The Iowa Short Fiction Award & John Simmons Short Fiction Award 2023 | Contest | September 30

The Iowa Short Fiction Award & John Simmons Short Fiction Award 2023 is currently open for submission. The awards are organized by the University.

The Iowa Short Fiction Award & John Simmons Short Fiction Award 2023

The Iowa Short Fiction Award & John Simmons Short Fiction Award 2023 is currently open for submission. The awards are organized by the University of Iowa Press, and are open to previously published writers of prose fiction.

Read further for the submission guidelines and the eligibility criteria.

Join WhatsApp group to get fast updates on literary contest, news, magazine submission and other available opportunities for writers— First Group

Join the Second WhatsApp group— If the first group gets filled up.

Join WhatsApp group for UK, USA, Australia and Canada members/residents. Information provided are strictly based on competitions (poetry, essay, short story etc.) paying magazine submissions and other writing opportunities available to the residents.

Join Telegram group for more recent updates on writing opportunities

Eligibility Criteria For The Iowa Short Fiction Award & John Simmons Short Fiction Award 2023

• Any writer who has not previously published a volume of prose fiction is eligible to enter the competition.
•  Previously entered manuscripts that have been revised may be resubmitted. 
• Writers are still eligible if they have published a volume of poetry or any work in a language other than English or if they have self-published a work in a small print run. 
• Writers are still eligible if they are living abroad or are non-US citizens writing in English. 
• Current University of Iowa students are not eligible.

Manuscript

• The manuscript must be a collection of short stories in English of at least 150 word-processed, double-spaced pages.
•  We do not accept e-mail submissions.
•  The manuscript may include a cover page, contents page, etc., but these are not required. The author's name can be on every page but this is not required. 
• Stories previously published in periodicals are eligible for inclusion. 
• There is no reading fee; please do not send cash, checks, or money orders. 
• Reasonable care is taken, but we are not responsible for manuscripts lost in the mail or for the return of those not accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. 
• We assume the author retains a copy of the manuscript.

Publication

Award-winning manuscripts will be published by the University of Iowa Press under the Press's standard contract.

Also Read

ServiceScape Scholarship 2023

The Debra E. Bernhardt Labor Journalism Prize 2023

ServiceScape Short Story Award 2023

Iowa Short Fiction Award & John Simmons Short Fiction Award 2023

The Val Wood Prize for Creative Writing 2023

The Toni Beauchamp Prize in Critical Art Writing 2023

The Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation & Multilingual Texts 2023 

The Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction, Issue 24

The Kari Howard Fund for Narrative Journalism 2023.

Submission Guidelines 

Manuscripts should be mailed to:

Iowa Short Fiction Award

Iowa Writers' Workshop

507 North Clinton Street

102 Dey House

Iowa City IA 52242-1000

No application forms are necessary. Entries for the competition should be postmarked between August 1 and September 30; packages must be postmarked by September 30. 

Announcement of the winners will be made early in the following year on our Facebook page and Twitter account