Short Fiction Contest Details

February 22nd, 2013

.

.

photo Creative Commons Zero – CC0

photo Creative Commons Zero – CC0

.

.

“The act of writing requires a constant plunging back into the shadow of the past where time hovers ghostlike.”

– Ralph Ellison

.

.

.

.

___

.

.

The Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest was first held in 2002.  Since then, three times a year Jerry Jazz Musician has awarded a writer who submits, in our opinion, the best original, previously unpublished work of short fiction.

The Jerry Jazz Musician reader has interests in music, social history, literature, politics, art, film and theater, particularly that of the counter-culture of mid-twentieth century America.  Our newsletter subscribers include publishers, artists, musicians, and fellow writers.  While your writing should appeal to a reader with these interests and in these creative professions, all story themes are considered.

Winning stories are announced on the home page of Jerry Jazz Musician, and it will reside on the website permanently.  Jerry Jazz Musician also nominates writers for the Pushcart Prize.  In addition to publishing the winning story, with the consent of the author, we frequently publish short-listed stories.

.

Contest details

No entry fee is required. One story entry only.  Simultaneous submissions are accepted.

The contest is open to entrants from anywhere in the world (English language only please)

A prize of $150 will be awarded for the winning story.

In addition to the story being published on Jerry Jazz Musician, the author’s acceptance of the prize money gives Jerry Jazz Musician the right to include the story in an anthology that could appear in book or magazine form.  All other ownership rights are retained by the author.  If story appears subsequently in other publications, we ask authors to note that the story was originally published on Jerry Jazz Musician.

Submission deadline for the next contest — our 70th — is September 30, 2025.  Publishing date will be on or about December 10, 2025.  Ideally, stories will not exceed 3,000 words but stories of up to 4,000 words are considered.

Please submit your story by September 30, 2025 via Word (preferred) or PDF attachment to [email protected], and be sure to include your name, address and phone number with your submission, as well as a brief 50 – 100 word story synopsis.  Please include “Short Fiction Contest Submission” in the subject heading of the email.

We accept human created entries only…

NO SUBMISSIONS GENERATED OR ASSISTED BY A.I. ARE CONSIDERED. 

.

Good luck!

.

Stories submitted for the 69th contest (and which were submitted by the May 31, 2025 deadline) are currently under consideration.  Authors will be notified about the status of their stories by August 15, 2025.

Thank you.

.

.

.

Click here to read full publishing terms and conditions

.

Click here to read “Saharan Blues on the Seine,” by Aishatu Ado, the winning story in the 68th edition of the Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest

.

Click here to view the six writers nominated by Jerry Jazz Musician for the 2024 Pushcart Prize

.

.

___

.

.

 

Jerry Jazz Musician…human produced (and AI-free) since 1999

.

.

.

Share this:
Tags:

67 comments on “Short Fiction Contest Details”

  1. I was surprised to read the winning short story. Since jerry jazz is a jazz magazine I assumed that the story had to concern jazz. I will submit a different story this time.

    Reply

  2. Where must you live to be able to enter? The prize is in dollars so I’m wondering if I have to live in America? Or is this a global competition?

    Reply

  3. I’ve been lucky enough to have been published here, a couple years ago.

    What a class organization.

    I’ve never opened this site that I have not been bowled over by something here… an article, someone else’s short story, a music clip… everything is really first class.

    I’ll be happy to submit something every time I can and read through in between entries.

    You folks should be well-deservedly proud of what you do here.

    Continued success and sweet artistic dreams!

    – A fan!

    Reply

    2. I’ve just discovered this site – well, about four hours ago. That was four hours of fun and a feeling of general awesomeness, not only at the quality of the stuff on here, but the wide range of topics. Consequently, I just want to say how much I agree with “A Fan” 😉
      That’s it, I’m hooked. Now go away, I have plenty to think about and even more to catch up with.
      Cheers, Andy

      Reply

    1. Yes…This contest is ongoing. Please see the information on this page for details. I just updated them to address your questions. Good luck!

