Wigleaf Top 50 and Upcoming Deadlines

I woke up this morning, back in Israel, with a heavy cold, and, inspired by a friend, said to the Universe: "Surprise and delight me!". And, what do you know? It did. I was utterly bowled over to discover that my flash story, Come Back Tomorrow, originally published in Dogzplot, has been selected by Darlin' Neal for Wigleaf's Top 50 Very Short Fictions of 2009 (stories under 1000 words published in 2008 in US-based journals are eligible).

I remember looking at their first Top 50 last year with great envy! What a nice thing to happen of a morning. I am in amazing company in the Top 50, and in the long shortlist of 200 from which the 50 was picked, including Sarah Hilary and Aimee Bender! This is not just an honour but these lists are a wonderful resource for flash writers, providing a wealth of literary journals to read and submit to. Do go and have a look.

On that note, here are some upcoming deadlines - always worth getting your entry in early (which I never manage to do but always aspire to!):

Only 4 more days! May 11th: Commonwealth Short Short Story competition: Commonwealth citizens only. No entry fee, up to 3 entries, 600 words. Prize is £2000 for the overall winner, and £500 each for regional winners. I can personally recommend this competition (!). Free entry, online!!

June 15th: BBC National Short Story Award 2009: UK citizens or residents only. Judged this year by singer-songwriter Will Young (!!), broadcaster and journalist Tom Sutcliffe (chair), author Dame Margaret Drabble, Orange Prize winner Helen Dunmore and BBC Radio 4’s Editor Di Speirs. No entry fee, 8000 words, must have publishing track record. Prize is £15000 for the overall winner, and £3000 for the runner up, £500 for three further shortlisted stories. Free entry, but postal only

June 30th: Bridport Prize: Judged this year by Ali Smith (Fiction) and Jackie Kay (Poetry). Entry fee £7 per story, £6 per poem as many as you want to enter, maximum 5000 words (no minimum), poetry 42 lines max. Prize is £5000 for the overall winner of either category, £1000 for 2nd place, £500 for third. Online or postal entry.

July 31st: Sean O'Faolain Short Story Prize: Judged this year by Philip Ó Ceallaigh. Entry fee €15, up to 3000 words. Prize is €1,500 for the overall winner, €500 each for the runner-up and €100 for four shortlisted stories. Online or postal entry.

August 9th: Happenstance Short Story Competition: Judged this year by Janice Galloway (Read Sara's review of her book here.). Entry fee £5 (£6 online entry), up to 2500 words. First prize: £150, Second prize: £75, Third prize: £50. Online or postal entry.

August 31st: Juked 2009 Fiction and Poetry Prizes: Judged this year by Dan Chaon (Fiction) and Dora Malech (Poetry). Entry fee $5 per story or oer 5 poems, no length requirement for fiction, ten pages max for poetry. First prize: $500. Online or postal entry.

Some paying lit mag submission deadlines:

May 31st: Going Down Swinging: Poetry, short fiction or non-fiction, flash, comic art, graphic art. GDS pays contributors AUS $75 per short poem / comic or graphic art; $100 per short story / poem / comic over 4 pages. These fees are subject to funding, and may change without notice.

August 15th: Etchings: Theme: Love and Other Things. Fiction, personal & creative essays, poetry, art, and photography for issues 7 and 8. Payment AU$75.


Also: a new blog post on The Short Review blog about the recently-announced Edge Hill Prize for the Short Story shortlist and how it compares to last year.