Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction

Marguerite McGlinnThe Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction is an annual national short fiction contest. The prize includes a $2,000 cash award, and includes an invitation to an awards dinner in October. The winning story appears in the winter print and online issue of Philadelphia Stories. The Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction is made possible by the generous support of the McGlinn family.

Contest Submission Guidelines:

• 2012 DEADLINE: Contest opens January 1 and runs through June 1. 
• Previously unpublished works of fiction up to 8,000 words.
• Multiple submissions will be accepted for the contest only. Simultaneous submissions are also accepted, however, we must be notified immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
• Authors currently residing in or originally from the United States are eligible.
• Submissions will only be accepted via the website.
• There is a $10 reading fee for each story submitted.
• All entrants will receive a complimentary one-year membership to Philadelphia Stories.

  CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT TO THE 2012 CONTEST

Kevin McIlvoyAbout the 2012 Judge: Kevin McIlvoy has published four novels (A Waltz, The Fifth Station, Little Peg, Hyssop) and, most recently, a short story collection, The Complete History of New Mexico (Graywolf Press).  His short fiction has appeared in Harper’s, Southern Review, Ploughshares, Missouri Review, and many other literary magazines. He has received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in fiction.  For twenty-seven years he was fiction editor and editor in chief of the national literary magazine, Puerto del Sol.  He has taught in the Warren Wilson College MFA Program in Creative Writing since 1990 and taught as a Regents Professor of Creative Writing in the New Mexico State University MFA Program in Creative Writing from 1981 to 2008.  

Past Winners

BG Firmini2011 Winner of the Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction: B.G. Firmani. After board members narrowed down 300 story submissions to nine finalists, renowned author and 2011 judge Steve Almond chose New York City resident B.G. Firmani’s story, “To the Garden.” Read the full announcement of the 2011 winner HERE. Click HERE to see a slideshow of the awards 
ceremony held on the campus of Rosemont College. Click HERE to hear Ms. Firmani read from her winning story at the awards ceremony.

Allison Alsup2010 Winner of the Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction: Allison Alsup received the $2000 prize for her story, “East of the Sierra”, which was chosen by contest judge Ru Freeman as the winner. The story was published in the Winter 2010/2011 issue of Philadelphia Stories. Click HERE to hear Ms. Alsup read from her winning story at the awards ceremony held on the campus of Rosemont College.

Katherine Hill2009 Winner of the Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction: Katherine Hill received the $1,000 prize for her story, The Work Boyfriend, which was chosen by contest judge Elise Juska as the winner. Her winning story was published in the winter 2009/2010 issue of Philadelphia Stories. Click HERE to hear Ms. Hill read at our 2010 Marguerite McGlinn National Prize awards celebration.

About Marguerite McGlinn
Marguerite McGlinn was the essay editor of Philadelphia Stories from 2004-2008. Her travel stories appeared in the New York Times, the Sun-Sentinel, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Los Angeles Times. She edited The Trivium: The LiberalArts of Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric (Paul Dry Books, 2002). Three of her short stories won places in “Writing Aloud,” a program of dramatic readings that matches contemporary fiction with professional actors. She was an adjunct instructor at Saint Joseph University in Philadelphia, and her story “The Sphinx” appeared in the Fall 2007 issue of Philadelphia Stories and the second volume of the Best of Philadelphia Stories (2009).