Find Glimmer Train on Submittable
NOTE: contest deadlines are always followed by a one-week grace period.
Short Story Award for New Writers (1st place – $2,500):
Welcome in January/February, May/June, and September/October.
Open only to writers who haven’t had any fiction appear (or scheduled to appear) in a print publication with a circulation over 5,000. (Entries must not have appeared in print, but previous online publication is fine.) Most entries run from 1,000 to 5,000 words, but any length up to 12,000 is welcome.
Very Short Fiction (1st place – $2,000):
Welcome in March/April and July/August.
Any length story from 300 to 3,000 words.
Fiction Open (1st place – $3,000):
Welcome in March/April and July/August.
Open to all subjects and themes. Most entries run from 3,000 to 6,000 words, but we invite stories from 3,000 to 20,000 words.
Family Matters (1st place – $2,500):
Welcome in November/December.
Calling for stories about families of all configurations. Most entries run from 1,000 to 5,000 words, but any length up to 12,000 is welcome.
Standard Category ($700):
Welcome in May and November.
Open to all. $2 processing fee. Maximum word count: 12,000. Any shorter length is welcome.
MISCELLANY
Formatting: They’re not fussy about that because when they read the story, they can change the font style and size if they need to. Double spacing is nice, but not necessary.
Contact info and page count: including that information at the top of your story is entirely optional; word count is helpful, but not required.
Pen name: If you use one, you’re welcome to list both your legal name and pen name, but that is not required.