2019 Dogwood Literary Awards Submissions

Thanks for your interest in submitting to Dogwood’s annual contest, which awards $1,000 each for the best essay, story, and poem submitted during the reading period.  Finalists are chosen by the editorial staff and accepted for publication; winners are then chosen from the finalist pool by a guest judge.  All steps of the process are blind.

The annual reading period for Dogwood is  July 1-September 5. During this period, we accept contest submissions through our online submission manager run by Submittable and non-contest submissions (for free) by mail.

Please note: all of our submissions are considered anonymously; if your name remains on the manuscript, you’ll get a note from us saying we can’t consider your work until it is rendered anonymous (see contest guidelines for assistance with that). In addition, please don’t submit if you happen to be a current or former student of the editor.

To Submit: Click here for the online submission manager

When you click on the link, you will be taken to an online database run by Submittable where you can upload your submission along with a very short cover letter. You should receive an automatically generated email to acknowledge that your submission has been loaded into the system. You can then sign into Submittable at any point to see the status of your submission. It might not say “in process” for a few weeks because we have not yet assigned it to an editor.

**Submittable is not accessible for screen readers, so we accept direct submissions from those who are unable to use the system. Please follow the guidelines listed below and email your submission to dogwoodliterary@gmail.com. Please mention the issue of accessibility in your cover letter. Thank you! **

We try to get back to you within 4 months. If you have waited 4 months and have not heard from us, feel free to give us a nudge via email and we will be happy to give you an update.

Contest Submission Guidelines

Fiction and Nonfiction Submission Guidelines

• Submit fiction or nonfiction up to 22 pages using this online submission manager.
• Please title your submission with the title of your piece.
• Please double space and use 12-point font.
• Include a brief bio with contact information in the cover letter field on the submission manager, but no name should appear on the mss.
• Simultaneous submissions allowed if Dogwood is notified of acceptance elsewhere.
• Previously published work is not eligible.

Poetry Submission Guidelines

• Submit one, two, or three poems (max ten pages)
• Please include all poems in one document.
• Please single space and use 12-point font.
• In the submission manager, please include the titles of all poems in your submission title (rather than “Three Poems”).
• Include a brief bio with contact information in the cover letter field on the submission manager, but no name should appear on the mss.
• Simultaneous submissions allowed if Dogwood is notified of acceptance elsewhere.
• Previously published work is not eligible.

Deadline: September 5, 2018

Work not meeting the above guidelines will not be considered for publication. All contest entries meeting these requirements will be considered for publication in Spring 2019 Issue of Dogwood along with selected non-contest submissions. For more information, please email cdavis13 (at) fairfield.edu. Current and former employees and students of Fairfield University are ineligible for publication. All work considered anonymously.

Non-Contest Submissions

Please follow the guidelines listed above and mail your submission to Carol Ann Davis / Dogwood / Department of English / Fairfield University / 1073 N. Benson Road / Fairfield, CT 06824