Dogwood: A Journal of Poetry and Prose accepts submissions for its 2024 literary prizes from July 1 until September 5, 2023.  Guidelines for the contest are available below by genre.  

Due to the economic downturn, we are mindful of the fact that a $20 reading fee creates an unnecessary barrier. Therefore, we will be lowering our entry fee to $12. We will continue to offer three $1000 prizes, one in each of the three genres of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. The best poem, story, and essay will win and be published along alongside all finalists for the prize, chosen in a blind review process.  Dogwood issue 23 will be published in late spring 2024.  Judges in all three categories will be announced soon.

All submissions are considered for publication, and Dogwood back issues are available for purchase here. We do not pay for pieces accepted that are not chosen for the 3 prizes. Writers who are incarcerated may enter the contest by mail or by email to dogwoodliterary@gmail.com, and submission fees are waived.

Contest Submission Guidelines

Fiction and Nonfiction Submission Guidelines

• Submit fiction or nonfiction up to 22 pages using this online submission manager.
• Please title your submission with the title of your piece.
• Please double space and use 12-point font.
• Include  a brief bio with contact information in the cover letter field on the  submission manager, but no name should appear on the mss.
• Simultaneous submissions allowed if Dogwood is notified of acceptance elsewhere.
• Previously published work is not eligible.

Poetry Submission Guidelines

• Submit one, two, or three poems (max ten pages)
• Please include all poems in one document.
• Please single space and use 12-point font.
• In the submission manager, please include the titles of all poems in your submission title (rather than "Three Poems").
• Include  a brief bio with contact information in the cover letter field on the  submission manager, but no name should appear on the mss.
• Simultaneous submissions allowed if Dogwood is notified of acceptance elsewhere.
• Previously published work is not eligible.

Deadline: September 5, 2023

Enter the prize online or submit non-contest submissions for free by sending them directly to the Editor at the following address: Sonya Huber, Editor, Dogwood, Department of English, Fairfield University, 1073 N. Benson Road, Fairfield CT 06824.

A Note on our Time Frame for Editorial Replies and Our Process:  Dogwood is a teaching journal, which means that graduate and undergraduate students are reading alongside the editor, who reads every submission and discusses each with students before rendering her decision.  This means that our consideration process takes a little longer.   All contest entrants will be notified of our decision by December 15, at which time the editor notifies finalists of their status, offers publication to them, and forwards a finalist pile to the final judge, who chooses a single winner.  

Our non-contest submissions are notified only of acceptance.  If you have not heard from us by early in 2023, we have declined your non-contest submission.