Timeline

• Submissions will be open from March 1st 2024 to July 15th 2024.
• Stories are considered by Driftwood editing staff (no outside readers); guest judge reads finalists.
• Throughout the process, readers will be notified if their story is passed on or reaches the finalist pool. This often results in a quicker response than other contests, where writers often have to wait until everything has been decided.
• The winner will be announced in November 2024.
• The winning short story will be published in the 2026 anthology.

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Guidelines

• Fiction only.
• 1,000-6,000 word limit.
• A standard, 12-point font is preferred. 
• The work must not have been previously published.
• Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but
  please withdraw the work if the story has been
  accepted elsewhere.
• Submit works written in English only, no translations.
• Please submit your manuscript in a .doc, .docx, or PDF format.
• We read submissions blind, so please do not include your name, email, or any identifying characteristics on the manuscript itself.
• Submission fee is $30.00 USD. Each submitter will receive a free copy of a Driftwood Press fiction title of their choosing in the mail. 

 
Awards

• The winner will receive $500 dollars and 10 copies of the anthology in which the story appears. The winner will also have the opportunity to be interviewed about their work; the interview will be published alongside the story.
• If a runner-up is chosen, their work will be offered publication, an accompanying interview, $200, and five copies of the issue in which their work appears.
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Guest Judge
Dean Bakopoulos’ first novel, Please Don’t Come Back from the Moon, was a New York Times Notable Book; he co-wrote and co-produced the film adaptation, which debuted at the Los Angeles Film Festival and was a New York Times Critics’ Pick. His second novel, My American Unhappiness, was named one of the year’s best novels by The Chicago Tribune, and his third novel, Summerlong, was an independent bookstore bestseller and is now in development as a television series. The winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship, as well as NEA fellowships in both fiction (2006) and creative nonfiction (2016), Bakopoulos is writer-in-residence at Grinnell College and also teaches in the Warren Wilson MFA Program and at the University of Iowa. He is also co-writer and executive producer of the television series based on Alissa’s novel, Made for Love, for HBO MAX.

Driftwood Press is excited to announce that we are accepting novella-length book submissions for our Editors’ Pick Novella Prize. Novellas will be chosen by our Managing Novella Editor. See below for guidelines, timeline, and award information. We cannot wait to read your phenomenal novellas!

What We're Looking For...

• Read past issues of our magazine and anthologies for a sense of what we publish. The same editors who chose the short fiction will choose our next novella.
• We want novellas that exude a love of language. We want well-crafted sentences and honed rhythms. And yet, we are not interested in novellas that are merely “stylistic.” We want narrative momentum, dimensional characters, and a plot that delivers the sense of arrival.
• We stray away from young-adult, fantasy, romance, and mainstream mystery. 

Timeline​

• Novella submissions are currently open. If our editors need to catch up, we will temporarily close them. 
• Novella submissions typically take four to nine months. Our target is six.
• Our editors love to collaborate with authors. When we accept your novel, we offer an in-depth critique, working alongside you to improve all aspects of your novella.

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Guidelines​​​

• Fiction only.
• Recommended length is 15,000-30,000 words. While this is our sweet spot, we will consider works slightly outside of these parameters. Distinguish, though, between the novella and the novel. 50,000 words, for instance, feels more like a novel.
• Preferred formatting: standard, 12-point font and single-spacing. Manuscript should appear in a .doc, .docx, or PDF format.
• Excerpts of the novella may have been published individually, but 50% of the novella may not have appeared in a single prior publication.
• Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Please withdraw your submission immediately if the work has been accepted elsewhere.
• Submit works written in English only. At this time, we do not accept translations.

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Awards​

• Winners will receive a cash reward and 10 copies of their printed novella. Payment is contingent on word count (see below).     
  • 15,000 - 17,500 Words: Awarded $300​
  • 17,500 - 22,500 Words: Awarded $400
  • 22,500 - 30,000 Words: Awarded $500

   

• A print run of the novella will be sold on our website and through affiliate bookstores. Additionally, your work will be nationally and internationally distributed by Ingram & Asterism.
• The winner will partake in a multi-round interview about their work; this interview will be published in the pages following the novella.
• All of our novellas receive a moderate publicity push by our in-house team. We’ll try our best to get you a few reviews, podcast appearances, in-person readings, or features around the web.
• After the first 100 copies are sold, the writer receives 20% royalties. Copies bought by or awarded to the writer do not count toward the number of copies sold.
• Depending upon scheduling and availability, authors may also have the opportunity to take part in an author signing & reading at future AWP conventions.

Timeline

• Submissions are open from March 1st 2024 until July 15th 2024.
• Finalists and winner will be announced by Driftwood editors in November 2024.
• The winning chapbook(s) will be published in 2025.

