Erika Dreifus

Here’s a little something passed along to me from a fellow practicing writer. The announcement comes from the Food Writing ezine.

“Food Writing, a bi-weekly ezine, is sponsoring a short story contest. There is no fee to enter your short story with food as an ingredient, but you must be a subscriber to Food Writing (it’s free; subscribe now at www.food-writing.com).

Rules: 500 words maximum. Food must be included in the short story. It can be the main character or in the background but food is essential! Three winners will be awarded $50 each plus publication in Food Writing ezine and on the Food Writing website. Winners will be chosen by three judges including the publisher of Food Writing.

Deadline: April 21, midnight.
Winners Announced in the May 2 issue of Food Writing.
Other: No fee to enter but must be a subscriber of Food Writing, a free online newsletter. 500 maximum word count. Email entry to: FoodandFiction@yahoo.com .”

And speaking of free online newsletters, the March issue of our own “Practicing Writer” (for fictionists, poets, and writers of creative nonfiction) went out to subscribers last Friday. Archives are available to subscribers only, but you can read the current issue republished here.

Found out about this one by checking in at the MediaBistro MBToolbox, one of my favorite sites to visit.

The Nation is running a Student Writing Contest. According to the magazine’s Web site, they’re seeking “original, thoughtful, provocative student voices to tell us what issue is of most concern to their generation.” Do that in 800 words (maximum) and submit only one original, unpublished work (work may have been published in a student publication) by March 31.

The winner receives $500 and a magazine subscription; the winning essay will be published in the magazine and featured on the magazine’s Web site. Five other finalists will receive $100 each along with magazine subscriptions, and their work will be published online. There’s no entry fee indicated, and the contest is open to all high school students and undergraduates at American schools, colleges and universities. For more information and submission instructions, click here.

Attention, college students! The Hollins University Literary Festival takes place on April 8, 2006, and the celebration includes fiction and poetry prizes for undergraduate college students. Submit up to three poems and/or up to two short stories for top prizes of $100. “All entries must include the name and city and state of the author’s college and the author’s contact information (e-mail or phone number).” There’s NO ENTRY FEE indicated. Submission deadline: March 17, 2006. Click here for more information/instructions. Good luck!

So here I am back at the blog. And I’ve found an interesting contest with a March 1 deadline. There’s no entry fee (too bad I didn’t locate this before the January update of our Guide to No-Cost Literary Contests and Competitions.)

Anyway, the 2006 Ultimate Adventure Contest seeks “your wildest hunting tale, craziest fishing adventure or the most hair-raising survival experience you’ve ever had (in 750-1,000 words) and we’ll see which writer captures the spirit of spine-tingling adventure best.” The winning piece will be published in Outdoor Life, and its author will receive $500. Runners-up will have their entries published on the magazine’s Web site.

You can submit via e-mail or postal mail. Just be sure to submit by March 1.

For more information and the official rules, click here.