      Reply
  5. Pingback: TWP’s Weekly Writing Post 2014 April 20-26 Edition | The Writing Pool
  6. Pingback: TWP’s Weekly Writing Post 2014 April 27-May 3 Edition | The Writing Pool
  7. Pingback: TWP Weekly Writing Post 2014 May 4-10 Edition | The Writing Pool
  8. Pingback: The Writing Pool’s Weekly Writing Post 2014 May 11-17 Edition | The Writing Pool
  9. Pingback: TWP Weekly Writing Post 2014 May 18-24 Edition | The Writing Pool
  10. Pingback: Sub Ops Ten - Dj Matioka Blog
  11. Pingback: TWP Weekly Writing Post 2014 May 25-31 edition | The Writing Pool

  12. I’m wondering if simultaneous submissions are okay, and if you send rejections? Thank you so much.

    Reply

    1. Yes…Simultaneous submissions are fine, and we do send out rejection notices at the time the winning entry is announced.

      Reply

    1. Yes…Simultaneous submissions are fine, and we do send out rejection notices at the time the winning entry is announced.

      Reply

  15. […] Jerry Jazz Musician Fiction Contest. “The Jerry Jazz Musician reader has interests in music, social history, literature, politics, art, film and theater, particularly that of the counter-culture of mid-twentieth century America.” Genre: previously unpublished work of short fiction. Prize: $100.00. Deadline: January 31, 2017. […]

    Reply
  16. Pingback: 3 Writing Contests | Cindy's Notebook
  18. Pingback: Writing Contests – Part Time Scribe

  20. Hi, he name of the competition is “short FICTION contest” but people are only talking about short stories. Are other prose form accepted. Something along stream of consciousness or just random expression of thoughts or incidence?

    Reply
  22. Pingback: Tracy Glastrong

  25. […] to 5,000 words will be considered. Value: $100 Deadline: 31 May 2018 Open for: All writers Details here. Southern Fried Karma Press Novel […]

    Reply
  26. Pingback: 20 Free Writing Contests With Cash Prizes

  27. Hello! I was just wondering when and where will the winners of the competition held in May 31, 2018 will be announced. Thank You!

    Reply

      1. Sorry I’m late and all, but I’m preparing to send in a story, and I’d just like to know if there are age limitations. I don’t see any, but I’d like to confirm (I’m about to turn 13 but have been writing stories for a while now).

        Reply

  28. […] Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest Stories can be on any theme and should ideally be up to 3,000 words, though those up to 5,000 words will be considered. Readers of this magazine are interested in music, social history, literature, politics, art, film and theater, particularly that of the counter-culture of mid-twentieth century America. Value: $100 Deadline: 30 September 2018 Open for: All writers Details here. […]

    Reply
  29. Pingback: 18 Free Writing Contests With Cash Prizes for September 2018
  30. Pingback: 19 Free Writing Contests With Cash Prizes for January 2019 (Up to $100,000)
  31. Pingback: Comps and calls for September 2019 – Cathy's Comps and Calls
  32. Pingback: Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest - Creative Writing Ink Ireland Creative Writing Ink Ireland
  33. Pingback: 29 Contests for Writers in January 2020
  34. Pingback: 26 Free Writing Contests With Cash Prizes (Up to $50,000)
  35. Pingback: Jerry Jazz Musician Contest/ How to Submit (Prize: $100) - Creative Writing News
  36. Pingback: Comps and calls for September 2020 – Cathy's Comps and Calls
  39. Pingback: Submit to the Jerry Jazz Musician Contest - ELSiEiSY blog
  40. Pingback: 22 Free Writing Contests/Fellowships with Cash Prizes ($100 to $100,000)
  41. Pingback: Comps and calls for May 2021 – Cathy's Comps and Calls
  42. Pingback: 26 Free Writing Contests With Cash Prizes (Up to $20,000)
  43. Pingback: Comps and calls for January 2022 – Cathy's Comps and Calls

  44. Hi,
    The rules indicate that it is possible to make multiple submissions, but only one entry is permitted.
    Could you please clarify whether it is possible to enter more than one voice of fiction?
    Thank you.

