Congratulations to Hadley Franklin, winner of the 2023 Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize, for her work Falling. Hadley Franklin holds an MFA in fiction from New York University’s Creative ... [Read More]
Desperate Literature Short Story Prize

This year's Short Fiction Prize is now CLOSED. The 2023 Winner and Runners-Up have been announced HERE!
First Prize:
- €1500
- A week’s residency at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation
- A consultation with a Literary Agent
- A manuscript assessment and follow-up meeting with a literary editor
Runner-up Prizes:
- €750 (two prizes available).
All Shortlisted Writers:
All Shortlisted Writers are eligible for publication in select literary publications.
One Shortlisted Writer:
Will be offered a spot at the Tbilisi International Festival of Literature, along with a 7-day residency at the Writers’ House of Georgia. A travel stipend of €400 will be provided
Learn more about this prize and enter on their website: Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize
Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize is now closed.
Submissions for the Desperate Literature Prize short fiction prize have now closed. The deadline was April 30, 2023! Prizes include: – A week’s residency at the Civitella Ranieri ... [Read More]
Jay Gao wins 2022 Desperate Literature Prize!
Jay Gao, a Chinese Scottish poet and fiction writer, wins the 2022 Desperate Literature Short Story Competition with The Baron and His Volcano. Jay is the author of Imperium (2022), forthcoming ... [Read More]
Angela Finn wins the 2020 Desperate Literature Short Story Prize
Winner: Angela Finn wins the 2020 Desperate Literature Short Story Prize for Excerpts from a Pale Blue Notebook with Silver Stars. Runners-up: Jelle Cauwenberghs for Bottles and Jenah Shaw for ... [Read More]
2019 Desperate Literature Short Story Prize Winners
CONGRATULATIONS to the 2019 Winners First Place: Francesca Reece – So Long Sarajevo / They Miss You So Badly We are very excited to announce that after winning the Desperate Literature Prize, ... [Read More]
2018 Winners of the Desperate Literature Short Story Prize
Congratulations to the 2018 Winners! First Place: Ed Cottrell –Frailings Runners Up: Gordon Collins – Notes on Beynon’s Veil Caitlin Ingham – Blanch ... [Read More]