Driftwood Press Short Story Contest
2021
Results
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​We are excited to announce Rachel Phillippo's "Wing Breaker" as the winner of our 2021 In-House Contest! Specific and emotional, "Wing Breaker" focuses on a character carrying out her culture's horrid tradition. Rachel Phillippo's story will be published in the January 2022 issue!
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Finalists
"Farm (The Unnamable)" by Anna Foran
"Pulp" by Sarah Wheeler
"Intermission" by Anna Schaeffer
"The Chair" by Paul Oliver
"The Man in the Red Cap" by Duncan Grimes
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Lastly, we want to extend our warmest gratitude to everyone who submitted to the contest, including the five semi-finalists and thirty-eight quarter finalists. There were hundreds of wonderful short stories sent in, and many of them deserve—and will find—publication. We are ecstatic to continue to publish works of literary fiction that forefront language and take narrative, structural, and thematic risks, and the support of our community of readers and submitters is continually cherished and appreciated.
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Timeline
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Submissions will be open from September 1st until January 31st.
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Winner will be announced in April 2021.
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The winning short story will be published in issue 9.1.
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Awards
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The winner will receive $400 and five copies of the issue in which the story appears. The winner will also have the opportunity to be interviewed about their work; the interview will be published alongside the story.
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If a runner-up is chosen, their work will be offered publication, an accompanying interview, $100, and one copy of the issue in which their work appears.
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Past Contest Winners
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Guidelines
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Fiction only.
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1,000-5,000 soft word limit.
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A standard, 12-point font and single-spacing is preferred.
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The work must not have been previously published.
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Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but
please withdraw the work if the story has been
accepted elsewhere. -
Submit works written in English only, no translations.
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Please submit your manuscript in a .doc, .docx, or PDF format.
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We read submissions blind, so please do not include your name, email, or any identifying characteristics on the manuscript itself.
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Base submission cost is $12. Additionally, we are offering a $25 dollar submission option that will include a print copy of the issue in which the winning story will be published.
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