by Writing Workshops Staff
3 years ago
Celebrated author Matt Bell started a viral Twitter thread asking for a list of publishers seeking short story collections, and we have compiled all of the replies below (and a few more). These publishers are listed in no particular order, but we can vouch for the quality of all of them. If you have a collection (and in some cases below, a novel), get your manuscript polished and off to the submissions queue (and, if you're looking for a class in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, or screenwriting, we've got you covered).
- The Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction from Sarabande Books is awarded for manuscripts of between 150 to 250 pages of stories, novellas, or a short novel. The winner rec. The winner receives $2000. Winners include Writing Workshops alumni Chaitali Sen!
- The University of Iowa Press publishes the Iowa Short Fiction Award. The manuscript must be a collection of short stories in English of at least 150 word-processed, double-spaced pages.
- The University of Georgia Press publishes the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction. More than seventy short-story collections have appeared in the Flannery O’Connor Award series, which was established to encourage gifted emerging writers by bringing their work to a national readership. Submissions are open from April 1 to May 31 each year. Winners of the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction include such widely read authors as Ha Jin, Antonya Nelson, Rita Ciresi, and Mary Hood.
- The University of North Texas Press publishes the Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction. Entries must be a collection of any combination of flash fiction, short stories, or novellas, from 100 to 200 book pages in length (word count between 27,500 and 50,000). Material should be previously unpublished in book form.
- The Prairie Schooner Raz-Shumaker Book Prize Series welcomes manuscripts from all living writers, including non-US citizens, writing in English. Both unpublished and published writers are welcome to submit manuscripts.
- Black Lawrence Press holds four prizes for short story collections each year. One of the prize winners is a collection of short tales, Families Among Us, written by our Executive Director, Blake Kimzey.
- FC2's Ronald Sukenick prize is open to collections and novels. The Prize includes $1,500 and publication by FC2, an imprint of the University of Alabama Press.
- The BOA Short Fiction Prize. Since its founding in 2010, the BOA Short Fiction prize has been awarded to ten of the most exciting and unique voices in American fiction. As with all BOA fiction titles, our prize-winning short story collections are more concerned with the artfulness of writing than the twists and turns of plot.
- The Drue Heinz Literature Prize recognizes and supports writers of short fiction and makes their work available to readers around the world. Manuscripts are judged anonymously by nationally known writers. Past judges have included Robert Penn Warren, Joyce Carol Oates, Raymond Carver, Margaret Atwood, Russell Banks, Rick Moody, and Joan Didion. Winners receive a cash prize of $15,000, publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press, and support in the nation-wide promotion of their book.
- The Press 53 Award for Short Fiction is awarded annually to an outstanding, unpublished short story collection. The winner of this contest will receive publication by Press 53, a $1,000 cash advance and fifty copies of the book; all prizes will be awarded upon publication.
- New American Fiction Prize is an annual competition. The winner receives a contract including a $1,500 advance, publication, twenty-five copies, and promotional support.
- The Publishing Laboratory at The University of New Orleans is looking for the best unpublished novel or short story collection. The Publishing Laboratory at the University of New Orleans seeks to bring innovative publicity and broad distribution to authors. We collect submissions from March 1 to August 31, deciding on 15-20 finalists. The finalists are read by students from The Publishing Laboratory in the fall, and one is chosen for publication. The winner also receives a $10,000 award.
- The University Press of Kentucky New Poetry & Prose Series seeks manuscripts of contemporary poetry and fiction that exhibit a profound attention to language, strong imagination, formal inventiveness, and awareness of one’s literary roots. Award: The winner(s) and multiple finalists may be declared at the conclusion of the contest. The winner(s) of this contest will be offered publication by EastOver Press and a prize of $2500 upon successful completion of a contract for publication. Finalists in the contest may also be considered for publication by the Press.
- The EastOver Press Prize is awarded annually to outstanding, unpublished short story collections by established and emerging writers.
- Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Noemi Press are given annually for one book-length poetry collection and one book-length work of prose.
And, if you need help getting your work out into the world, join Lit Agent & Author: The Essence of Successful Publishing 4-Part Zoom Seminar on January 23rd, 2022.
Or sign up for Blake Kimzey's Publishing in Literary Journals to Launch Your Career Zoom Seminar on January 13th, 2022.
Or sign up for Blake Kimzey's Publishing in Literary Journals to Launch Your Career Zoom Seminar on January 13th, 2022.
