Writing Competition: Hayden's Ferry Review Fiction & Poetry Contest

We will accept submissions to the Hayden’s Ferry Review Fiction & Poetry Contest between February 1-28, 2026. 

There will be two prizes of $1000 each and publication in HFR (online in summer 2026 and in the fall/winter 2026 print issue) for a poem or a group of poems and a work of fiction. A runner-up in each category will receive $250 and publication. All entries are considered for publication.

This year’s fiction judge is Gina Chung, author of Sea Change and Green Frog. Our poetry judge is Sarah Ghazal Ali, author of Theophanies.

View a list of our past winners and judges here.

Submit 1-3 poems totaling up to 10 pages or a short story or novel excerpt of up to 20 pages with a contest entry fee.

You can choose between a $15 entry fee, which comes with a 1-year digital subscription or a $23 entry fee, which comes with a 1-year print subscription. For international addresses outside of the US, please select a digital subscription. Your 1-year subscription will begin with our spring/summer 2026 issue. Current subscribers will receive a 1-year renewal. Writers may submit multiple entries, but each entry must include its own entry fee.

*If you have an international shipping address and are interested in a 1-year print subscription, we are happy to accommodate this with an additional shipping fee. Please get in touch before submitting and no later than February 20th to discuss details at haydensferryreview (at) gmail (dot) com.

Judges will pick the winners and runner-ups from a list of finalists chosen by HFR editors. All entries are considered for publication in the fall/winter 2026 print issue. We do not read submissions anonymously.

How to submit

Between Feb 1-28, 2026 submit your work to the appropriate genre at https://hfr.submittable.com/

Submitted work must be original work by the writer and unpublished. If your work is accepted elsewhere for publication, please withdraw your submission. If only a part of your poetry submission has been accepted elsewhere, please leave a note in Submittable.

Eligibility

Close friends, family, or former and current students of the judges should refrain from submitting. We define a "former or current student" as someone who has done a semester-length course with the judge or who the judge has served as a thesis advisor. If you attended a one- or two-week-long workshop or similar with the judge, you are still eligible.

If you were published in one of HFR's print journals or web issues in the past two years, you CAN submit to this contest. (See our "general notes on submission" for specific guidelines for our print and web issues, which may differ from contest guidelines.)

Anyone affiliated with ASU (staff, faculty, and graduate/undergraduate students) is not eligible to submit to this contest and should refrain from submitting to HFR until they have been unaffiliated from ASU for three years.

We do not accept work that was produced wholly or in part by AI.

All individuals are able to submit without regard to sex, race, national origin, religion, disability or any other characteristic protected by law.