Submissions are now closed for the 2021 Great American Fiction Contest.



Check back in January 2021 when the 2022 content opens. In the meantime, see the list of our fiction contest anthologies.

In its nearly two centuries of existence, The Saturday Evening Post has published short fiction by a who’s who of great American authors, including Ray Bradbury, William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Louis L’Amour, Sinclair Lewis, Jack London, Joyce Carol Oates, Edgar Allan Poe, Anne Tyler, and Kurt Vonnegut, among so many others.

“This contest is a tribute to the Post’s legacy of featuring the most renowned American fiction writers,” says Steven Slon, editorial director and associate publisher for The Saturday Evening Post. “Our goal is to continue the tradition of finding and featuring compelling stories and the authors behind them.”

The winning story will be published in the January/February 2021 edition of The Saturday Evening Post, and the author will receive $1,000. Five runners-up will each receive $200 and will also have their stories featured online.

Submission Guidelines

Stories must be between 1,500 and 5,000 words long.

All stories must be previously unpublished (excluding personal website and/or blog publication).

No extreme profanity or graphic sex scenes.

All stories must be submitted by their author in print or in Microsoft Word or PDF format with author’s name, address, telephone number, and email address on the first page.

Entries should be character- or plot-driven pieces in any genre of fiction.

Think local. The Post has historically played a role in defining what it means to be an American. Your story should in some way touch upon the publication’s mission: Celebrating America — past, present, and future.

has historically played a role in defining what it means to be an American. Your story should in some way touch upon the publication’s mission: Celebrating America — past, present, and future. All entries must be received electronically or be postmarked by July 1, 2020.

There is a $10 entry fee, which helps defray a portion of the cost of operating the contest.

Read previous years’ winning stories:

Get all of the collected works below plus more of the best short stories now.

Winner:

“Thornhope, Indiana”

by Jon Gingerich

Runners-Up:

“Fifty Million Cents”

by Amanda Irene Rush

by Amanda Irene Rush “All Happy Families”

by Jesse Sherwood

by Jesse Sherwood “Don’t Have to Be Crying”

by Patricia Perry Donovan

by Patricia Perry Donovan “The Silhouette” [Coming January 24]

by Kate Brett Lewis

by Kate Brett Lewis “A Man of Few Words” [Coming January 31]

by Cathy Mellett

Winner:

“Mount to the Sky”

by Michael Caleb Tasker

Runners-Up:

“Charlotte’s Mother”

by Jeffrey Ricker

by Jeffrey Ricker “Fishing for Owl”

by Aimee Parkison

by Aimee Parkison “Parting”

by Marlene Olin

by Marlene Olin “Rising to the Surface”

by Rachel Rigolino

by Rachel Rigolino “Immigrant/Emigrant”

by James Vescovi

Winner:

“Open Season at the Café Rumba”

by Julia Rocchi

Runners-Up:

Winner:

“Crack”

by Myles McDonough

Runners-Up:

Winner:

“Zelda, Burning”

by Celeste McMaster

Runners-Up:

Winner:

“Omeer’s Mangoes”

by N. West Moss

Runners-Up:

Winner:

“The War at Home”

by Linda Davis

Runners-Up:

Winner:

“Wolf”

by Lucy Jane Bledsoe

Runners-Up: