Black Fox is accepting submissions for its ninth writing prize. The theme for this round is “Rhapsody of Regret.” We are open to loose interpretations of the theme in any genre, as always.

What lies underneath the weight of regret? 

So often, regrets are reminders of roads not taken, words left unsaid, and chances not taken. They echo in the deepest parts of our minds, insisting on what might have been. Whether fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry, we’re looking for work that uncovers the multifaceted nature of regrets. What emotions, lessons, and transformations emerge in retrospect? 

Please submit your strongest fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, and we will choose one winner that we feel interprets the theme best. The prize is $300 and publication in the Winter 2024 issue. All submissions are considered for publication in the Winter 2024 issue. The contest entry fee is $12, and submissions must be submitted before midnight (EST) on November 30, 2023.

Please make sure your manuscript is double-spaced with 12-point font. Submissions should be no more than 5,000 words. For poetry, send up to three poems in the same document. For flash fiction, send up to two stories in the same document. Author’s name and page number should appear in the top right-hand corner of every page. We also ask that you specify the category/genre of your work in the cover letter. Please see our Submission Guidelines before submitting. 

We will select a winner by the end of January 2024, and each entrant will receive a response.

Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.

***Writers, please note that entry fees are non-refundable, and payment to the winner is awarded via PayPal. We reserve the right to extend the contest deadline if necessary.***

The Black Fox team looks forward to reading your wonderful submissions!

Donations help us with administration costs and with paying contributors. We are also hoping to make it to AWP each year, and donations can help with this. You may submit fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and blog posts to this category. Donations cannot be refunded. This is entirely optional and writers can still submit their work at no cost. Thank you for continuing to support Black Fox.

Make sure to read our submission guidelines before submitting. We expect a clean copy formatted with 12 pt Times New Roman font. Fiction and nonfiction should be double-spaced. Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.

This category is for consideration in our print issue. Accepted contributors to our issues are paid $20 each.

A response time of 4 weeks is guaranteed. Please make sure your manuscript is double-spaced with 12 point Times New Roman font. Fiction submissions should be no more than 5,000 words. Poetry submissions should be no more than 3 poems (poetry does not need to be double-spaced). Author's name, and page number should appear in the top right-hand corner of every page. Please visit our submission guidelines underneath the "Submit" section of our website for more details.

This category is for consideration in our print issue. Accepted contributors to our issues are paid $20 each.

Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.

A response time of 2 weeks is guaranteed. Please make sure your manuscript is double-spaced with 12 point Times New Roman font. Fiction submissions should be no more than 5,000 words. Poetry submissions should be no more than 3 poems (poetry does not need to be double-spaced). Author's name, and page number should appear in the top right-hand corner of every page. Please visit our submission guidelines underneath the "Submit" section of our website for more details.

This category is for consideration in our print issue. Accepted contributors to our issues are paid $20 each.

Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.

Please make sure your manuscript is double-spaced with 12 point Times New Roman font. Submissions should be no more than 5,000 words. Author's name, and page number should appear in the top right hand corner of every page. Please visit our submission guidelines underneath the "Submit" section of our website for more details. 

This category is for consideration in our print issue. Accepted contributors to our issues are paid $20 each.

Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.

Please make sure your manuscript is double-spaced with 12 point Times New Roman font. Submissions should be no more than 5,000 words. Author's name, and page number should appear in the top right hand corner of every page. Please visit our submission guidelines underneath the "Submit" section of our website for more details. 

This category is for consideration in our print issue. Accepted contributors to our issues are paid $20 each.

Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.

We are looking for quality poetry. We don’t have many requirements for poetry, but please send only three poems at a time in one document. Poems do not have to be double spaced, but poets should still use Times New Roman, 12 pt. font and the poet’s last name/page number should still appear in the top right-hand corner of every page. If submitting multiple poems, submit them in one document. Poets, please keep in mind that our issue pages are 6x9. For this reason, poems with particularly long lines often don't work well. Please also review our general submission guidelines on the Black Fox website. 

This category is for consideration in our print issue. Accepted contributors to our issues are paid $20 each.

Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.

We are looking for quality flash fiction. We love flash fiction that makes every word count! Stories should be 1,000 words or less. If your story is over 1,000 words, please submit it to the general fiction category. Please submit a double-spaced document with 12 pt Times New Roman font. Please read our submission guidelines before submitting. 

This category is for consideration in our print issue. Accepted contributors to our issues are paid $20 each.

Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.

We're looking for personal essays and creative nonfiction. We tend to resonate more with nonfiction pieces that read more like fiction. There is no submission fee, but please prepare your manuscript according to our guidelines.

Preparing your Manuscript:

Please make sure your manuscript is double-spaced with 12 point Times New Roman font. Submissions should be no more than 5,000 words. Author's name, and page number should appear in the top right hand corner of every page. Please visit our submission guidelines underneath the "Submit" section of our website. 

This category is for consideration in our print issue. Accepted contributors to our issues are paid $20 each.

Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.

The Black Fox blog is always looking for contributors. We are particularly interested in articles on the craft of writing, book reviews, book news, and publishing news. If it's writing, book, or publishing-related then this is the place for it. If we like your article, we'll publish it on our blog.

Blog posts should meet our general submission guidelines and be 1500 words or less. Please DO NOT submit work that isn't ready. Take your time and polish your work to the best of your ability before sending it in. No changes can be made to your submission after we receive it.