Our annual contest awards prizes of $1,000 in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Winners and finalists will make up next summer's print issue of the national literary magazine Mississippi Review. Contest is open to all writers in English except current or former students or employees of The University of Southern Mississippi. Fiction and nonfiction entries should be 1000-8000 words; poetry entries should be three to five poems totaling ten pages or less. Please attach as one document. There is no limit on the number of entries you may submit. Online entry fee is $16 per entry.  Each entrant will receive a copy of the prize issue. All submissions will be read anonymously. Please remove or redact any contact information from your submission.

No manuscripts will be returned. Previously published work is ineligible. Simultaneous submissions are welcomed and encouraged as long as you notify us immediately of acceptance elsewhere. Contest opens August 15, 2024, and the deadline is January 1, 2025. Winners and finalists will be announced in March and publication is scheduled for June next year. Finalists will receive $100 payment for their work.

Paper entries will still be accepted. If submitting a paper submission, please remove your name from the manuscript and submit a separate title page with your contact information and the title of your submission. Send paper entries and a check (payable to Mississippi Review) for $15 to:

  Mississippi Review Prize
  118 College Drive #5144
  Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39406-0001

  These are the complete contest guidelines.

  If you have questions, please e-mail msreview@usm.edu.