The Cincinnati Review invites submissions for the annual Robert and Adele Schiff Awards. One poem, one piece of fiction, and one piece of literary nonfiction will be chosen for publication in our prize issue, and winning authors will receive $1,000 each. All entries will be considered for publication in The Cincinnati Review.
RULES
Writers may submit up to 8 pages of poetry (up to 5 poems total within those pages); up to 10,000 words of a single double-spaced piece of fiction; or 5,000 words of a single double-spaced piece of literary nonfiction, per entry. Previously published manuscripts, including works that have appeared online (in any form), will not be considered. There are no restrictions as to form, style, or content; all entries will be considered for publication. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable under the condition that you notify us if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere. As the contest is judged anonymously, no contact information may appear anywhere on the manuscript file. Files that do include identifying information will be rejected unread, and entry fees will not be refunded (though you’ll still get your free subscription).
TO ENTER
The entry fee is $20, and includes a one-year subscription to The Cincinnati Review. Multiple submissions are welcome and come with additional yearlong subscriptions, which can be used to extend your original subscription or given as gifts. All entrants with an international address will receive an e-book subscription. (If you live at a US address and would prefer an e-book subscription, please write that in the “comments” field as you submit your entry.)
We will be accepting submissions only via our online submission manager, through which you’ll pay the entry fee. Again, please do not include the writer’s name or any identifying information in the manuscript file. Instead, in the “comments” field at the bottom of the entry page, enter the writer’s name, mailing address, telephone number, email, and the title(s) of the submitted work(s). Also, be sure to use the “genre” tab to indicate whether your submission is poetry, fiction, or literary nonfiction.
SUBMISSION PERIOD
The 2023 contest will run from June 1 to July 15 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Winners will be notified in October, and an announcement will appear on our website. Winning entries will be published in the Summer 2024 issue, which comes out in May.
CONTACT INFO
If you have any questions about the contest or problems submitting and/or making payment, please email editors[at]cincinnatireview[dot]com or use the contact form on this site, and we’ll get back to you shortly.
CLMP CONTEST CODE OF ETHICS
In keeping with the CLMP‘s contest code of ethics, we’d like to inform you of the following:
CLMP’s community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. We believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree to 1) conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors; 2) to provide clear and specific contest guidelines—defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and 3) to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public. This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. We have adopted this Code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.
Our selection process:
- We ask all entrants to omit names or other identifying information from their files. If such information is included, that entry will not be read and the entry fee will not be refunded (though that writer will still receive a free subscription).
- Then, we also use a special feature on our submission manager to remove the author and cover-letter sections from view of our screeners and judges.
- In the first round of judging, the screeners for each of the three contest tracks (poetry, fiction, and literary nonfiction) pick 15-40 pieces to send on for the next round of judging. With the special feature still blocking author and cover-letter information, Rebecca Lindenberg judges the poetry contest, Michael Griffith judges the fiction contest, and Kristen Iversen usually judges the literary nonfiction contest.
- As with our regular submission policy, current and former students, faculty, and staff of the University of Cincinnati are ineligible to submit unless they are more than two years removed from their affiliation with the university.
I can’t submit my story…tried Docx and pdf.
Can I submit more than one prose piece as long as I pay a separate fee per piece?
Yes, indeed.
When you say “previously published manuscripts” will not be accepted, does that mean none of the poems can be previously published? or only that the collection you’re submitting cannot be previously published as a collection?
Is the credit card submission process secure? It does not appear to have the https: as one would expect when entering credit card information.
When submitting for the Schiff Prize your payment procedure has no “lock” logo in the URL bar so it doesn’t look like a safe method of payment.
It’s safe. You can tell because the URL begins with https, not just http.
We do not publish books/collections.
I’ve submitted a story from Canada, but every time I try to pay the submission fee I’m redirected to a page that says the payment could not be processed due to an error on the site. On the page I see, I don’t have the option to enter a random US zip code, as advised above. Help? I can send a screenshot of the error page, if need be.
Thanks!
Based on the questions asked and answered about poetry submissions, I think this is the case but want to make sure – up to 40 pages of prose can include multiple pieces, but be considered, total, one single entry? Thanks.
No. Sorry. Only one prose piece per entry, unless it’s flash fiction. In the latter case, up to ten (with the total pages under 40).
Thanks for alerting us to this problem. We have addressed it. It’s safe to submit.
Hi Peggy,
Email it to me at nicola.mason@uc.edu. Also email your phone number so I can call and get your credit card info. Sorry you’re having trouble.
All good wishes,
Nicola Mason
Managing Editor
The instructions above say to put the contents of the cover letter in the comments field. However, on the submissions page, step #3 in the process for creating a new account says to leave the comments field blank. Which is correct?
Sorry for the confusion. We will rectify. Please leave the comments field blank.
Who specifically will do the judging in each category?
The poetry and fiction editors—Don Bogen and Michael Griffith.
Will online submissions be accepted through July 15?
Affirmative.
It says up to 8 pages of Poetry. Does that mean I can enter 8 poems as long as they fit on 8 pages? Or 1 poem up to 8 pages?
One eight-page poem, two four-page poems, one four-pager and four one-pagers, one two-pager and six one-pagers, eight one-pagers—there are many permutations that will work.
I have two prose pieces that are each under 20 pages, can I submit both under one submission and only pay 20$? Or do I have to submit them as separate pieces and pay 40$? They total to be under a 40 page count when put together, but are two totally different stories.
Sorry, no. One complete story per entry fee.
I accidentally submitted size 14 font instead of size 12.
Okay. That shouldn’t matter much.
May I submit more than eight poems if they do not exceed eight pages? Or 8 poems maximum? Thanks!
I submitted a contest entry of poetry and the email verification categorized it as prose. I must have pressed a wrong button. If possible, please switch the entry. Thank you!
No worries. We’ll fix it.
Even if poems do not take up a full page, please submit only one poem per page.
We can’t make exceptions. Apologies.
You missed the deadline. Sorry.
Can I submit pieces that have featured on my personal blog, but only as quotes, and not complete?
Nope. Putting something on your blog constitutes publication.
Hi,
We haven’t had any other complaints, so maybe it’s your browser? We’ll keep a look out to see if it’s happening to anyone else. Sorry for your trouble.
I’m seeing references to both a July 15 and a July 22 deadline. Which is the correct deadline?
July 22. (We extended the deadline.)
CAN I STILL PARTICIPATE NOW?
No. Sorry.
Self-contained chapters from a longer work okay? If so, can three self-contained yet connected chapters (combined under 40 pages) be submitted as one entry or should they be sent in separately as three entries? Thank you.
Sure, Lisa. Combine the three chapters and submit as one piece.
Do you accept “translations” of poems? A successful translation is much harder than an original poem, and no less the creative work of the translating poet.
We have a high regard for translations, but no, the contest is for solo creations. Apologies.
I put snippets of my work on FB. Does that mean I cannot enter the contest now?
Hi Phatima,
You cannot enter any piece of writing that you have posted (self-published) in its entirety on FB, Twitter, or your or someone else’s website.
All good wishes,
The Editors
for prose, should it be single- or double-spaced, and with what margins?
Double spaced, please—11 or 12 point font, 1 inch margins. Thanks!
Will you be holding any more of these competitions in the near future? I was a bit too late for this one.
Yep. Every summer.