Current Contests:
Update: We have 11 entries for the ALH Imagination Award for Fiction. Submit your entry today for a chance to win up to $500 or a free edit!
ALH Imagination Award for Fiction:
Submissions from July 1 - October 15
DEADLINE EXTENDED TO DECEMBER 1
Late Submissions from October 16 - November 1
FINAL DEADLINE DECEMBER 1
Awarded January 15
The Imagination Award seeks to find writers with a talent for creativity, plot twists and intensity. This is open to any story up to 2,000 words from horror to romance to literary fiction. The judges seek fiction that is unique, nonformulaic, unpredictable and unforgettable. Students will also be eligible for consideration for a Support a Writer award to help with tuition, books or bills. The SAW award is an optional prize awarded only if all requirements, including exceptional talent, are met.
Contest Guidelines
Any U.S. citizen of any age may participate. Each submitted work may not exceed 2,000 words and may not have been published elsewhere. The title is not included in the word count. Those who have published a book through traditional means are ineligible. ALH has no interest in purchasing rights which prevent contestants from selling their work elsewhere. ALH will, however, acquire the electronic rights necessary to publish winning submissions online at ALH in perpetuity for review by future contestants. All decisions made by the judges are final.
Reading fees for all contests are $20 for the first submission and $10 for subsequent ones when they are sent at the same time. Late submissions are $25 for the first and $15 for each additional one. We will accept submissions as long as they are postmarked by the deadline date.
To Submit Entries for Any Annual Contest:
Website: Go to the "Contest Submission" page, complete it and submit your information.
Mail: Send a copy of each submission, a check, money order or credit card information and all the information requested on the "Contest Submission" page to:
Fort Collins, CO 80522-1807.
Fax: Send submissions, credit card information and all the information requested on the "Contest Submission" page via fax to
1-800-665-7869.
IMPORTANT: Whether you are sending your submission via email, mail or fax, be SURE to include: Your name, address in case you win, email address, where you heard about the contest, and if you are a student. Contestants must explicitly state whether they are an undergraduate or graduate student if they want to be considered for the Support a Writer scholarship.
