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2020 Call for Submissions: SWW Annual Writing Contest

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Hurry! Deadline is May 15th.

The SouthWest Writers 2020 Annual Writing Contest—SEEING the WORLD in 20/20—encourages first-time writers as well as seasoned professionals. You do not have to be a member of SouthWest Writers to enter.

First-, second-, and third-place winners will be awarded in twenty-two categories (eleven categories for both prose and poetry).

Deadline: Midnight May 15, 2020 (Mountain Time).
Entry fees: $10 for each entry.
Submission: Online only.
Prizes: First place, $50. Second place, $25. First through third places also receive medals. Top three winners in each category have the option to be published in the next SWW Winners Anthology.

CONTEST RULES

  • Each entry must be an original work, in English, not published electronically or in print anywhere, or submitted previously to an SWW writing contest.
  • No limit on number of entries per person. The same piece can be entered in more than one category but will cost $10 for each entry/category.
  • All entries must be submitted electronically via the SWW website. NO mailed entries accepted.
  • Entries must be submitted in Times New Roman, 12 pt with double spacing. Acceptable files: .doc, .docx, or .pdf.
  • Author’s name cannot appear on the submission.
  • Prose: Limited to 3,500 words, including the title.
  • Poetry: Limited to 250 lines, including the title.

Go to the SouthWest Writers contest page for more details and to enter the contest. Good luck!




Call for Submissions: 2019 Prose & Poetry Contest

SouthWest Writers is proud to announce a Call for Submissions to the 2019 Short Prose & Poetry Contest.

This competition encourages first-time writers as well as seasoned professionals. You do not have to be a member of SouthWest Writers to enter.

First-, second-, and third-place winners will be awarded in sixteen categories: 7 fiction, 8 nonfiction, and 1 poetry. All entries must be original, unpublished, and in English.

Deadline: Contest entries may be submitted through midnight April 30, 2019 (Mountain Time).
Entry fees: $10 for each entry submitted through April 1, 2019. $15 fee applies for each entry submitted April 2-April 30, 2019.
Submission: Online submissions only. Acceptable files: doc, docx, or pdf.

CONTEST RULES

Prose: Limited to 3,500 words. For nonfiction categories, footnotes are not part of the word limit. The body of the submission should be in 12 pt. Times New Roman, Ariel, or Courier, with the title in 14 pt. Submission should be double-spaced and have one-inch margins.

Poetry: Limited to 250 lines. The submission should be in Times New Roman, Ariel, or Courier. Font sizes can range from 12-18 pt. Spacing is at the author’s discretion. Poem form/style (freeform, haiku, etc.) must be included in the manuscript above the title.

Other:
A total of three entries allowed per author. The three-entry limit can be in one category or a combination of categories. First-place manuscripts from previous SWW Contests are ineligible.

Go to the SouthWest Writers contest page for more details and to enter the contest.




SWW Bimonthly Contest Call for Submissions

ID-10047735After taking a two-year break, SouthWest Writers is restarting its popular Bimonthly Writing Contest with a call for one-page poems on any subject. The entry fee is $10.00. Prizes for First, Second, and Third Place will be awarded for each bimonthly topic, along with Honorable Mentions. Winning entries could be published in a subsequent issue of SouthWest Sage at the editor’s discretion. Winners will be announced two weeks following the end of each submission window.

The Bimonthly Contest will accept submissions for the first contest topic beginning May 1, 2015. You may submit your entries online or by regular mail.

Topics and Submission Windows

May 1-31: A Poem (on any subject, one page maximum)
July 1-31: Your Most Unforgettable Character (essay, up to 500 words)
Sept 1-30: Blog Post (any subject, up to 400 words)
Nov 1-30: Love Poem (one page maximum, can include bad romance)

Entry Fees and Prizes

Entry fee is $10. Multiple entries will be accepted with $10 payment for each. Prizes: $100 (1st place), $50 (2nd place), and $25 (3rd place). Winners and Honorable Mentions will be announced on the website two weeks after each contest deadline and in the next month’s SWW newsletter.

Contest Rules

Unpublished submissions only. See Topics and Submission Windows for word length. Entries submitted outside the specified submission windows will not be accepted. Previous first-place Quarterly or Bimonthly Contest winning entries are not eligible to be entered in the current contest.

Manuscript Format

For poems, formatting is at the writer’s discretion. All other entries use standard manuscript format: 1 inch margins, Times New Roman or Courier 12 pt, double-spacing. Do not include identifying information on the manuscript.

How to Submit

Online:

Do not include identifying information on the manuscript. You do not need to send a cover sheet — the online form includes the necessary information. You may upload your entry formatted as .doc, .docx, or .rtf. Click here to submit your entry online and pay through PayPal.

Regular Mail:

Your entry must be postmarked by the last day of the submission window. Do not include identifying information on the manuscript, but do include a simple cover sheet with:

  • Bimonthly topic
  • Title of entry
  • Your name, address, email, phone number
  • Are you an SWW member? (Your answer does not affect your entry fee.)
  • Do you give SWW permission to publish your entry in the SWW newsletter? You retain all rights.

Send your cover sheet, entry, and payment of $10 for each entry to:

SouthWest Writers
Attn: Bimonthly Contest
3200 Carlisle Blvd NE, Suite 114
Albuquerque, NM 87110

Good Luck!


Image “Pencil Holding Trophy” courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net




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