Terrain.org 11th Annual Contest
We accept contest submissions from February 1 to Labor Day. The deadline for our 11th Annual Contest is September 6, 2020 (Labor Day in the U.S.), for publication in January or February 2021.
Contest Details
Submission Period
The contest submission period for our 11th Annual Contest is February 1 to September 6, 2020 (Labor Day in the U.S.). Submissions are not yet open. Winners will be announced no later than December 2020.
Prizes
A prize of $500 plus publication for the first-place winner will be awarded in each genre. Finalists in each genre will also receive publication and a $100 prize.
Selection Process
All submissions are considered for publication. Terrain.org’s editors will read all entries, passing the top entries in each genre to the judges, who will choose the first-place winners. Decisions of the judges are final. Judges and editors do not know the identity of the contestants.
Judges (11th Annual Contest)
Poetry: Arthur Sze
Arthur Sze’s tenth book of poetry, Sight Lines (Copper Canyon) won the 2019 National Book Award for Poetry.
Nonfiction: Julian Hoffman
Julian Hoffman is the award-winning author of Irreplaceable: The Fight to Save Our Wild Places and The Small Heart of Things.
Fiction: Joy Castro
Author of the literary thrillers Hell or High Water and Nearer Home and the short story collection How Winter Began, Joy Castro teaches literature, creative writing, and Latinx studies at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.
How to Submit
Our contest submission period is open until September 6, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.
You are not eligible to enter this contest if you are a current student of the contest judges or if you have been a winner in the contest in the last five years. Finalists are welcome to submit again.
Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but previously published material in any format, including blogs, will not be considered. Submissions can be withdrawn through the submission system, though in that case contest entry fees will not be refunded. Individual components of submissions (i.e., a single poem in a poem set) may be withdrawn by emailing info@terrain.org.
Cost
The cost to submit is $15 per story, essay or article, or set of 3-5 poems (or single long poem).
What to Submit
You may submit up to three entries (at $15/entry) in any or all genres:
Poetry
Submit 3-5 poems or one long poem (5+ pages) per entry. Combine all poems into a single document. For poetry, we are seeking not just the best poem, but the best set of 3-5 poems or the best long poem, with the hopes of awarding our prizes to poetry sets or long poems rather than individual, shorter poems, when possible. No maximum lines per poem. Poems must contain only the poem title(s) and poem(s) without the author name or contact information.
Fiction
Submit one story, up to 5,000 words total, or up to three flash fictions (up to 1,000 words each) per entry. Stories must contain only the story title and story itself without the author name or contact information.
Nonfiction
Submit one essay or article, up to 5,000 words total, or up to three flash essays (up to 1,000 words each) per entry. Essays must contain only the essay title and essay itself without the author name or contact information. We will consider all nonfiction, but are most interested in creative nonfiction, including personal essays, lyric essays, memoir, literary journalism, and other literary forms.
Cover Letter Required
Each submission must include a cover letter with the author’s name and contact information—including email, telephone, and mailing address—and the name(s) of the poem(s), story(ies), and/or essay(s). The cover letter must be the first page of the submission document. It is the only portion of the submission that may contain name or contact information. Do not put your name or other contact information in the document header.
The Submission Process
- The submission period for our 11th Annual Contests closes at 11:59 p.m. on September 6, 2020.
- Please save your cover letter and submission for each entry as a single document — .doc, .docx, .rtf, or .txt, or .pages only. Do not submit in .pdf format.
- Submit online at https://sub.terrain.org. If you have submitted to Terrain.org before, log in to submit. If you have not submitted before, you must register.
- Choose the Contest – Fiction, Contest – Nonfiction, or Contest – Poetry genre category. Double-check that you have selected the appropriate contest genre; they are the last options during the regular submission period (and the only options during the summer).
- Once you confirm your submission, you will be directed to a page with payment instructions (via Paypal). Instructions for mailing a check in lieu of paying online are also provided. Checks and delayed online payments must be received by September 20.
- No submission will be considered until payment has been received.
- You will receive submission and payment confirmation via email.
