NCW hosts three writing contests each year in Personal Essay, Short Fiction and Poetry. Winners receive prize money and their winning entries get published in the annual Pooled Ink Anthology.
Pooled Ink: Celebrating the 2012 NCW Contest Winners is now available!
Get your copy on Amazon.com or buy directly from our e-store: https://www.createspace.com/4099315.
Contest Categories
NOW OPEN: Personal Essay/Creative Nonfiction
DEADLINE: June 30, 2013
The personal essay can be in any form or style, and should be evocative, thought-provoking, and sincere--and if it's humorous too, even better. See below for word count and style guidelines. Nonfiction writer and novelist David Shields is our prolific final judge in this category.
COMING SOON: Poetry
SUBMISSIONS ACCEPTED: July 1-September 30, 2013
Poems can be in any style, up to 250 lines. Submit up to three poems per entry fee in this category. The final judge for poetry is Colorado Poet Laureate David Mason.
CLOSED: Short Fiction
DEADLINE: March 31, 2013
The short story can be in any genre or style and should have broad apeal. See below for word count and style guidelines. The final judge for this year's short fiction competition is novelist and short story writer Alyson Hagy. Originally from Virginia, Ms. Hagy now lives in Laramie and teaches at the University of Wyoming.
2013 Short Fiction Winners
1st: “Man Camp” by Claire Boyles–Greeley, CO
2nd: “Simple Fractions” by Margarite Landry–Southborough, MA
3rd: “What the Tree Saw” by Jennifer Shepard–Eden Prairie, MN
HM: “Leaving Perdition” by Rebekah Shardy–Colorado Springs, CO
HM: “Evacuation” by Sonya Whitesell–Fort Collins, CO
HM: “Spirit of the Pike” by Jim Kroepfl–Grand Lake, CO
HM: “Tall Trees” by Nathan Ferguson–Denver, CO
Submission Guidelines
Open Submissions
You do not need to be a member of NCW or in Colorado to enter the contests.