Deadline Date: July 15 (next tuesday).
Submission Process: Only online here.
Money Situation: $20 to enter, $1000 prize for two categories: one poem and one piece of fiction.
Consolation Prize: A one year subscription to the Cincinnati Review for each entry.
Judging: Anonymous (as in, not even a name in the file name or you're disqualified), by the editors.
What you can submit: Up to 8 pages of poems (whether that's one or 8 poems) or 40 pages of prose (one story/excerpt, or up to ten pieces of flash fiction if they are thematically linked).
The Skinny:
The Robert and Adele Schiff Prose and Poetry Awards are offered by The Cincinnati Review every year, like many other reputable journals, this once a year event helps draw attention to the magazine, as well as both quality work and much needed funding (I'm only extrapolating, The Cincinnati Review could be rolling in donor cash for all I know). Some journals are now getting a little bit of that sweet, sweet Submittable change to offset overhead too, but that's for another day. Be sure to visit the contest page.
Why you should enter:
The Cincinnati Review is a very nice journal. Fine quality printing, good editorial selections, and from the few issues I've seen of it, the choices are relatively eclectic. You'll find both lyric and narrative poems, flash fiction and long stories. David Kirby, Carl Dennis and David Wagoner are all in last winter's issue if that helps to slightly describe at least that issue's aesthetic. Here is what the editor says they look for in a submission.
Really though, why is it worth your $20:
Well, I mean, don't neglect your bills or children or anything, but if it's between eating something at home one night instead of getting Panera Bread or Chili's or maybe cutting out one daily purchase a couple times a week, having one fewer drink at the bar twice, yeah, if you have pieces you're confident, or even mostly confident in, this is definitely worth it. Not only do you toss your lot in the ring for a possible windfall of $1,000, but every piece submitted is considered for publication (The Cincinnati Review pays $30 per page of poetry, and $25 per page of prose, not too shabby for a literary magazine). In addition to that, you get a year's subscription, and if you want to enter multiple times, each additional group of poems or story can either extend your The Cincinnati Review subscription or can be given as a gift to a friend (I've always liked that idea, a gift subscription to a literary magazine with no warning--what a pleasant surprise).
