Ploughshares literary magazine was established in 1971 and is widely considered to be one of the most prestigious magazines in the United States. Its writers have frequently been recognised by The Pushcart Prize and selected for The Best American Short Stories.
Ploughshares Emerging Writer’s Contest is open to writers of fiction, nonfiction and poetry who have not yet published or self-published a book. The winning story, essay and poems from the 2017 contest will all be published in the Winter 2017-18 issue of Ploughshares, and the prize money on offer has doubled from last year. Each winner will now receive $2000.
The contest is open to fiction and nonfiction pieces up to 6000 words; poetry entries must be between 3 and 5 pages.
The winners of the 2016 Ploughshares Emerging Writer’s Contest can be read in full online with judges comments: Lydia Martin’s The Adjustment Act (fiction), Mimi Dixon’s Breath (nonfiction), and Leila Chatti’s Confession.
Entries for the Ploughshares Emerging Writer’s Contest close at noon on Monday 15 May 2017 (USA East Coast time).
Entry is free for current subscribers to Ploughshares or non-subscribers receive a one-year subscription to the magazine with their $24 entry fee. For full entry details visit the Ploughshares website.
Writers are also encouraged to subscribe to the magazine’s email newsletter for advice and exercises from the Ploughshares blog to help in the writing process.
For more competitions, see our latest Opportunities for Writers post and follow Aerogramme Writers’ Studio on Facebook and Twitter.