Howard Frank Mosher Short Fiction Prize
What is the Howard Frank Mosher Short Fiction Prize?
An annual contest for short fiction. A chance for your fiction to be read by Hunger Mountain editors and guest judges!
What will the winner receive?
One first place winner receives $1000 and publication!
Two honorable mentions receive $100 each, and are considered for publication.Who can enter the contest?
Anyone! Everyone!
Who is this year’s judge?
The 2012 judge is Pam Houston.Read her Hunger Mountain piece “Corn Maze.”
Pam Houston is the author of two collections of linked short stories, Cowboys Are My Weakness and Waltzing the Cat, the novel, Sight Hound, and a collection of essays called A Little More About Me, all published by W.W. Norton. Her stories have been selected for volumes of Best American Short Stories, The O. Henry Awards, The Pushcart Prize, and Best American Short Stories of the Century. She is the winner of the Western States Book Award, the WILLA award for contemporary fiction, and The Evil Companions Literary Award, as well as multiple teaching awards. She is the Director of Creative Writing at U.C. Davis, and teaches in The Pacific University low residency MFA program and at writers’ conferences around the country and the world. She lives on a ranch at 9,000 feet in Colorado near the headwaters of the Rio Grande. Her new book, Contents May Have Shifted, was published by W.W. Norton in February, 2012.
When is the deadline?
The postmark deadline is June 30.
Where is last year’s winning entry?
Here. Click to read the 2011 winner “The Speed of Sound” by Elizabeth Gonzalez, chosen by Gish Jen.
Or here. Click to read the 2011 runner-up “The Ghosts of Takahiro Ōkyo” by Donald Quist.
Or Here. Click to read the 2010 winner “How the Film Flint Distorts the Truth” by Mojie Crigler, chosen by Steve Almond.
Or here. Click to read 2010 runner up, “A Man is Not a Star” by Josie Sigler.
2009 winner: Click to read “Levitation” by Tricia Springstubb, chosen by Andre Dubus III.
2009 Runner-up! Click to read “Shout Her Lovely Name” by Natalie Serber, the runner-up chosen by Andre Dubus III.
Does Hunger Mountain accept electronic entries?
Yes! Please enter one original, unpublished story under 10,000 words. Your name and address should not appear on the story; we read contest entries blind. Click the link below to access our online submission system. Once in the submission manager, you’ll need to choose “Howard Frank Mosher Short Fiction Prize” (scroll almost all the way to the bottom to find it). Pay the $20.00 entry fee and upload your entry: Enter the Howard Frank Mosher Short Fiction Prize
Does Hunger Mountain still accept entries via snail mail?
Yes! Please send one original, unpublished story under 10,000 words. Include a $20 entry fee. Make checks payable to “Vermont College of Fine Arts.” Entries should be postmarked by June 30th. Your name or address should not appear anywhere on the story itself (we read entries blind.) Instead, enclose an index card with story title, your name, address, phone number, and email address. You may also enclose an SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) for notification of winners. Entries should be typed, and on one side of the paper only. No staples please! Send entries to:
HFMSFP
Hunger Mountain
Vermont College of Fine Arts
36 College Street
Montpelier, VT 05602Will my entry be considered for general publication as as well as for the Howard Frank Mosher Short Fiction Prize?
Yes, it will.
May I enter more than one story in this prize?
Yes. Enter as many as you like! But each entry needs its own entry fee.
Are simultaneous submissions okay?
Yes, but please let us know right away if your work is accepted elsewhere. And unfortunately we can’t refund entry fees if the work is accepted somewhere else.
What if I have questions that aren’t answered here?
Email us at hungermtn@vcfa.edu
Enter the Howard Frank Mosher Short Fiction Prize by clicking here
Thanks for entering the contest, and good luck!