Marie Powell

I’ve been blogging about contests for the past few weeks. I’ve had some success entering, and last week I shared a few tips about my process. This week I thought I’d share three contest markets, including links so you can check them out for yourself.

Glimmer Train: Published four times a year, Glimmer Train offers eight to 12 new short stories by published and emerging writers every issue. Those stories go on to win the Pushcart Prize and be published in anthologies such as the Best American Short Stories. It also hosts writing contests every month – sometimes more than one – and each one has a different set of themes and guidelines. The guidelines are easy to follow and you can enter the contests online. Glimmer Train is high end, pays well, and treats writers with respect (even  when they don’t win the big prize). Here’s the link: http://www.glimmertrain.com/writguid1.html

Pandora’s Collective: This is a Vancouver-based collective offering online contests three times a year. Contests have run since 2004, and include a category for teens and children each time. Pandora’s motto is “Promoting the Arts that Inspire the World to Take Notice of Itself.” Members of the collective give workshops, organize the Summer Dream Literary Arts Festival, and provide a resource for writers. Entry fees are small (as are the prizes), and wait times are short.  Here’s the link: http://www.pandorascollective.com/contest.html

The Canadian Writers Contest Calendar: As I mentioned last week, here’s how it all began for me and other members of my writing group, the Erratics. For a list of contests, try this 80-page book of contests by White Mountain Publications. It hails back to 1995, and is revised each year to include contests listed monthly, according to their deadlines. Here’s a link for more information and ordering: http://www.wmpub.ca/cwcc.htm

Well, that’s a start. What are some of your favorite contests? Click “Read more” to leave a comment.