    Reply

    1. Submit one story only, please…You may of course submit that same story, simultaneously, to other publications.

      Thanks.

      Joe

      Reply

  45. A quick question here: the rules clearly state you may only submit in English, and that there is a word limit, and yet several of the last winners have not met these requirements. I also notice that these stories are from published authors of other works with critical acclaim. Why are these authors allowed to exceed the word limit and use other languages, but not regular entrants?

    Reply

    1. Not sure which stories you point to that either exceed the word limit or are not in English. In any case, these are guidelines, Jeremy.

      Reply

      1. Oh, okay. The wording was a little confusing, though. “English language only, please,” but the 67th winner, I believe, had almost all of the quotes in Italian. The main story was in English, but don’t the quotes apply? Also, the rules say that entries of up to 4,000 words would be considered (phrasing implying that over 4,000 would not), but several other spots say 3,000, and a few are right on or over 3,000, so it was a little confusing. Thanks for replying, though!

        Do you mind answering why most of the recent winners have been published authors? Like how the 68th winner is a well-known author-activist, and the winner before that was a five-time published author?

        Reply

Comment on this article:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Site Archive

Your Support is Appreciated

Jerry Jazz Musician has been commercial-free since its inception in 1999. Your generous donation helps it remain that way. Thanks very much for your kind consideration.

Click here to read about plans for the future of Jerry Jazz Musician.

Publisher’s Notes

Creatives – “This is our time!“…A Letter from the Publisher...A call to action to take on political turmoil through the use of our creativity as a way to help our fellow citizens “pierce the mundane to find the marvelous.”

In This Issue

Monk, as seen by Gottlieb, Dorsett and 16 poets – an ekphrastic poetry collection...Poets write about Thelonious Monk – inspired by William Gottlieb’s photograph and Rhonda R. Dorsett’s artistic impression of it.

Poetry

photo of Miles Davys by User:JPRoche, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons/adapted by Rhonda R. Dorsett
“Thinking of Mr. Davis on the Fourth of July” – a poem by Juan Mobili

Poetry

21 jazz poems on the 21st of June, 2025...An ongoing series designed to share the quality of jazz poetry continuously submitted to Jerry Jazz Musician by poets sharing their relationship to the music, and with the musicians who perform it.

The Sunday Poem

”The Subtle Art of Dinner Music” by Fred Shaw

The Sunday Poem is published weekly, and strives to include the poet reading their work.... Fred Shaw reads his poem at its conclusion


Click here to read previous editions of The Sunday Poem

Essay

“J.A. Rogers’ ‘Jazz at Home’: A Centennial Reflection on Jazz Representation Through the Lens of Stormy Weather and Everyday Life – an essay by Jasmine M. Taylor...The writer opines that jazz continues to survive – 100 years after J.A. Rogers’ own essay that highlighted the artistic freedom of jazz – and has “become a fundamental core in American culture and modern Americanism; not solely because of its artistic craftsmanship, but because of the spirit that jazz music embodies.”

Community

The passing of a poet: Alan Yount...Alan Yount, the Missouri native whose poems were published frequently on Jerry Jazz Musician, has passed away at the age of 77.

Interview

photo Louis Armstrong House Museum
Interview with Ricky Riccardi, author of Stomp Off, Let’s Go: The Early Years of Louis Armstrong...The author discusses the third volume of his trilogy, which includes the formation of the Armstrong-led ensembles known as the Hot Five and Hot Seven that modernized music, the way artists play it, and how audiences interact with it and respond to it.

Essay

“Is Jazz God?” – an essay by Allison Songbird...A personal journey leads to the discovery of the importance of jazz music, and finding love for it later in life.

Poetry

What is This Path – a collection of poems by Michael L. Newell...A contributor of significance to Jerry Jazz Musician, the poet Michael L. Newell shares poems he has written since being diagnosed with a concerning illness.

