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About Arthur Klepchukov

Arthur Klepchukov was born between Black Seas, Virginian Beaches, and San Franciscan waves. He adores trains, swing sets, and music that tears him outta time. Read Art’s words in The Common, Necessary Fiction, KYSO Flash, Fiction Southeast, and more at ArsenalOfWords.com

Recent Posts by this author:

  • Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time in Spring 2019
  • How Writing and Submitting Short Stories Improved My Novel
  • Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time in Winter 2018
  • Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time in Fall 2018
  • Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time (Summer 2018)
  • Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time (Spring 2018)
  • Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time (Winter 2017 Edition)
  • How I Won NaNoWriMo in My First (and Last?) Attempt
  • Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time (Fall 2017 Edition)
  • Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time (Summer 2017 Edition)
  • Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time (April, May, June Edition)

    • Art writes literary and speculative fiction from numerous San Franciscan cafes and the occasional park. He completed The Lemon Tree House Residency for Writers in Tuscany and has read at Lit Camp’s Basement Series. Art was awarded Honorable Mention in the Writers of the Future contest. He loves hosting Shut Up & Write meetups. Follow his writing journey on Arsenal of Words and on Twitter.

    Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time in Spring 2019

    By 5 Comments

    This submissions season covers deadlines from March 1, 2019 through May 31, 2019. How was the start of your writing year? Deep into drafts and submissions or still working up to your first? Here’s another invigorating round of opportunities. Thanks to Literistic, Poets & Writers, Submittable Discover, and New Pages for many of these contests.

    Much like editors are looking for reasons to reject work, I want to focus on opportunities worth my time. Thus, my list of writing contests below includes reasons to submit to that particular writing contest. May you find a promising opportunity among this list and spend less time searching for where to send your exceptional work.

    [Read more…]

    How Writing and Submitting Short Stories Improved My Novel

    By 16 Comments

    Photo by Aftab Uzzaman

    If you’re writing a novel and are nowhere near the end, why spend time on short stories? Doesn’t that distraction delay getting to the end of the current draft, a moment that always feels months away? I thought so once. One year, I wouldn’t let myself touch any other project until I’d worked on my novel every day. This lasted five months until I revisited “The End.” Again.

    Why should a novel writer devote precious writing time to short stories? After five novel drafts, two years of submitting shorter fiction, and seven publications, here are my reasons.

    Do Something With All Those Ideas

    Not every idea deserves a novel. And there’s something cathartic about expressing an idea soon after inspiration strikes. I’m not holding my breath and suffocating the idea because I have to focus elsewhere. As powerful as some ideas feel in the moment, most are quite happy as short stories or flash fiction or poems, or being expressed at all. I now tend to start each idea in the shortest possible form. I only expand the word count if my gut and reader feedback suggest there’s more to say. In the meantime, I grow my list of stories and drafts, not only my list of ideas.

    Understand the Impact of Every Edit

    An effective edit rarely moves me in the same way as what inspired the story. Revising a longer work can be a dreary process because it’s difficult to grasp the impact of my efforts. This is not the case with flash fiction. Try changing a word in a 100-word story, swap sentences in 250 words, or drop a paragraph among only 1,000 words. You’ll notice an immediate impact on the entire piece. This inspires me toward better revisions by reminding me how powerful each change can be.

    Feel A Sense of Completion More Often

    Novel drafts take months or years to write. Short story drafts can take weeks. Flash fiction, anything under 1,000 words, can be even briefer. I’m not saying shorter work is easier to write, or requires any less thoughtful revision. But the satisfaction of reaching the end of a draft will happen sooner with shorter fiction. This can prevent listlessness after always having the same answer for “what are you working on?”

    Practice Finding Comps

    I read every market to which I submit. If I want a literary journal to publish my story, I not only follow their submission guidelines, [Read more…]

    Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time in Winter 2018

    By 6 Comments

    What are your submission or rejection goals for 2018? Inspired by Lit Hub’s 100 rejections per year post, I got 93 rejections 2017 and aimed to cross 100 this year. Since my last contest roundup, I’m at 125 rejections this year.

    This submissions season covers deadlines from December 1, 2018 through February 28, 2019. Don’t let your words wither on your hard drive! Finish the year strong by sending out your best work and start the new year with an invigorating round of submissions. Thanks to Literistic, Poets & Writers, Submittable Discover, and New Pages for many of these contests.