Submit Now!
Ready to submit for the contest? Submit online now:
Thanks very much, and we look forward to reviewing your contest submission!
Contest Winners
10th Annual Contest Winners
Poetry
“In the Forest,” “The Water, the Truth, the Water,” and “Grounded” by Stacey Balkun
Judged by Camille T. Dungy
Nonfiction
“Hysteresis” by Cara Stoddard
Judged by Alison Hawthorne Deming
Fiction
“The Night of the Day of the Dead” by Michael McGuire
Judged by Tara Lynn Masih
9th Annual Contest Winners
Poetry
“Tallow,” “Exhibit: ‘Song of Lost Species’,” and “armadillo” by Jane Lovell
Judged by Jane Hirshfield
Nonfiction
“The Violence of the Given World” by Sarah M. Wells
Judged by Elizabeth Dodd
Fiction
“Out of Good Ground” by John Thomson
Judged by Daniel Orozco
8th Annual Contest Winners
Poetry
Two Poems by Edward Harkness
Judged by Robert Wrigley
Nonfiction
“Ghost Trees” by Jennie Goode
Judged by Nicole Walker
Fiction
“N-Place Exiting” by Thomas Ausa
Judged by Padma Viswanathan
7th Annual Contest Winners
Poetry
One Poem in Four Parts by William Wright
Judged by Eamonn Grennan
Fiction
“Varya’s Black Suede Shoes” by Peter Justin Newall
Judged by Kate Bernheimer
Nonfiction
“Geography of the Self” by Catherine Mauk
Judged by Lauret Savoy
6th Annual Contest
Winners
Theme: (Dis)placement
Poetry
Four Poems by G. L. Grey
Judged by Pattiann Rogers
Fiction
“Contrition” by William Cass
Judged by Luis Alberto Urrea
Nonfiction
“Of No Ground: Late Days in the Country of Eighteen Tides” by Lawrence Lenhart
Judged by Scott Russell Sanders
5th Annual Contest Winners
Poetry
Anne Haven McDonnell
“The Underworld is Alive” and “Emerging View”
Judged by Derek Sheffield
Nonfiction
Nancy Campbell
“The Library of Ice”
Judged by Julian Hoffman
4th Annual Contest Winners
Issue No. 34 : Elemental
Poetry
Rob Carney
“Seven Pages from The Book of Sharks“
Judged by John Daniel
Fiction
Eloise Schultz
“The Water Cycle”
Judged by Teague Bohlen
Nonfiction
Nancy Geyer
“(Dis)Appearances”
Judged by Kathryn Miles
3rd Annual Contest Winners
Issue No. 31 : Ruin and Renewal
Poetry
Genevieve Leet
For her poem set “[when I died they found a nest of snakes in my intestines, their backs]” and “Somewhere beyond the curve of the earth, there is a ceremonial bamboo boat”
Judged by Suzanne Frischkorn
Nonfiction
Sonya Huber
For her essay “Love and Industry: A Midwestern Workbook”
Judged by Christopher Cokinos
Fiction
Courtney Amber Kilian
For her story “Color Has History”
Judged by Skip Horack
2nd Annual Contest Winners
Issue No. 28 : Image
Poetry
Rebecca Dunham : “Morning: Joplin, MO”
Judged by Alison Hawthorne Deming
Nonfiction
Julian Hoffman : “Faith in a Forgotten Place” + Image Gallery
Judged by Elizabeth Dodd
Fiction
GE Tallant : “Song of the Turkey Vulture”
Judged by Andrew Wingfield
Inaugural Contest Winners
Issue No. 26 : The Signal in the Noise
Poetry
Laura-Gray Street : “Goya’s Dog”
Judged by Jessie Lendennie
Nonfiction
Elizabeth Dodd : “Sinuous”
Judged by David Rothenberg
Fiction
Andrew Wingfield : “Right of Way”
Judged by Aurelie Sheehan
Note that we reserve the right to reduce or cancel the contest (and refund entry fees) if we do not receive enough submissions.
For further information or assistance, please contact us.
