Winner of The Letter Review Prize for Short Fiction My city-boy-turned-country-boy wants us to move but how can I go? I’ve lived here through bombs, heatwaves, riots. Recessions, states of emergency, killer viruses. Nothing mars my devotion. The City can survive anything, and that makes me feel like I can too. My body has absorbed … Read more
We are enormously excited to announce the winners of The Letter Review Prize (March – April 2024) in the categories of Short Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Unpublished Books. Once again, we were astonished by the extraordinary quality of the submissions received. There is a vast number of talented writers submitting to contests, who submit writing … Read more
You are entering a writing contest, and you are asked to provide a cover letter, and a bio. You do your best, and submit something great. Yet, there is a lingering doubt in your mind. Will someone else’s cover letter and bio stand out more? Will they gain an advantage? Am I letting myself down, … Read more
Getting started can be the hardest part of writing fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Making a plan, and setting off confidently in the right direction sounds easy, but too often we find ourselves staring at the blank page in terror (or simply wandering away to find a less daunting task). In this article we share some … Read more
Hello poets. Poetry contests. Exciting. Enticing. So many questions. Which contest should I enter? How do I win one? In this article we’ll run you through all the best advice we’ve ever given to help you place first in a competition, as well as answer all the most frequent questions poets ask us on the … Read more
Hi Community, Writing contests. There’s a lot of them. First of all: Why do we enter them? To win prize money of course. But also, more importantly, to advance our writing careers. To gain recognition, publication, and to connect with a reading audience. Before we embark on any endeavor we want as much info as … Read more
Winner of The Letter Review Prize for Unpublished Books SPRING 1. In the beginning was C/r. If a bond pays a periodic payment of C in perpetuity, its value is cash flow divided by the interest rate. Assume yearly payments of $100 and an interest rate of 5%. That bond is worth $100/.05, or $2,000. Every other cash-flow … Read more
The Cantacuzene Family Crest (Quae Nocent Docent – What Harms, Teaches) Winner of The Letter Review Prize for Unpublished Books PROLOGUE The Waters Off Greenland September 1899 The steamship surges forward, its prow lifting and falling over the swells of the North Atlantic. At each new wave, the ship hesitates and shudders, leaning backward towards America, … Read more
Winner of The Letter Review Prize for Unpublished Books I.I The first eight years of Dai’s life smelled like stone. Like the smoky musk of sunbaked battlements and the salty nip of sea-soaked tunnels. And they smelled like gonalei, the roots of the bone white gona flower that grew in abundance at the base of … Read more
Winner of The Letter Review Prize for Nonfiction For a few seconds I was disoriented, unable to focus in the shadows. “Come over here, please,” Tamara said. I stepped around chunks of fallen plaster and joined her. “Can you see it now?” she said. “Yes, I see. What do you call that big one?” “My … Read more