Prose & Poetry Contest
We’re currently finalizing the selection of judges so will be updating their bios and information in the next few weeks. In the meantime, see more contest and award information below.
Winter Prose & Poetry Edition Contest Details – 2026
- First Prize $500 – One award for Prose | One Award for Poetry
- Second Prize $100 – One award for Prose | One Award for Poetry
- Third Prize $50 – One award for Prose | One Award for Poetry
Each category (Prose and Poetry) will be judged independently with each judge selecting their top three winners. Onyx Publications staff will provide the initial screening. Judge details coming soon.
The Winter 2026 contest provides two tracks, one for short stories, memoirs, and flash fiction, and the other for poetry. First, second, and third place prizes will be awarded for both prose and poetry. First place winners will be interviewed and their works narrated on our Story Discover Podcast. If you haven’t already, give it a listen.
Offering sincere thanks to our past judges Meredith Lyons and Julie Sumner for the time, energy and love they put into the process. Also, thank you to each of the writers and poets who submitted your work. We had many high quality submissions, making Meredith and Julie’s job quite the challenge.
We’re pleased our contest regularly makes the Best Writing Contests List by Reedsy. Please check out their other recommended contests and consider submitting to Reedsy as well!
Previous Contest Judges
Onyx Publications staff provided the initial screening with final selections chosen by our two esteemed guest judges — one of whom is a previous Onyx alum!
Meredith Lyons
Guest Prose Judge - Spring 2024
Meredith grew up in New Orleans, collecting two degrees from Louisiana State University before running away to Chicago to be an actor. In between plays, she got her black belt and made martial arts and yoga her full-time day job. She fought in the Chicago Golden Gloves, ran the Chicago Marathon, and competed for team U.S.A. in the savate world championships in Paris. In spite of doing each of these things twice, she couldn’t stay warm and relocated to Nashville. She owns several swords, but lives a non-violent life, saving all swashbuckling for the page, knitting scarves, gardening, visiting coffee shops, and cuddling with her husband and two panther-sized cats. She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime. Her first novel Ghost Tamer (available on Amazon) is an Amazon Editor’s Pick for Best SciFi Fantasy, her next novel will come out in April 2025 with CamCat Books. More on Meredith at her website.
Julie Sumner
Guest Poetry Judge - Spring 2024
Julie Sumner is a writer who has worked as a critical care nurse, liver transplant coordinator, and massage therapist. She now teaches creative writing, focusing on reading poetry and writing as ways to develop resilience. Her poems and book reviews have appeared in Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel, Delta Poetry Review, The Intima, Fathom Magazine, The Englewood Review of Books, and elsewhere. Her work is also featured in two Writing the Land anthologies: Foodways and Social Justice and Streamlines. Her chapbook, Meridian (available on Amazon), was chosen by poet Jane Hirshfield as the winner of the 2023 Wildhouse Poetry Prize. She lives in Nashville with her husband and a sneaky-smart pit bull mix named Pop Tart. More on Julie at her website.