Publisher’s Notes

Where I’ve Been…and a brief three-dot-update...News about an important life experience, and an update about what's going on at Jerry Jazz Musician

Feature

Jimmy Baikovicius from Montevideo, Uruguay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Trading Fours, with Douglas Cole, No. 25: “How I Hear Music: ‘Feel the Sway,’ A Song in Three Movements”...In this edition, due to a current and ongoing obsession with drummer Matt Wilson’s 2006 album The Scenic Route, Douglas Cole writes another poem in response to his experience listening to the track “Feel the Sway.”

Feature

Jazz History Quiz #181...Before recording his most notable work (to that point) as a saxophonist in Miles Davis’ “Birth of the Cool” nonet, his initial reputation was as an arranger, including a stint in 1946 as the staff arranger in Gene Krupa’s Orchestra. He would eventually become one of the leading voices on his instrument for almost 50 years. Who is he?

Short Fiction

Short Fiction Contest-winning story #68 — “Saharan Blues on the Seine,” by Aishatu Ado...Aminata, a displaced Malian living in Paris, is haunted by vivid memories of her homeland. Through a supernatural encounter with her grandmother, she realizes that preserving her musical heritage through performance is an act of resistance that can transform her grief into art rather than running from it.

Feature

Excerpts from David Rife’s Jazz Fiction: Take Two – Vol. 14 - "World War II and jazz"...A substantial number of novels and stories with jazz music as a component of the story have been published over the years, and the scholar David J. Rife has written short essay/reviews of them. In this 14th edition featuring excerpts from his outstanding literary resource, Rife writes about stories whose theme is World War II and jazz

Poetry

“Summer Wind” – a poem (for July) by Jerrice J. Baptiste...Jerrice's 12-month 2025 calendar of jazz poetry winds through the year with her poetic grace while inviting us to wander through music by the likes of Charlie Parker, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Hoagy Carmichael, Sarah Vaughan, Melody Gardot and Nina Simone. She welcomes July with a poem that conjurs up the great Frank Sinatra tune…

Feature

“What one song best represents your expectations for 2025?” Readers respond...When asked to name the song that best represents their expectations for 2025, respondents often cited songs of protest and of the civil rights era, but so were songs of optimism and appreciation, including Bob Thiele and George David Weiss’ composition “What a Wonderful World,” made famous by Louis Armstrong, who first performed it live in 1959. The result is a fascinating and extensive outlook on the upcoming year.

Playlist

“Eight is Great!” – a playlist by Bob Hecht...The cover of the 1959 album The Greatest Trumpet of Them All by the Dizzy Gillespie Octet. A song from the album, “Just by Myself,” is featured on Bob Hecht’s new 28-song playlist – this one devoted to octets.

Short Fiction

“Steven and Mira: Paris May 1968” – a short story by Steven P. Unger...The story – a finalist in the recently concluded 68th Short Fiction Contest – is a semiautobiographical tale of a café-hopping tour of Paris in the revolutionary summer of 1968, and a romance cut short by the overwhelming realities of national strikes, police violence at home and abroad, and finally the assassination of Bobby Kennedy.

Interview

photo by Brian McMillen
Interview with Phillip Freeman, author of In the Brewing Luminous: The Life and Music of Cecil Taylor...The author discusses Cecil Taylor – the most eminent free jazz musician of his era, whose music marked the farthest boundary of avant-garde jazz.

Short Fiction

“Every Night at Ten,” a short story by Dennis A. Blackledge...Smothering parents, heavy-handed school officials, and a dead President conspire to keep a close-knit group of smalltown junior high kids from breaking loose. But the discovery of a song on late-night radio — one supposedly loaded with dirty words — changes everything.

Short Fiction

art by Marsha Hammel
“Stuck in the Groove” – a short story by David Rudd...The story – a short-listed entry in the recently concluded 68th Short Fiction Contest – is about a saxophonist who moves away from playing bebop to experimenting with free jazz, discovering its liberating potential and possible pitfalls along the way…

Art

photo by Giovanni Piesco
The Photographs of Giovanni Piesco: Art Farmer and Benny Golson...Beginning in 1990, the noted photographer Giovanni Piesco began taking backstage photographs of many of the great musicians who played in Amsterdam’s Bimhuis, that city’s main jazz venue which is considered one of the finest in the world. Jerry Jazz Musician will occasionally publish portraits of jazz musicians that Giovanni has taken over the years. This edition features the May 10, 1996 photos of the tenor saxophonist, composer and arranger Benny Golson, and the February 13, 1997 photos of trumpet and flugelhorn player Art Farmer.

