Howling Bird Press, the publishing house of Augsburg University’s MFA in Creative Writing, offers an annual prize that results in book publication. As a teaching press, we are staffed by graduate students enrolled in the Publishing Concentration of our MFA program and undergraduate students from Augsburg University. Our prize alternates genres annually, from poetry to fiction to nonfiction.
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Howling Bird Press, the publishing house of Augsburg College’s MFA in Creative Writing, seeks submissions for its 2026 Book Prize in Short Nonfiction. The press welcomes innovative, original, unpublished work from established and emerging authors.
The competition is open to all writers in English. Author of the winning manuscript receives a cash award of $2,500, which serves as an advance, with book subsequently published by Howling Bird Press under a standard book contract.
Contest Guidelines
- Submission period: April 2–August 31, 2025
- Online submission, including $20 entry fee, should be made through Submittable (this page).
- Include a cover letter that lists current address, phone number, and email address
- Only current residents of the U.S. are eligible
- MFA faculty and publishing students will serve as judges
- Winner will be announced in January or February 2026
- Recommended length is between 17,500 and 40,000 words long; exceptions are permissible.
- The book should be a single work of long-form nonfiction, or, if a collection of essays, unified in theme.
- Submit Word doc or docx files only. Preferred font is Times New Roman, 12 pt., double-spaced, with one-inch margins.
- Manuscript pages must be numbered.
- Portions of the book may be previously published. But the manuscript as a whole should be unpublished. If a single work of long-form nonfiction, the book must be previously unpublished.
- Include a list of acknowledgments if portions have been previously published.
- Table of contents should be included (if applicable).
- Authors may submit more than one manuscript to the competition for consideration as long as no material is duplicated between submissions. Each submission will require a separate entry fee.
- Manuscripts under consideration for this competition may be submitted elsewhere at the same time. Please withdraw your manuscript if it is accepted by another publisher and should no longer be considered for the Howling Bird Press competition. Withdrawal can be completed via the Submittable manager website. Entry fees are not refundable.
- Current and former students of Augsburg's MFA in Creative Writing are ineligible, as are current faculty and staff of Augsburg University.