For those who write shorter pieces, this opportunity may be right for you.
“I have always loved chapbooks. The first two books I published were chapbooks. What excites me is when a chapbook takes itself seriously as a literary form–up to something unique and different from other 'packaging,' other narrative or lyrical delivery devices—the novel, the short story collection, the novella, etc. It is not a 'minor' form for me. I love when a chapbook presents itself on an equal footing as those other forms. Not lesser or better but different, special. Its content is unable to be expressed in any other manner but this compact, shaped-charge of a book.” –Michael Martone, Guest Judge
OPEN: Submissions Open Through December 17
Guest Judge: Michael Martone
For the fourth year, The Masters Review is open for submissions of literary prose chapbooks! They're interested in collections of flash fiction, creative nonfiction essays, short stories, and anything in-between. They encourage you to be bold, to experiment with style and form, as long as you stay under 45 pages. One chapbook will be selected as the winner by their guest judge, Michael Martone! The winner receives a $3,000 cash prize, along with manuscript publication and 75 contributor copies. Their chapbooks are distributed internationally and are available through Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. A digital version of the chapbook will be made available to their newsletter subscribers six months to a year after the print publication.
Submissions will be accepted between September 1 and December 17, 2023. The Masters Review staff will select a shortlist of five to ten chapbooks to pass along to Michael Martone, who will pick the winner and write an introduction for the manuscript. The winning chapbook will be published in Spring 2025. Last year’s winner, Coats by Naomi Telushkin, selected by Kim Fu, will be published next spring. Masterplans by Nick Almeida, our inaugural winner, was chosen by Steve Almond, and Matt Bell selected Love at the End of the World by Lindy Biller as the winner of our second contest.
All submissions must be single-author prose manuscripts of 25 to 45 pages. They are not interested in poetry. All manuscripts must be complete: no excerpts, no chapters of a novel, no works-in-progress, or any other incomplete work. Individual pieces may be previously published, but submitted manuscripts should contain some unpublished material. If you have questions or concerns about whether your manuscript would qualify, please email them at contact@mastersreview.com.
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