Three writing contests and two paying markets for your short prose

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Accenti, the magazine with an Italian accent, considers unsolicited articles for publication. These can include news items, commentaries, works of fiction, non-fiction, etc. Photographs and illustrations can accompany submissions. Submissions must be in English and be between 500 and 2,000 words.
Accenti also considers unsolicited cartoons for publication. 

Deadline: Ongoing. Guidelines here

Accenti is also accepting submissions for their annual prose contest. Entries can be fiction, non-fiction or creative non-fiction. Maximum length: 2,000 words. No poetry, plays, reviews, and scholarly essays. No footnotes and endnotes. No pseudonyms. The contest is open to all writers, established and emerging, worldwide. Entry Fee: $30. Top prize: $1,000 (CDN) and publication in Accenti. Three runner-up prizes: $100.00 (CDN) each and publication in Accenti.

Deadline: February 1, 2019. Guidelines here.

The First Line  “The purpose of The First Line is to jump start the imagination – to help writers break through the block that is the blank page. Each issue contains short stories that stem from a common first line. First Line also provides a forum for discussing favorite first lines in literature. 

The First Line is an exercise in creativity for writers and a chance for readers to see how many different directions we can take when we start from the same place. To celebrate 20 years of the journal, they are inviting writers to select any one of the first lines from their previous journals. 

Pays $25-50 for fiction, $5-10 for poetry, $25 for nonfiction. Length: 300-5,000 words. 

Deadline for spring issue: February 1, 2019; for summer issue: May 1, 2019; for fall issue: Aug 1, 2019. Guidelines here.

Every Day Fiction publishes a work of flash fiction {up to 1,000 words} every day. “There’s no such thing as too short — if you can do the job in 50 words, have at it! — but our readers prefer pieces that tell or at least hint at a complete story (some sort of action or tension rising to a moment of climax, and at least a clue toward a resolution, though it doesn’t have to be all spelled out).” Pays $3. 

Send them any flash fiction any time, but also, they’re looking for stories suitable for February, including themes such as Groundhog Day, The Day the Music Died, The Super Bowl, Valentine's Day, getting tired of winter / cabin fever. Deadline: January 27

And for March, including themes such as Ash Wednesday, Spring Break, International Women's Day, Purim, Daylight Savings, Ides of March, St. Patrick's Day, first day of spring (Vernal Equinox), Feast of the Annunciation. Deadline: February 24, 2019.

Guidelines here.

The Writers' Union of Canada is seeking submissions for its 26th Annual Short Prose Competition for Emerging Writers, which invites Canadian writers to submit a piece of fiction or nonfiction of up to 2,500 words.

A $2,500 prize will be awarded to the winner, and the entries of the winner and finalists will be submitted to three Canadian magazines for consideration. 

The Competition is open to Canadian citizens and residents who have had no more than one book published and who do not currently have a contract with a book publisher for a second book. Authors not published in book format are also eligible. Members of The Writers Union are not eligible to enter.

Deadline: February 15, 2019. Guidelines here.

Anastasia

The 2019 CBC Nonfiction Prize is now open for submissions.

Canadian writers can submit original, unpublished memoir, biography, humour writing, essay (including personal essay), travel writing and feature articles until. Your entry can be up to 2,000 words in length. There is no minimum word requirement.

The winner will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, will have the opportunity to attend a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and will have their work published on CBC Books. Four finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and have their work published on CBC Books.

The entry fee is $25, which covers the costs of administering the prize.

Last year's winner was Sandra Murdock for “Easy Family Dinners.” Some Quick Brown Fox readers will know one of the finalists, Anastasia McEwen, from Intensive classes in Burlington and will recognize her winning story, “Acceleration.” You can read all the 2018 finalists' stories here.

Deadline: February  28, 2019. Guidelines here.

Note: If you're looking to submit to the Prix du récit Radio-Canada, you can enter here. 

The 2019 CBC Poetry Prize will open in April 2019. The 2020 CBC Short Story Prize will open in

September 2019.

See Brian Henry’s schedule here, including Saturday writing workshops, weekly writing classes, and weekend retreats in Algonquin Park, Alliston, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Georgina, Guelph, Hamilton, Jackson’s Point, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Midland, Mississauga, New Tecumseth, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Sudbury, Toronto, Windsor, Woodstock, Halton, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.