2013 Writing Contests

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.

Prizes
Each category will be awarded the following:  
1st place: $1,000  
2nd place: $250  
3rd place: $100  
Winners, Honorable Mentions, and Editor's Picks will be published in the annual winners' anthology, Pooled Ink: Celebrating the 2013 NCW Contest Winners (due out December 10, 2013) and receive 1 free copy.  The judges' decisions are final.  

Editor's Picks
The editor may pick entries from all three categories that did not place in the top 3 or receive honorable mention according to the final judges for additional inclusion in the 2013 anthology, upon permission of the authors of such entries. Editor's picks will be contacted in October and will also receive a free copy of the anthology.

Notifications
Notification of winners will be via an e-mail to all contestants and this website.

Entry Fees
The entry fee for all contests is $20 per entry. Electronic submissions only. (Note: If you do not have a credit card or prefer to mail in your payment, please send an email to Jennifer Top,  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  There is no limit to the number of entries you may submit. You may submit up to 3 poems per entry fee in the Poetry category. 

Copyrights
All submissions must be your own original work. Simultaneous submissions are okay, but please let us know if your submission is accepted elsewhere, as this may affect our ability to publish it should it be selected as a winner. Submissions can be previously published, however, you must own the rights to republish in the event that your submission wins. All winning entries and honorable mentions will be published in the annual anthology.

Format
All entries must be in a 12-point standard serif font (Times New Roman or similar). Short stories and essays should be double spaced with pages numbered; poetry format is open. All entries should be sent in Microsoft Word-compatible format.  Include your contact information and the title of your piece in body of email. Include only the title on the submission itself, not your name.  

Word Limits
Short stories:  5,000 words
Personal essays:  5,000 words
Poems*:  250 lines each  
*Entrants may submit up to 3 poems per entry fee in that category.

Pooled Ink 
Purchase the previous years' anthologies, Pooled Ink: Celebrating the 2012 NCW Contest Winners and Pooled Ink: Celebrating the 2011 NCW Contest Winners, online at Amazon.com.

Email your entry:
1. Pay online.

Select number of entries

1 entry $20.00 USD 2 entries $40.00 USD 3 entries $60.00 USD

2. Email your entry (attachment) to the Contest Coordinator at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

If the payment button isn't working, please contact the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Past Winners

2012 Short Fiction Winners
Judge: Antonya Nelson 
1st Place: "Amalfi" by Karen Uhlmann ~ Chicago, IL
2nd Place: "Love and Happiness" by Virginia Pye ~ Richmond, VA
3rd Place: "A Thanksgiving Memory" by Tammi Schissler ~ Austin, TX
Honorable Mention: "Honeymoon" by Karen Uhlmann ~ Chicago, IL

2012 Personal Essay/Creative Nonfiction Winners
Judge: Kim Stafford
1st Place: "Prisoners of War" by Leila Levinson ~ Austin, TX
2nd Place: "The Quietest" by Maria Wheeler
3rd Place: "Zoe" by Judson Vail ~ Austin, TX
Honorable Mention: "Coconuts" by Brenda Watterson ~ Algonquin, IL
Honorable Mention: "The N: Word: A Prayer of Thanksgiving" by Dawn Downey ~ Kansas City, MO
Honorable Mention: "Sunday at Aunt Seri's" by Katherine Fuoco Fairchild ~ Pittsboro, NC

2012 Poetry Winners
Judges: Michael Bussmann and Matthew Sage 
1st Place: "Crooked Heart Ranch" by Bob Brown ~ Fort Collins, CO
2nd Place: "In the Diner" by Sandra McGarry ~ Fort Collins, CO
3rd Place: "Oh, Bury Me, Please, on the Lone Prairie" by Janet Kamnikar ~ Fort Collins, CO
HM: "Opening Scene" by Diana Curran ~ Parker, CO
HM: "Star Fielder" by Janet Kamnikar ~ Fort Collins, CO

2011 Short Fiction Winners
Judged by Pam Houston
1st: "Clarice Johnson" by Michelle Auerbach - Boulder, CO
2nd: "Bonecrusher" by Sonya Whitesell - Fort Collins, CO
3rd: "Leaving Tomorrow" by Tammi Schissler - Austin, TX
HM: "Tulips" by Michelle Auerbach - Boulder, CO
HM: "In the Company of Doc Campilletti" by Robert Robeson - Lincoln, NE

2011 Personal Essay/Creative Nonfiction Winners 
Judged by John Calderazzo
1st: "Mahlapane's Story" by Jerry Eckert - Vail, AZ
2nd: "Naamu" by Lynn Carlson - Cheyenne, WY
3rd: "Samaritans" by Alice Ollstein - Washington, DC
HM: "What Egypt Has" by Salma Warshanna - Ellicott City, MD
HM: "Second Chances" by Kathleen Donnelly - Johnstown, CO
HM: "Take No Chances" by Leonard Ewy - Fort Collins, CO
HM: "In Praise of Water" by Hudson Spivey - Missoula, MT

2011 Poetry Contest Winners
Judged by Chris Ransick 
1st Place: "Diamondback" by Sally Clark - Fredericksburg, Texas
2nd Place: "Throwing Stones" by Sandra McGarry - Fort Collins, Colorado
3rd Place: "Poet Disappears in Japan" by Dixie J-Elder - Longmont, Colorado
HM: "The Team" by Janet Kamnikar - Fort Collins, Colorado
HM: "Hollow Heart" by Patricia Frolander - Sundance, Wyoming
HM: "Lost Cowboy" by W. A. Ewing - Loveland, Colorado
HM: "FAQ (On the Poet's Home Page)" by W. A. Ewing - Loveland, Colorado