    Much like editors are looking for reasons to reject work, I want to focus on opportunities worth my time. Thus, my list of writing contests below includes reasons to submit to that particular writing contest. May you find a promising opportunity among this list and spend less time searching for where to send your exceptional work.

    [Read more…]

    Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time in Fall 2018

    By 9 Comments

    What are your submission or rejection goals for 2018? Inspired by Lit Hub’s 100 rejections per year post, I got 93 rejections 2017 and aim to cross 100 this year. Since my last contest roundup, I’m at 99 rejections for this year! Read my latest responses in the latest edition of The Rejection Quarterly.

    This submissions season covers deadlines from September 1, 2018 through November 30, 2018. Fall is a great time to be submitting. As another academic year begins, many university-affiliated literary journals reopen their reading periods. Thanks to Literistic, Poets & Writers, Submittable Discover, and New Pages for many of these contests. This time, I focused a bit more on contests without fees and flash fiction, because my heart has been wrapped up in shorter forms lately.

    Much like editors are looking for reasons to reject work, I want to focus on opportunities worth my time. Thus, my list of writing contests below includes reasons to submit to that particular writing contest. May you find a promising opportunity among this list and spend less time searching for where to send your exceptional work.

    [Read more…]

    Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time (Summer 2018)

    By 8 Comments

    What are your submission or rejection goals for 2018? Inspired by Lit Hub’s 100 rejections per year post, I got 93 rejections 2017 and aim to cross 100 this year. Since my Spring 2018 contest roundup, I’ve earned plenty of rejections and published the last season’s responses in a fun format I dubbed The Rejection Quarterly.

    Summer tends to be a slower time for submissions. A lot of literary journals close their reading periods and are slower to respond. I love using this time of fewer deadlines for more in-depth writing—especially novel revisions. This submissions season covers fiction contests with deadlines between June 1, 2018 and August 31, 2018. Thanks to Literistic, Poets & Writers, and Submittable Discover for many of these contests.

    Much like editors are looking for reasons to reject work, I want to focus on opportunities worth my time. Thus, my list of writing contests below includes reasons to submit to that particular writing contest. May you find a promising opportunity among this list and spend less time searching for where to send your exceptional work.

    [Read more…]

    Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time (Spring 2018)

    By

    What are your submission or rejection goals for 2018? Inspired by Lit Hub’s 100 rejections per year post, I got 93 rejections 2017 and aim to cross 100 this year. I plan to include literary agent rejections in this year’s tally, which should incentivize me to query more. Since my last contest roundup, I’ve earned two more acceptances. The journey to publication for my latest flash fiction, “Rivet Here”—including full rejection letters—is available on my blog.

    This submissions season covers fiction contests with deadlines between March 1, 2018 and May 31, 2018. March is absolutely stacked with deadlines; so no excuses about not submitting! Thanks to Literistic, Poets & Writers, Submittable Discover, and New Pages for many of these contests.

    Much like editors are looking for reasons to reject work, I want to focus on opportunities worth my time. Thus, my list of writing contests below includes reasons to submit to that particular writing contest. May you find a promising opportunity among this list and spend less time searching for where to send your exceptional work.

    [Read more…]

    Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time (Winter 2017 Edition)

    By

    Inspired by Lit Hub’s 100 rejections per year post, my goal was to make at least 50 submissions in 2017. Since my last contest roundup, I’m at 108 submissions and 79 rejections. I’m also delighted to share that I’ve earned my first acceptance for publication in fiction and nonfiction. It’s nowhere near New Year’s but I’m already breaking down my next series of writing goals.

    This submissions season is stacked with late December and early January deadlines. Here’s a chance to get started on your New Year’s Resolutions early. I found great opportunities for flash fiction, short story collections, novellas, and novels.

    Much like editors are looking for reasons to reject work, I want to focus on opportunities worth my time. Thus, my list of writing contests below includes reasons to submit to that particular writing contest. May you find a promising opportunity among this list and spend less time searching for where to send your exceptional work.

    [Read more…]

    How I Won NaNoWriMo in My First (and Last?) Attempt

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    NaNoWriMo 2016 winner
    Last November I wrote over 50,000 words of a new novel and won my first National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Are you on the fence about participating this year? Do you have the same skeptical reaction I did every year? Let this post provide catharsis for your worries and guidance for making a decision on how to spend this November. Read on for my strategy for winning (e.g. writing 50,000 words by Nov. 30) and a reflection on what I would and wouldn’t repeat.

