The editors of Dappled Things are happy to announce that submissions for this year’s J.F. Powers Prize for Short Fiction are now open. Named after one of the greatest writers of the 20th century Catholic literary renaissance–often called a writer’s writer–the contest aims to honor his legacy by awarding stories that, like the priests he wrote about in his fiction, have “one foot in this world and one in the next.” The contest awards prizes of $500 to the winner, $250 to its runner up, and publication for any additional honorable mentions at the discretion of the editors. Submissions will close on November 30, 2019.

Send us your very best short stories here.

You can read the winners of our 2018 contest in our Pentecost 2018 issue.

The winner of our 2019 contest is forthcoming in our next issue. You can subscribe here to read it.