The 46th Nimrod Literary Awards
Founded by Ruth G. Hardman
The Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction & The Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry
First Prize: $2,000 and publication
Second Prize: $1,000 and publication
The winners will also take part in a virtual Awards Ceremony and reading in the fall of the contest year. All finalists in fiction and poetry will be published and paid at our standard publication rate of $10/page. Semi-finalists in poetry will also be published and paid at our standard publication rate.
Contest Rules
Contest begins: January 1, 2024
Postmark Deadline: April 1, 2024
Poetry:
3-10 pages of poetry (one long poem or several short poems)
Fiction:
7,500 words maximum (one short story or a self-contained excerpt from a novel)
No previously published works or works accepted for publication elsewhere. Author’s name must not appear on the manuscript. Include a cover sheet containing titles, author’s name, full address, phone number, and email.
The Nimrod Literary Awards are open internationally.
Online Submissions:
Work may be submitted online using our online submission manager system.
Postal Submissions:
“Contest Entry” should be clearly indicated on both the outer envelope and the cover sheet. Manuscripts should be stapled, if possible; if not, please bind with a heavy clip. Manuscripts will not be returned. Include SASE for results only. If no SASE is sent, no contest results will be sent; however, the results will be posted on Nimrod’s website.
Mail to:
Nimrod International Journal
Literary Contest–Fiction or Poetry (indicate the appropriate category)
The University of Tulsa
800 S. Tucker Dr.
Tulsa, OK 74104
Entry Fee:
Each entry must each be accompanied by a $20 fee. Make checks payable to Nimrod. $20 includes both entry fee & a one-year subscription (two issues). Writers may submit multiple entries, but each entry must include its own $20 fee. Online submissions also include a $3.00 processing fee.
No Entry Fee Waivers:
Unfortunately, we are unable to offer any fee waivers for material submitted to the Nimrod Literary Awards. We do offer fee waivers for general and thematic submissions.
Statement on “AI” Writing Tools (such as ChatGPT):
We will not consider any submissions written, developed, or assisted by these tools. Attempting to submit these works may result in being banned from submitting works in the future.
2023 Nimrod Literary Awards Results
The editors of Nimrod International Journal are delighted to announce the winners, honorable mentions, finalists, and semi-finalists of the 45th Nimrod Literary Awards.
The Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction
First Prize
Carol Dines, MN, “On Ice”
Second Prize
Dashka Slater, CA, “The Ruddy Fruits That Still Remain”
Honorable Mention
Miriam Ho, Canada, “Miss Ng Misadventures”
Finalists
Nahal Suzanne Jamir, FL, “There Is No Act Five Monologue”
Kyoko Uchida, NY, “Skin”
Benjamin Van Voorhis, WA, “Chernobyl Dogs”
Semi-Finalists
Doug Crandell, GA, “Glass at the Throat”
Angie Kang, CA, “Born Again”
The Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry
First Prize
Jeevan Anthony Narney, AZ, “An Adoptee Abecedarian” and other poems
Second Prize
Diana Cao, MA, “Sick Days: Sonnet Corona”
Honorable Mentions
Susan Nisenbaum Becker, MA, “Hard” and other poems
Liz Harms, IL, “Inquest on Carolina Petrovitis, Case No. 234-3-1916”
Mickie Kennedy, MD, “Painted Lady” and other poems
Finalists
ohn Blair, TX, “Aphorism 33: All Things Come to Those Who Wait” and other poems
Kristin W. Davis, DC, “Bitterroot” and other poems
Katherine Gaffney, MS, “Hunger Winter” and other poems
Andrew Payton, VA, “Lancehead & Opossum” and other poems
Amanda Maret Scharf, OH, “First Language” and other poems
Samyak Shertok, TX, “One Hundred and Eight Doors” and other poems
Melanie Tafejian, NC, “Blockade” and other poems
Kyoko Uchida, NY, “Concertina” and other poems
Semi-Finalists
Laura Apol, MI, “Honor”
Allison Field Bell, UT, “What Could Belong to Us” and other poems
Bailey Blumenstock, DC, “Migraine”
Rosa Castellano, VA, “Survival Is Plural” and other poems
Susan Cohen, CA, “Disguised as Air”
Fay Dillof, CA, “The Art of”
Dante Di Stefano, NY, “While I Was Talking to My Friends the Poets”
Elina Katrin, CA, “Base of Fire” and other poems
A.D. Lauren-Abunassar, PA, “Field Guide as Sonnet”
Rasaq Malik, NE, “Maiduguri” and other poems
David Moolten, PA, “Dam” and other poems
Mary B. Moore, WV, “The Wasp’s Song”
Quinton Okoro, NC, “two children pray while kneeling behind a lemon tree in their father’s
backyard. their fingers are still sticky”
Tamara Panici, DC, “Poem in Two Tongues” and other poems
Gordon Taylor, Canada, “Replicant”
Samuel Ugbechie, Canada, “Something Like Home”
Pamela Wax, MA, “Monsterwörter”
Beth Oast Williams, VA, “Sagittarius puts down his bow”
Rewa Zeinati, MI, “I should be writing instead of watching endless episodes of Arabic series on
Shahid”
Ellen Zhang, CA, “Tentative”
Nimrod extends deep appreciation to all who submitted. Selecting the poetry and fiction finalists was a task that dominated the lives of Nimrod’s editors all spring. They approached their mission with dedication and discretion, reading and rereading the final group, comparing notes, and speaking for favorites. The finalists’ manuscripts were sent to the judges for 2023. Shobha Rao served as fiction judge, and Tarfia Faizullah served as poetry judge. They chose the winners and honorable mentions from the finalist groups.
The 46th Nimrod Literary Awards competition begins January 1, 2024; the deadline is April 1st, 2024. We welcome your submissions, knowing that each year brings new discoveries, often from those who have submitted to the competition before.
All entrants not previously contacted by Nimrod about their work may consider their work released at this time.