     

    Why Bother with NaNoWriMo?

    The best way to tank NaNoWriMo is to sit on the sidelines and complain—50,000 words is too much / too little / I don’t need a deadline / I already have too many deadlines. You don’t have to do it. Nobody has to. And even if you do, no one has to know the outcome. But don’t knock a writing experiment until you try it. I had all the usual reservations you can read about in any other post, but I showed up anyway to get my licks and challenge my expectations.

    What’s the Worst That Could Happen?

    You invest 30 days into your writing and nothing productive comes of it. Now you’ll have 30 days more experience with what not to do and more scathing comments for future NaNoWriMo blog posts. It’ll feel great to be right. But it’ll feel better to have tried and challenged yourself. I know if I stop challenging myself, my prose will suffer. The best reason to spend November on NaNoWriMo is to learn more about yourself, regardless of how much you already think you know.

    [Read more…]

    Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time (Fall 2017 Edition)

    By

    Inspired by Lit Hub’s 100 rejections per year post, my goal was to make at least 50 submissions in 2017. Since my last contest roundup, I’m at 78 submissions and 51 rejections. That rejection count has been a bittersweet goal to reach, but the year’s far from over.

    Fall is submission season! Many literary journals reopen their reading periods as another academic year begins so there should be no shortage of places to send your work. I’ve curated another list of promising contests for your submitting convenience through Thanksgiving.

    Much like editors are looking for reasons to reject work, I want to focus on opportunities worth my time. Thus, my list of writing contests below once again includes reasons to submit to that particular writing contest. May you find a promising opportunity among this list and spend less time searching for where to send that exciting draft.
    [Read more…]

    Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time (Summer 2017 Edition)

    By

    Inspired by Lit Hub’s 100 rejections per year post, my goal was to make at least 50 submissions in 2017. Since my last contest roundup, I’m at 64 submissions and 34 rejections.

    Summer tends to be a slower time for submissions. A lot of literary journals close their reading periods and are slower to respond, but there are still opportunities out there! I’ve curated another list of promising contests for your submitting convenience.

    Much like editors are looking for reasons to reject work, I want to focus on opportunities worth my time. Thus, my list of writing contests below once again includes reasons to submit to that particular writing contest. May you find a promising opportunity among this list and spend less time searching for where to send that exciting draft.

    If you only submit to one…

    If you only have time to submit to one contest this season, my recommendation is PEN Center USA – Emerging Voices Fellowships. The details are in the August list below.

    July 2017

    Santa Fe Writers Project – 2040 Book Award

    Deadline: July 7, 2017

    The grand prize is $1,000. One runner-up will receive $500. Winners will be offered a competitive book contract for full-market, frontlist release by by 2040 Books, an imprint of the Santa Fe Writers Project. There’s no obligation to sign this contract. Mat Johnson will judge. Submit a prose manuscript of any length with a $25 entry fee by July 7.

    Reasons to submit:

    • “Open to ethnic authors or those from an ethnic background”
    • Flag-bearer—open to international submissions
    • Oh, wordy!—generous word count limit
    • Some previously published and self-published material is eligible

    Cincinnati Review – Robert and Adele Schiff Awards in Poetry and Prose

    Deadline: July 15, 2017

    The Cincinnati Review invites submissions for the annual Robert and Adele Schiff Awards in Poetry and Prose. One poem and one prose piece (fiction or creative nonfiction) will be chosen for publication in our 2018 prize issue, and winning authors will receive $1,000 each. All entries will be considered for publication in The Cincinnati Review. The entry fee is $20, and includes a one-year subscription to The Cincinnati Review. Up to 40 pages of a single prose piece.

    Reasons to submit:

    • Prestige—#60 in Pushcart ranking
    • Blind submissions are fine submissions!
    • Oh, wordy!—generous word count limit
    • Read on—entry fee includes one-year subscription

    Nimrod International Journal – The Francine Ringold Awards for New Writers

    Deadline: July 15, 2017

    $500 prizes will be awarded and the winning manuscript will appear in the spring issue of Nimrod. Winners will have the chance to work with the Nimrod board of editors to refine and edit their manuscripts before publication. Open only to writers whose work has not appeared or is not scheduled to appear in more than 2 publications. (Self-published works or works with a distribution of less than 100 copies are not considered toward the count of 2 publications.) Each entry must be accompanied by a $12 fee, which includes both the reading fee and a copy of the spring issue of Nimrod. Up to 5,000 words.

