The Saints + Sinners LGBTQ Literary Festival Fiction Contest Opens

The Saints + Sinners LGBTQ Literary Festival's annual Fiction Contest returns early this year and is open from April 1 to October 1, 2020. From emerging to established, writers from all backgrounds are encouraged to submit their original, unpublished short stories on the theme of "saints and sinners."

The Contest Judge is Salem West, a publisher of Bywater Books, Inc., a queer indie press out of Ann Arbor, MI. The company is comprised of its feminist and lesbian Bywater Books imprint, as well as the Amble Press imprint which focuses on publishing writers across the LGBT+ spectrum and queer writers of color. Previously, West was the voice of The Rainbow Reader, a highly successful review blog that combined original essays with insightful analysis of all genres of LGBT literature; and served on the Board of Trustees of Lambda Literary.

The SASFest Fiction Contest will award one grand prize of $500 and two second place prizes of $100. The top stories will be published in an anthology from Bold Strokes Books. There will also be a book release party and reading held during the 18th annual Saints and Sinners Literary Conference in New Orleans in March of 2021. A list of the top ten finalists will be posted on our website and in our e-newsletter.

To learn more about contest guidelines, prizes, and deadlines please visit www.sasfest.org.