Deadline: Entries must be postmarked by October 1, annually.

Reading Fee: $20 check/money order/cash, made payable to Southeast Missouri State University Press, must accompany each entry. Fee includes a copy of Big Muddy in which the winning story appears.

Award, contest deadline of October 1, 2016: $1000 and publication in an issue of Big Muddy: A Journal of the Mississippi River Valley.

Manuscripts submitted to the contest will be read and judged anonymously.

Submission Guidelines

• Submissions must not be previously published.
• Submit a maximum of 30 pages, double-spaced, with the following information on a separate cover page:
  • Contest title
  • Manuscript title
  • Author name
  • Address
  • Telephone number
  • Email (if available)
  • Your name/contact information must not appear anywhere else on the manuscript.
• Send a SASE for notification of results. Manuscripts will not be returned.
• Failure to follow these guidelines may disqualify entry.

Mail entries with $20 reading fee to:

Southeast Missouri State University Press
Mighty River Short Story Contest
One University Plaza, MS 2650
Cape Girardeau, MO 63701