    Reasons to submit:

    • Prestige—#174 in Pushcart ranking
    • Blind submissions are fine submissions!
    • Flag-bearer—open to international submissions

    The Story Prize

    Deadline: July 15, 2017

    The Story Prize is an annual book award honoring the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction with a $20,000 cash award. Each of two runners-up will receive $5,000. Eligible books must be written in English and first published in the United States during a calendar year. Entry fee of $75.

    Reasons to submit:

    • Huge prize (thus the huge entry fee)
    • Share the wealth—multiple prizes
    • Wanderluster—prize includes travel

    Sixfold – Short Story and Poetry Awards

    Deadline: July 24, 2017

    $1,000 and publication in Sixfold given quarterly for a short story. All-writer-voted and open to all, Sixfold three-round manuscript voting is the most rigorous, thorough, fair, and transparent editorial selection process available. To create each issue, hundreds of writers vote to select the best fiction and poetry manuscripts with much more discernment than any other editorial. Using the online submission system, submit a story of up to 20 pages with a $5 entry fee by July 24. The top 15 short stories are published.

    Reasons to submit:

    Great Lakes Colleges Association – New Writers Awards

    Deadline: July 25, 2017

    Three prizes are given annually to a poet, a fiction writer, and a creative nonfiction writer to honor their first published books. The winners are also invited to visit several of the 13 GLCA colleges, where they will give readings, meet with students, and occasionally lead discussions and classes. Travel expenses and an honorarium of at least $500 are provided for each visit. Faculty members of the GLCA colleges will judge. Publishers may submit four copies of a book published between Spring 2016 and Spring 2017 by July 25; each submission is limited to one title per category. There is no entry fee.

    Reasons to submit:

    • No entry fee
    • Novelist friendly
    • Wanderluster—prize includes travel

    Crazyhorse – Short-Short Fiction Contest

    Deadline: July 31, 2017

    All entries will be considered for publication. Before you submit, please remove your name and any other identifying information from your manuscript. Simultaneous submissions are okay, as long as you contact us should the work be accepted elsewhere. The $15 entry fee includes a one-year subscription to Crazyhorse.Editors will read entries blind and select a 1st place winner and 3 runners-up.

    Reasons to submit:

    The Masters Review – Summer Short Story Award For New Writers

    Deadline: July 31, 2017

    It’s back! Our Short Story Award For New Writers, our biggest submission period of the year. The winning story will be awarded $3000 and publication online. Second and third place stories will be awarded publication and $200 and $100 respectively. All winners and honorable mentions will receive agency review by: Nat Sobel from Sobel Weber, Victoria Cappello from The Bent Agency, and Mark Gottlieb from Trident Media. Emerging writers only (We are interested in offering a larger platform to new writers. Self-published writers and writers with story collections and novels with a small circulation are welcome to submit. Writers with works published with a circulation of less than 5000 copies can also submit). Up to 7000 words.

    Reasons to submit:

    • Blind submissions are fine submissions!
    • Oh, wordy!—generous word count limit
    • No hunting for winners—can read past winners online
    • Share the wealth—multiple prizes
    • Flag-bearer—open to international submissions

    Profane – 2017 Profane Fiction Prize

    Deadline: July 31, 2017

    Give us stories that are bold, that are daring, that mock and ridicule, that sneer, that disgust and appall and shock. Give us the riotous ones, the mad ones, the defiant ones. Give us the stories you’re too scared to share with your peers, the ones so ugly you’re sure no one would publish them. We do consider stories of all kinds, so we encourage you to interpret this as broadly as you like. The 2017 Profane Fiction Prize will be judged by Devin Murphy. We’re accepting submissions through July 31st. The prize is $1,000, publication in our Winter 2017 issue, and a blurb from the contest judge. Finalists will be announced and considered for publication. We hope to name a winner in early October. You may submit up to 2 stories, so long as they don’t exceed 7500 words cumulatively.

    Reasons to submit:

    • Blind submissions are fine submissions!
    • No hunting for winners—can read past winners online
    • Newer journal tends to help your chances

    [Read more…]

    Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time (April, May, June Edition)

    By

    We’re so pleased to introduce Art Klepchukov to the community today, along with a new potential series on CONTESTS for fiction writers!

