Fiction Contest Rules

It is time once again for the annual Memphis magazine Short Fiction Contest for Mid-South writers!

The winning story will earn a $1,000 grand prize and be published in a future issue of Memphis.

Below are contest rules:

  1. Authors must live within 150 miles of Memphis.
  2. Entries must be postmarked by February 1, 2017. Deadline has been extended to February 15, 2017.
  3. You may submit more than one story but each entry must be accompanied by a $20 entry fee (please note that the fee has been raised since last year). Make check or money order payable to Memphis magazine.
  4. Each story should be typed, double-spaced, with unstapled, numbered pages, and be between 2,500 and 3,500 words.
  5. Stories are not required to have a Memphis or Southern theme.
  6. With each story should be a cover letter that gives your name, address, phone number, and the title of your story. Please do NOT put your name anywhere on the manuscript itself.
  7. Manuscripts may be previously published as long as publication was not in a national magazine with circulation over 20,000, or in a regional publication within Shelby County.
  8. Manuscripts should be sent to FICTION CONTEST, c/o Memphis magazine, P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101. We cannot accept faxes or emails.  Authors wishing their manuscripts returned must include a self-addressed stamped envelope with each entry.

The winner will be contacted by April 2017.

Memphis magazine Short Fiction Contest

Entry fee: $20

Length: 2,500 – 3,500 words

Deadline: February 1, 2017

Read past winners —