Writing Competition: 2025 Clarissa Dalloway Prize for Short Prose

Judged by Diane Josefowicz

I’m interested in writing that takes risks, and I’m especially interested in risky choices of style, voice, register, and point of view. I love writing that trusts the reader with a degree of ambiguity or difficulty while remaining alert to the flow of her attention.

–Diane Josefowicz

L’Esprit seeks short prose of exceptional vision and skill.

Submit to the Prize here

The 2025 Clarissa Dalloway Prize for Short Prose will be awarded to the best piece of fiction, nonfiction, or hybrid work under 5,000 words. There are no other requirements; we’ll simply be looking for the best work we can find, true to the journal’s mission of publishing risk-adept, language-driven writing crafted in a revolutionary spirit. We welcome pieces that challenge convention in form, style, and/or content, and which invite us to think differently about the world.

While we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Mrs Dalloway, submissions do not need to relate to Virginia Woolf or the novel directly.

$500 and publication to the Grand Prize winner; $100 and publication to Second Place. All entries receive a digital copy of Issue Six and are considered for publication.

The Grand Prize Winner and Second Place Award will be selected from a pool of finalists by Guest Judge Diane Josefowicz; see more on Diane’s background and interests below.

In the first round of judging, the L’Esprit team will assemble a shortlist based on skill in narrative composition, looking for inventive, surprising work that inbodies the risk-adept spirit of Virginia Woolf. Shortlist announcements will be made on a rolling basis. At the close of submissions, the L’Esprit Editors will select from the shortlist a group of finalists to be sent to the Guest Judge. Shortlist, Finalists, and any Honorable Mentions will be announced permanently on the journal website. All entries will be considered for paid publication in the journal.

We have two options for entrance. A $10 fee includes a complimentary digital copy of L’Esprit Issue Six, featuring writing from Nataliya Deleva, Yara Zgheib, Colm O’Shea, and more. Issue Six also features “Helen Mulgrew and the Hollow Tree,” the Grand Prize Winning story of the 2025 Leopold Bloom Prize for Innovative Narration, by Art O’Conner. This high-resolution version is optimized for reading on tablets and other devices, allowing the issue to be experienced as designed, immersive and rich.

A $15 fee includes the digital copy of I6 plus an Expedited Response; we will prioritize your submission and reply with a decision about the shortlist phase within three days. This option may be ideal for those who are planning to submit their piece elsewhere and would especially benefit from a quick response. If the fee presents a genuine difficutly, please email us about a waiver.

We accept simultaneous submissions; please let us know right away if a piece has been offered elsewhere. Likewise multiple submissions are welcome, with individual payment for each piece.

All proceeds help support the journal and pay contributors.

Please include the following with each submission: 

• A third-person bio, to be used as the contributor’s note should your work be accepted.

• Social media handles (Bluesky and Instagram), if you’d like to be promoted online.

• An optional cover letter to introduce the work, yourself, provide some context to your submission; please note that this in no way impacts the likelihood of publication.

• Finally, we would appreciate knowing how you found the journal (social, ad listing, database search, reference, etc).

See our complete submission guidelines for more. Submit your work to the contest on Submittable.

Thank you for your support of fearless writing.

More information and submission link here.