Writing Competition: CRAFT Short Fiction Prize

2023 CRAFT Short Fiction Prize

Guest Judge: Nana Nkweti

$2,800 Awarded

Send us your best short stories! Submissions are open March 1 to April 30, 2023. Guest Judge Nana Nkweti will choose three stories from a select shortlist of fifteen. We’re looking for short stories that ring with excellence on every level of craft—intricate characterization, meaningful narrative development, and unforgettable voice. We want openings that spark and fire, middles that maintain momentum and tension, and endings that resonate long after we leave the page. We’ll curate the top fifteen entries for Nana Nkweti to review anonymously, and here’s what she’d like to see:

Short stories are for savoring. The umami of a metaphor, well-met. The sweetness of syntax. The bite of characters in conflict with the world and with themselves. These narratives are incredibly self-contained yet offer up a smorgasbord of thoughts and emotions that stick to your ribs. I look forward to reading work that consumes me—with an image, a phrase, an epiphany that will take days if not months to fully digest. Let’s nourish and be nourished in the reading and writing of the works to come.

GUIDELINES:

• CRAFT submissions are open to all writers.

• International submissions are allowed.

• Please submit work primarily written in English, but conceptually or stylistically necessary code-switching is warmly welcomed.

• We seek short fiction only for this contest: 1,000 to 5,000 words in length.

• We review literary fiction but are open to a variety of genres and styles—our only requirement is that you show excellence in your craft.

• Submit previously unpublished work only—we do NOT review reprints for contests (including work posted on blogs, personal websites, social media, etc.). Reprints will be automatically disqualified.

• We allow simultaneous submissions—writers, please notify us and withdraw your piece if your work is accepted for publication elsewhere.

• We allow multiple submissions—please submit each piece as a separate submission accompanied by an entry fee.

• This contest requires a $20 entry fee per submission.

• All entries will also be considered for publication in CRAFT.

• Please double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12.

• Include a brief cover letter with your publication history (if applicable).

• We do not require anonymous submissions. However, we do anonymize the fifteen shortlisted stories before sending them to the guest judge.

• Writers from historically marginalized groups will be able to submit for FREE during the first open week (or so) of the contest until we reach fifty free submissions. This free category will close when we reach capacity or on March 10, 2023.

• We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason.

• Additionally, we do not tolerate discrimination in the writing we consider for publication: work we find discriminatory on any of the bases stated here will be declined without complete review (you will be refunded, less fees).

AWARDS:

• Winner receives $2,000 and a free four-issue subscription from Journal of the Month.

• Runner-ups receive $500 and $300, respectively, for the second- and third-place finalists.

• The top three stories will be published in CRAFT, each with an introduction by the guest judge.

• Each publication will also include an author’s note (craft essay) by the writer.

FINE PRINT: 

• Friends, family, and associates of the guest judge are not eligible for consideration for the award.

• Our collaboration with editorial professionals in the judging of our contests and the awarding of our prizes does not imply an endorsement or recognition from their agencies/houses/presses/universities/etc.

• Read our 2022 contest winners for examples of work chosen in the past.

• As we only consider unpublished writing and will publish the winning pieces in October 2023, anything under contract to publish prior to January 2024 should not be entered. 

Submit your work here.