Summer Short Story Award for New Writers

Location
Hosted by The Masters Review (online)

Open to
Emerging writers who have not published a novel or memoir with a major press. Writers with indie or self-published books may apply. International submissions are allowed if written in English. No translations accepted.

Application Fee
$20 per submission
(Free submission option for underrepresented writers is currently closed)

What’s Provided

• $3,000 for the first-place winner

• $300 for second place, $200 for third place

• All three winners published online

• All finalists receive review by agents from Sobel Weber, The Bent Agency, Writers House, United Talent Agency, Compass Talent, and The Friedrich Agency

• All entries considered for publication in New Voices

What the artist/applicant must cover

• $20 entry fee per submission

• Optional editorial feedback letter available for an additional fee

Deadline
September 7, 2025 (11:59 PM PDT)

Additional Notes

• Open to fiction and creative nonfiction (up to 6,000 words)

• Work must be previously unpublished (including online)

• Multiple and simultaneous submissions allowed (each requires a separate fee)

• Submissions must follow standard formatting (double-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman or Garamond, 1-inch margins)

• AI-generated work will be disqualified

• Winners announced by end of January 2026; all submissions responded to by end of December 2025

• The guest judge, Jennine Capó Crucet, will read the shortlist anonymously