The Talking Writing Prize is an annual contest that celebrates the diversity online of original, personally driven writing.
Talking Writing contests are currently on hold.
General Contest Information
Since its debut in 2010, Talking Writing has showcased personal essays and other endangered forms of literary and journalistic writing.
TW editors believe strongly in building a community that promotes literary culture all over the Web—and the world. TW features have been reprinted in Salon, Ebony, and the Huffington Post, among other online media sites. TW issues have featured interviews with Jennifer Egan, Robert Olen Butler, Terry Tempest Williams, Connie Willis, Andrew Lam, Caitlin Moran, and many others. TW also publishes poetry, fiction, and the work of visual artists and photographers.
All contest submissions are reviewed by top TW editors and considered for publication in the magazine.
Submit all entries at talkingwriting.submittable.com. The $15 fee for each entry offsets administrative costs and supports ongoing publication of TW.
For prose and hybrids, we'll accept up to 3,000 words; 3-6 pages for poems. Enter as many pieces as you like, although each entry requires a separate submission and contest fee. Simultaneous submissions are fine, too, as long as you notify us immediately if your piece is accepted elsewhere. We'll consider unpublished works only, and all entries must be in English.
Include only the title of your piece and page numbers on the first page and in the header. Author names, bios, and cover letters will not be seen by contest readers or judges until the winners have been selected.
Prizewinners receive a cash award and publication in Talking Writing.
No contest in 2021 and 2022 (pandemic freeze)
TW Contest Winner for 2020
Talking Writing Prize for Multiple Genres
Topic: Creative Fire
Judge: Lesley Wheeler
Winner: B. Tyler Lee for • a large volume of small nonsenses
TW Contest Winner for 2019
Talking Writing Prize for Poetry
Topic: The Age of Extinction
Judge: Neil Aitken
Winner: Stacey Balkun for Eulogy Ending in Red
TW Contest Winner for 2018
Talking Writing Prize for Personal Essay
Topic: Place and Identity
Judge: Julie Phillips
Winner: Tuan Phan for From Saigon to Bataan to Ohio
TW Contest Winner for 2017
Talking Writing Prize for Personal Essay
Topic: Writing and Faith
Judge: Ausma Zehanat Khan
Winner: Sarah Birnbach for My Father's Blessing
TW Contest Winners for 2016
Talking Writing Prize for Flash Fiction
Topic: Absurd Stories
Judge: Meg Pokrass
Winner: Nyanka Joseph for To Be a Snake in Winter
Talking Writing Prize for Personal Essay
Topic: Mental Illness
Judge: Mark Vonnegut
Winner: Jane McCafferty for Unleashed
TW Contest Winner for 2015
Talking Writing Prize for Hybrid Poetry
Judge: Amy King
Winner: Elisabeth Weiss for The Anna Fragments
TW Contest Winners for 2014
Talking Writing Prize for Flash Nonfiction
Judge: Dinty W. Moore
Winner: Stephen Brown for How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away?
Talking Writing Prize for Advice Writing
Judge: Emily Toth
Winner: Ruth Carmel for Misdirection
TW Contest Winners for 2013
Talking Writing Prize for Flash Fiction
Judge: Joanne Avallon
Winner: Charlotte M. Porter for Deaf Uncle
Talking Writing Prize for Creative Nonfiction
Topic: Family Life
Judge: Lorraine Berry
Winner: Drew Ciccolo for "Paige"
TW Contest Winners for 2012
Talking Writing Prize for Short Fiction
Judge: David Cameron
Winner: David Meischen for Agua Dulce
Talking Writing Prize for Nature Writing
Judge: Steven Lewis
Winner: John Gredler for Glistening Scar
Small Print
By submitting a contest entry, you agree that if your piece is a prize winner or is selected for publication, Talking Writing, Inc., will acquire First North American serial rights, the right to put it or portions of it on the TW website, and the one-time, non-exclusive right to include it in a TW anthology, should there ever be one. All other rights are retained by the author.
You also warrant that your piece is an original work, is solely owned by you, and has not been previously published.
