The Cincinnati Review invites s
ubmissions 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 $25, 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 2024 contest will run from June 1 to July 15 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Results will be announced on October 1. Winning entries will be published in the Summer 2025 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, Erica Dawson judges the poetry contest, Michael Griffith judges the fiction contest, and Kristen Iversen 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.
