Winning Writers

17/07/2025

Flash sale at the 2026 Next Generation Short Story Awards. Submit an unpublished story up to 5,000 words to win $500 and publication. Many smaller prizes. Enter TODAY or TOMORROW and your second category is free. Fee: $25.
https://shortstoryawards.com/guidelines.php

17/07/2025

Do's and Don'ts of a Winning Book Cover Design with Annie Mydla
In the North Street Book Prize, perhaps 1% of our 1,000+ annual submissions will win an award. So, while we don't judge books solely by their covers, an attractive, professional-looking cover can make the difference between books that are equally strong in other ways.
https://winningwriters.com/resources/dos-and-donts-of-a-winning-book-cover-design

17/07/2025

Our July newsletter features Julian Peters' illustration of "The Radiant City" by Vincenzo Mascolo (with an English translation by John Morre and Giorgia Sensi)
https://createsend.com/t/d-B65AFBB691B74B8B2540EF23F30FEDED via Julian Peters Comics

16/07/2025

The Four Levels of Book Editing Every Author Should Understand
https://blog.bookbaby.com/how-to-self-publish/four-levels-of-book-editing via BookBaby

Learn the four levels of book editing from developmental to proofreading and how each step improves your writing, structure, clarity, and overall manuscript quality.

15/07/2025

Write a poem inspired by the image below and let us know how you did!

15/07/2025

Our July newsletter is out! We found 20 excellent free poetry and prose contests with deadlines between today and August 31.
https://createsend.com/t/d-B65AFBB691B74B8B2540EF23F30FEDED

15/07/2025

Deadline Sep 7: The Masters Review Summer Short Story Award for New Writers
Emerging writers may submit unpublished fiction or creative nonfiction under 6,000 words to win $3,000, online publication, and agency review. Fee: $20. Guest judge: Jennine Capó Crucet.
https://mastersreview.com/short-story-award-for-new-writers/
with Submittable

14/07/2025

‘Our Goal Is to Get Their Money’: Inside a Firm Charged With Scamming Writers for Millions
Author services company PageTurner used promises of mainstream success and Netflix deals to prey on more than 800 aspiring authors, according to DOJ.
A gift article from Bloomberg:
https://loom.ly/wq58kFQ

14/07/2025

“Daddy", a poem by Sylvia Plath
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48999/daddy-56d22aafa45b2

Ready by Amanda Holmes for The American Scholar
https://theamericanscholar.org/daddy-by-sylvia-plath/

13/07/2025

Deadline Oct 1: Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Winning Writers and co-sponsored by Duotrope. Submit 1-3 poems for $25 fee. Two top awards of $3,500 each; 10 Honorable Mentions of $500 each. Top 12 poems published online. Submit published or unpublished work. Michal 'MJ' Jones returns as final judge, assisted by Briana Grogan and Dare Williams.
https://winningwriters.com/our-contests/tom-howard-margaret-reid-poetry-contest

13/07/2025

We received over 1,750 books for this year's North Street Book Prize. The judges will now read your books over the next several months, announcing the results on February 15, 2026. Good luck!
https://winningwriters.com/our-contests/north-street-book-prize

12/07/2025

Deadlines Aug 31 and Sep 14: Contests at Gulf Coast Journal
Judges this year are Wendy Chen for the Translation Prize in Prose, Rosebud Ben-Oni for the Barthelme Prize for Short Prose, & Natalie Hegert for the Toni Beauchamp Prize in Critical Art Writing (no fee).
https://gulfcoastajournalofliteratureandfinearts.submittable.com/submit with Submittable