Boston Review 2021 Writing Contest

Boston Review 2021 Writing Contest

Details

Boston Review calls applications for 2021 Writing Contest. Contestants from the United States, Canada, and Western Europe pay an entry fee of $20, which helps subsidize the entry of contestants from outside of those countries, as well as those claiming hardship, all of whom pay nothing to enter the contests. Free entries and paid entries are read in the same way and given equal weight.

In addition, while a winner will be chosen in each genre, many more runners-up will have their work published, increasing the likelihood that entrants will have their work shared with Boston Review’s audience.

Finally, Boston Review commits to publishing an annual themed literary issue, and the contests share the issue’s theme. This offers contestants more transparency about what Boston Review’s editors are seeking in any given year. All contestants will receive a free copy of the issue, either in print (for paid entries) or digital (for unpaid entries).

Prizes

• The first prize winner in each contest receives US$1,000.
• The winning work of the Boston Review 2021 Writing Contest will be published in Boston Review’s special literary issue Repair (March 2022).

Complete Guidelines

• All entries must be related to this year’s theme of Repair. The competition wants the theme to be very broadly interpreted, but we also shouldn’t have to guess at the connection between the theme and your entry.
• The winning author will receive $1,000 and have their work published in Boston Review’s special literary issue Repair (March 2022). Some finalists and semi-finalists will also be published in the issue or online.
• Stories must not exceed 5,000 words and must be unpublished.
• “Unpublished” means it has never received print publication of any kind, nor is it available anywhere on the Internet. If a story is not available for Boston Review to publish as a first serial, it is not eligible to win the competition or be named as a finalist or semi-finalist.
• Do not include a cover note. Your name should not appear anywhere in the uploaded file. All entries much are in English; translations are acceptable if they are done in collaboration with the author and the story is unpublished in any language.
• Simultaneous submissions are OK but if your story is accepted elsewhere, you must immediately withdraw it via Submittable.

Specifications