of CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW, which will include the winners of these competitions, and one copy of the 2013 Summer/Fall issue of CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW, our special issue "Prairies, Plains, Mountains, & Deserts." If you send two entries with $40, we will extend your subscription an additional year; if you send three entries with $60, we will extend your subscription two additional years (online entries $22.50 each).

Address:
Mail entries to:
CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW Literary Contests
Dept. of English, Mail Code 4503
Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 1000 Faner Drive
Carbondale, IL 62901.

Please indicate on the outside of the envelope if an entry is "POETRY," "FICTION," or "LITERARY NONFICTION."

Online entries should be sent through Submittable (there is an additional $2.50 processing fee for online entries, making the entry fee for each online entry $22.50).

Please submit your file in .doc, .docx, .rtf, .txt, .pdf, .odt, or .wpf. Single space for poetry and double space for prose. 12-point font, Times New Roman or Times preferred.