writing contests

All conference registrants are encouraged to submit to our annual writing contest. There is no entry fee. However, the contest is only open to registered participants of the full three-day conference. Winners will have the opportunity to read their work at the conference, receive credit to the conference bookstore, and winning entries are considered for publication in Noyo Review

The contest will open with General Registration on March 15, 2025.

Guidelines

We can only consider unpublished work. Scholarship candidates may submit their scholarship application pieces or any other manuscript that meets the contest requirements. If you apply for a scholarship and do not complete your registration, your contest entry will be eliminated.

First Prize winners must wait three years before submitting again to the category in which they won, but are welcome to enter subsequent contests in another genre.

All contest entries are judged anonymously in adherence to the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) Code of Ethics. Awards are made solely at the discretion of the judging panel. Entries are judged “as is,” but winning submissions selected for Noyo Review will be subject to editing before publication. Work will not be published without permission of the author. Copyright to selected work reverts to the author immediately after publication of Noyo Review.

categories

Conference participants may make one submission in the category of their choice:

  • Novel

  • Memoir

  • MG/YA

  • Short Fiction

  • Nonfiction

  • Speculative Fiction

  • Poetry

AWards

Awards are made solely at the discretion of the judging panel. On some occasions, not all prizes will be awarded. First-place winners will have the opportunity to read their work at the conference, and winning entries will be considered for publication in Noyo Review.