Stephen Graham Jones Horror Novella Competition
The 2026 submission period is now open.Ìý
Subito Press is seeking a novella-length work of horror fiction. Traditional narrative forms and experimental/hybrid modes are welcome.
Manuscripts should fall between 20,000 and 39,999 words.
Manuscripts that have been previously published in whole – either in print or online – will not be considered. This includes self-publication. So long as the complete work has not appeared in a single venue, publication of chapters/selections/elements of the manuscript will not disqualify a manuscript from consideration.
Submitted manuscripts should be formatted in size 12, double-spaced, serif-font. An exception: if significant portions of the manuscript utilize non-traditional formatting — are, for instance, lineated — submission in whatever form is most representative of the final, published form is encouraged.
No images, please.
Submission fee: $20. A limited number of submission fee waivers are available for those experiencing financial precarity. If you believe you qualify for fee-free submission, contact us at subito@colorado.edu.
Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but we ask that you notify us immediately if your manuscript is accepted for publication somewhere else.
Include with manuscript a brief cover letter, a short bio, and a list of acknowledgements of past publications.
All submitted manuscripts will be carefully read and ranked by a team of student editors. One winner will be selected by . A prize of 1000 dollars and 20 author copies will be awarded to the winner.
Anyone with a close working relationship with the judge at present or within the previous five years should not submit. No past or present paid employee of the University of Colorado nor any current faculty or student at the University of Colorado are eligible. Those who have participated in a single, week-long workshop with the judge remain eligible. If you have additional questions about eligibility, contact us at subito@colorado.edu.
In the event that no manuscript is selected as prize-winner, Subito Press will refund submission fees.
Contest closes on September 21st or upon receipt of 100 submissions.
Competition Judge
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Kristina Ten is the author ofÌýTell Me Yours, I'll Tell You MineÌý(2025, Stillhouse Press). Her stories appear inÌýThe Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy,ÌýWe're Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction,ÌýThe Best Weird Fiction of the Year, Nightmare, The Dark,Ìýand elsewhere. She has won theÌýMcSweeney'sÌýStephen Dixon Award, and has been a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award, the Locus Award, and the Conjunctions Residency. Ten is a graduate of Clarion West Writers Workshop and the Â鶹ӰԺ's MFA fiction program, and has received fellowships from the Ragdale Foundation and the Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing. She lives and teaches in Berkeley.Ìý
Last Year's Winning Title: Casa de Sueños by Victoriano Cárdenas