Interview

“The Fire Each Time” – an interview with New York Times best-selling author Frederick Joseph, by John Kendall Hawkins...A conversation with the two-time New York Times bestselling author of The Black Friend and Patriarchy Blues, who in 2023 was honored with the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Vanguard Award,. He has also been a member of The Root list of “100 Most Influential African Americans.”

Interview

Interview with Jonathon Grasse: author of Jazz Revolutionary: The Life and Music of Eric Dolphy....The multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy was a pioneer of avant-garde technique. His life cut short in 1964 at the age of 36, his brilliant career touched fellow musical artists, critics, and fans through his innovative work as a composer, sideman and bandleader. Jonathon Grasse’s Jazz Revolutionary is a significant exploration of Dolphy’s historic recorded works, and reminds readers of the complexity of his biography along the way. Grasse discusses his book in a December, 2024 interview.

Feature

Dmitry Rozhkov, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
“Thoughts on Matthew Shipp’s Improvisational Style” – an essay by Jim Feast..Short of all the musicians being mind readers, what accounts for free jazz musicians’ – in this instance those playing with the pianist Matthew Shipp – incredible ability for mutual attunement as they play?

Community

Stewart Butterfield, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Community Bookshelf #4...“Community Bookshelf” is a twice-yearly space where writers who have been published on Jerry Jazz Musician can share news about their recently authored books and/or recordings. This edition includes information about books published within the last six months or so (September, 2024 – March, 2025)

Interview

Interview with James Kaplan, author of 3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans and the Lost Empire of Cool...The esteemed writer tells a vibrant story about the jazz world before, during, and after the 1959 recording of Kind of Blue, and how the album’s three genius musicians came together, played together, and grew together (and often apart) throughout the experience.

Community

Nominations for the Pushcart Prize XLIX...Announcing the six writers nominated for the Pushcart Prize v. XLIX, whose work was published in Jerry Jazz Musician during 2024.

Contributing Writers

Click the image to view the writers, poets and artists whose work has been published on Jerry Jazz Musician, and find links to their work

Coming Soon

An interview with Sascha Feinstein, author of Writing Jazz: Conversations with Critics and Biographers.... An interview with Tad Richards, author of Listening to Prestige:  Chronicling Its Classic Jazz Recordings, 1949 - 1972...  Also, a new Jazz History Quiz, and lots of short fiction; poetry; photography; interviews; playlists; and much more in the works...

Interview Archive

Ella Fitzgerald/IISG, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Click to view the complete 25-year archive of Jerry Jazz Musician interviews, including those recently published with Judith Tick on Ella Fitzgerald (pictured),; Laura Flam and Emily Sieu Liebowitz on the Girl Groups of the 60's; Tad Richards on Small Group Swing; Stephanie Stein Crease on Chick Webb; Brent Hayes Edwards on Henry Threadgill; Richard Koloda on Albert Ayler; Glenn Mott on Stanley Crouch; Richard Carlin and Ken Bloom on Eubie Blake; Richard Brent Turner on jazz and Islam; Alyn Shipton on the art of jazz; Shawn Levy on the original queens of standup comedy; Travis Atria on the expatriate trumpeter Arthur Briggs; Kitt Shapiro on her life with her mother, Eartha Kitt; Will Friedwald on Nat King Cole; Wayne Enstice on the drummer Dottie Dodgion; the drummer Joe La Barbera on Bill Evans; Philip Clark on Dave Brubeck; Nicholas Buccola on James Baldwin and William F. Buckley; Ricky Riccardi on Louis Armstrong; Dan Morgenstern and Christian Sands on Erroll Garner; Maria Golia on Ornette Coleman.