High school students in North Carolina are encouraged to submit their creative writing for a chance to win a cash prize and read at the 24th annual Spring Literary Festival. Note: writers may submit in one category only.
DEADLINE: March 9, 2026
Prize in Fiction
Submit a short story of up to 2000 words.
1st place - $250
2nd place - $100
3rd place - $50
High school students in North Carolina are encouraged to submit their creative writing for a chance to win a cash prize and read at the 24th annual Spring Literary Festival. Note: writers may submit in one category only.
DEADLINE: March 9, 2026
Prize in Nonfiction
Submit a creative/literary essay of up to 2000 words.
1st place - $250
2nd place - $100
3rd place - $50
High school students in North Carolina are encouraged to submit their creative writing for a chance to win a cash prize and read at the 24th annual Spring Literary Festival. Note: writers may submit in one category only.
DEADLINE: March 9, 2026
Prize in Poetry
Submit up to three poems.
1st place - $250
2nd place - $100
3rd place - $50
All graduate students at Western Carolina University are eligible to submit to Yonder! Writers who are published will retain publication rights, and will also have the ability to submit their works elsewhere if published here. In addition, all submissions are automatically considered for the Graduate Literary Contest, and the top three finishers will win prizes of $250, $100, and $50.
The categories for submission are fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry. You may submit up to three works per genre, with fiction and nonfiction pieces not to exceed 3,000 words. Please submit multiple pieces as separate documents.
Please format your submissions in Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced. Please submit as a Microsoft Word file, with the title [last name].[first name].[genre], i.e. “Smith.Joe-Bob.Nonfiction." Please do not include any identifying information in the content of the document.