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Guidelines

• Poetry only. Prose poetry, experimental poetry, and poetry with a visual component (color images accepted) are all welcome.
• 15-40 pages of poetry (this does not include title, section break, or acknowledgement pages). We won't turn you away if you are a few pages over or under, but please stay close to that limit.
• A standard, 12-point font is preferred. 
• Poems may have been published individually, but not as a collection.
• Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please let us know immediately if the collection has been accepted elsewhere.
• Submit works written in English only, no translations.
• Please submit your manuscript in a .doc, .docx, or PDF format.
• We read submissions blindly, so please do not include your name, email, or any identifying characteristics on the manuscript itself.
• Submission fee is $25.00 USD. Each submitter will receive a free copy of a Driftwood Press poetry chapbook of their choosing in the mail. 

 
Awards

• The winner will receive $750 dollars and 20 copies of their chapbook.
• A print run of the winning chapbook will be sold on our website, through affiliate bookstores, and will be nationally and internationally distributed by Ingram. 
• The winner will also have the opportunity to be interviewed about their work; the interview will be published in the chapbook following the poems.
• The managing poetry editor may offer a runner-up full publication. If a runner-up is chosen, they will be awarded $350, 20 contributor copies, and the same level of marketing and distribution. 

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​Guest Judge
​Diane Seuss was born in Indiana and raised in Michigan. Seuss is the author of the poetry collections Frank: Sonnets (2021), winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award; Still Life with Two Dead Peacocks and a Girl (2018); Four-Legged Girl (2015), finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; Wolf Lake, White Gown Blown Open (2010), winner of the 2009 Juniper Prize for Poetry; and It Blows You Hollow (1998). Her work has appeared in Poetry, the Georgia Review, Brevity, Able Muse, Valparaiso Poetry Review, and the Missouri Review, as well as The Best American Poetry 2014. She was the MacLean Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Department of English at Colorado College in 2012, and she has taught at Kalamazoo College since 1988. Seuss earned a BA from Kalamazoo College and an MSW from Western Michigan University. 

Driftwood Press is excited to announce that we are accepting full-length book submissions for our Editors’ Pick Poetry Prize. One or more full-length poetry collections will be chosen by our Managing Poetry Editor. See below for guidelines, timeline, and award information. We cannot wait to read your phenomenal poems!

We’re Looking For…

• Fresh voices full of artistic merit. We want books that push against tradition, that wow and dazzle with their attention to craft. Experimental poetry, hybrid work, poetry with a visual element, prose poetry, and any avant-garde poetry are welcomed! We love work that thoughtfully pushes poetry into new realms and realities.
• We welcome all poets but would love to see works from marginalized voices. That said, submissions are read anonymously.
• Cohesive collections: We want to see that a writer has thought about overall theme and poem placement. The collection should be as powerful whole as the poems are individually.
• We encourage you to read our anthologies and previously published collections to learn more about what we love! We are always fans of work centered in place, language, and ekphrasis.
• We stray away from strict rhyme and cliché that shows no awareness of either.

Timeline

• Submissions are open year-round, but may close temporarily if our editors need to catch up or if our book catalogue fills.
• Submissions will be accepted and rejected on a rolling basis. We aim for a three to six months response time.

Guidelines

• Poetry only. Though we do consider hybrid works, the bulk of the manuscript should be poetry.
• 45 – 100 pages of poetry. If you are a few pages under or over, no problem.
• Submissions should be primarily in English, but collections with a moderate bilingual component will of course be considered.
• A standard, 12-point font is preferred.
• Please submit your manuscript in a .doc, .docx, or PDF format.
• We read submissions blindly, so please do not include your name, email, or any identifying information within the manuscript itself.
• Please include a Table of Contents page.
• Individual poems from your manuscript may have been previously published in magazines, journals, anthologies, or chapbooks, but the collection as a whole must be unpublished.
• You must include an Acknowledgements page, citing prior individual poem & chapbook publications of poems within this collection.

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Awards

• 1 – 3 collections will be chosen for publication per year.
• Poets will work closely with the managing poetry editor to polish their collection and complete a multi-round craft-centric interview, to be included in the final publication.
• Each accepted collection will receive: $500 USD, 20 copies of their collection, and a 20% royalties package.
• Winning collections will be sold online, in bookstores, at events, and distributed through Ingram & Asterism.
• Winning collections receive a moderate publicity push by our in-house team. We’ll try our best to get you a few reviews, podcast appearances, in-person readings, or features around the web. Depending upon scheduling and availability, winners may also have the opportunity to take part in an author signing & reading at a future AWP convention.

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