    Art writes literary and speculative fiction from numerous San Franciscan cafes and the occasional park. He completed The Lemon Tree House Residency for Writers in Tuscany and has read at Lit Camp’s Basement Series. Art was awarded Honorable Mention in the Writers of the Future contest. He loves hosting Shut Up & Write meetups. Follow his writing journey on Arsenal of Words and on Twitter.

    A tremendous amount of research went into making this post, which covers contests of note ending in April, May and June. A special thanks to Art for all of this work. We hope many in the WU community appreciate this roundup as well, and are able to benefit from it all through enriching contest experiences.

    Enjoy, and good luck!

    Fiction Writing Contests Worth Your Time

    Hi, my name is Art, and I’m hooked on submitting fiction. (Hi Art!) Inspired by Lit Hub’s 100 rejections per year post, I’m aiming for at least 50 submissions in 2017.

    Finding opportunities to submit can be time consuming. As I open each email from Submittable or Literistic; check listings from Poets & Writers and TheReviewReview; and ask writing friends, private groups, or communities on Slack or reddit, I’m flooded with markets looking for work. Much like editors are looking for reasons to reject, I want to focus on opportunities worth my time. Thus, my list of writing contests below includes reasons to submit to that particular writing contest.

    I’ve found writing contests that include travel prizes, having your work read by literary agents and prestigious judges (Hi Lauren Groff! Hi Art!), as well as plenty of blind submissions—including a brand new journal. Eligibility ranges from emerging writers to authors on their third, fourth, or fifth novel to citizens of Maine.

    If you only submit to one…

    If you only have time to submit to one contest this season, my recommendation is Carve Magazine’s Raymond Carver Short Story Contest. See the details in the May list below.

    April 2017

    Nimrod International Journal – Nimrod Literary Awards

    Deadline: April 30, 2017

    INFO

    Two prizes of $2,000 each and publication in Nimrod International Journal are given annually for works of short fiction. The winners also receive transportation and lodging to attend an awards ceremony and writing conference in Tulsa in October. A runner-up in each category receives $1,000 and publication in Nimrod International Journal. U.S. writers may submit up to 7,500 words of fiction with a $20 entry fee, which includes a subscription to Nimrod International Journal, by April 30. All entries are considered for publication.

    Reasons to submit:

    Redivider – Beacon Street Prize

    Deadline: April 30, 2017

    INFO

    We launched the Beacon Street Prize in 2012, in honor of our 10th anniversary, and writers and readers responded with such enthusiasm that we now hold it annually. The $20 entry fee includes a complimentary one-year print subscription to Redivider, and will qualify each short story for $1,000 and publication in Issue 15.1. 8,000 words max.

    Reasons to submit:

    • Prestige—#76 in Pushcart ranking
    • Read on—entry fee includes one-year subscription
    • Blind submissions are fine submissions!

    Ghost Story – Supernatural Fiction Award

    Deadline: April 30, 2017

    INFO

    Twice each year The Ghost Story awards $1,000 and publication in The Ghost Story to the winner of our short story competition. Two other writers will receive Honorable Mention and Second Honorable Mention awards that include publication and cash prizes of $250 and $100 respectively. The winning stories will be published on Midsummer’s Eve and October 31. The upcoming deadline is April 30, 2017. Ghost stories are welcome, of course—but your submission may involve any paranormal or supernatural theme, as well as magic realism. What we’re looking for is fine writing, fresh perspectives, and maybe a few surprises in the field of supernatural fiction. Story length should run between 1,500 and 10,000 words. Entry fee is $20 per story. Multiple entries and simultaneous submissions are permitted.

    Reasons to submit:

    Glimmer Train – Fiction Open

    Deadline: April 30, 2017

    INFO

    Open to all subjects, all themes, and all writers. Most entries run from 3,000 to 6,000 words, but any lengths from 3,000 to 20,000 words are welcome. Due April 30. $21 reading fee. Prizes range from $600 – $3,000 and include publication.

    Reasons to submit:

    Glimmer Train – Very Short Fiction Award

    Deadline: April 30, 2017

    INFO

    We invite any length stories from 300 to 3,000 words. Due April 30. $16 reading fee. Prizes range from $300 – $2,000 and include publication.

    Reasons to submit:

    May 2017

    [Read more…]

     

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