A prize of $1,000 plus chapbook publication by Kore Press
will be given for a short story written in English.

The 2008 Short Fiction Award is now closed. Results will be posted here by February 28, 2008

Judge: Lydia Davis

Make a tax-deductible contribution in any amount

to support the Kore Press Short Fiction Award

How to Enter

This competition is open to any woman writing in English, regardless of nationality.

Please submit one copy of a previously unpublished short story, a cover sheet, and a $15 reading fee payable to Kore Press. Please make sure your name, address, phone numbers and email address is on the cover sheet (see below). All entrants will be notified of results via email. If you wish, you may send a self-addressed stamped postcard to confirm we recieved your manuscript (this is optional). Please note that manuscripts cannot be returned.

Cover sheet should include:
• name
• address
• daytime and evening telephone numbers
• email address
• title of manuscript

Manuscripts must be:
• a minimum of 4,000 words and a maximum of 12,000 words
• typed on standard white paper, doublespaced
• paginated
• unbound (do not permanently bind in any way)
• anonymous (do not include your name anywhere on the manuscript)
• original fiction written by the applicant (translations are not eligible)

• unpublished at the time of submission (if the story is accepted elsewhere during our deliberation process, please notify us immediately)

Send submissions to:
Kore Press, Short Fiction Award
P.O. Box 3044
Tucson, AZ 85702-3044

Ethics Statement

We endorse and agree to comply with the following statement released by the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses:

CLMP's community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. We believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree to:

1) conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors;

2) provide clear and specific contest guidelines -- defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and

3) make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public.

This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. We have adopted this Code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.

The Process

Manuscripts are delivered to 6 to 9 preliminary readers of diverse backgrounds and literary perspectives. Manuscripts selected by these preliminary readers are reviewed by a second reader. A group of approximately 20 semifinalists are then forwarded to our judge, who chooses 2 or 3 finalists and a winner.

For more information email kore@korepress.org
or call 520.882.7542

Special Deal for Contest Entrants

Get a free shipping (a $3.50 value) when you enter the contest and purchase the 2007 winning chapbook. Send us a check for $23.00 and we'll enter your manuscript in the competition and ship you a copy of

The Saving Work by Tiphanie Yanique.

Click here to read an interview from Poetry Contest Insider with Kore Press co-directors Lisa Bowden and Shannon Cain

2008 Judge

Lydia Davis

An American virtuoso, Lydia Davis is an innovator of the short story form. She is the author of four collections of short fiction, including Varieties of Disturbance (2007), Break It Down, Samuel Johnson Is Indignant and a novel, The End of the Story. Her fiction has been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Poetry, and has been published in literary journals ranging from The New Yorker and Harper's to Conjunctions and McSweeney’s. Her work has been translated into six languages.

Fiction Chapbook Winner for 2007

2007 Winner
The Saving Work

Tiphanie Yanique
Judge: Margot Livesey

Short Story Chapbook, hand assembled with unique burn mark on cover

20 pages, 4.25 x 5.5"
Price: $8

"Filled with images at once beautiful and stark, The Saving Work is a powerful, poetic study of why we do what we do. Tiphanie Yanique opens a new window into the complexities of island life."

-- Chitra Divakaruni