Our Monthly Contests will open on the 1st of each month and close on the last day, with one winner and one runner-up announced the following month. First place winner receives $50. The winner and a runner-up will have works published in The Chattanooga Pulse, will be considered for publication in the next CWG anthology, and will receive a complimentary copy of that anthology. Monthly Contests are available only to current members of the Chattanooga Writers’ Guild. To become a member, click HERE.
FAQ: How do I submit to the Monthly Contests? Or Enter HERE.
The submission form can be found under the “Members” tab on our website homepage and is accessible only after you have logged in. If you need assistance logging in or finding the form, please email tech-support@chattanoogawritersguild.org. All other contest inquiries may be addressed to contests@chattanooga writersguild.org.
| Month | Genre | Theme | Final Judge |
| January | Poetry | Birds | John Mannone |
| February | Fiction | Edges | Hannah Sandoval |
| March | Creative Nonfiction | Whispers | Michelle Rogers |
| April | Poetry | Loss | Rachel Crumble |
| May | YA/Youth Fiction | Magic | Rachel Allen |
| June | Creative Nonfiction | Announcements | Sherry Poff |
| July | Poetry | Invisible/invisibility | Cynthia Young |
| August | Fiction | Heights | James Brumbaugh |
| September | Creative Nonfiction | Sailing | Michelle Rogers |
| October | Poetry | Fright | Ray Zimmerman |
| November | Fiction | Colors | Alexandria Kelly |
| December | Creative Nonfiction | Military | Sherry Poff |
The Contest Coordinator will process the entries to the month’s listed Final Judge.
Submission Guidelines
- Follow the genre and theme for each month. The Monthly Contests rotate through a pattern of Poetry, Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction throughout the year. In 2026, a new division of Fiction was introduced: YA/Youth (April Contest).
- Title each entry at the top of your submitted document as well as in the entry form below.
- DO NOT include any identifying information in the uploaded document as contest entries are judged blindly.
- Word Limits: Fiction and Creative Nonfiction word limit is 1,500. You may submit up to three (3) stories.
- Line Limits: Poetry line limit is 60. You may submit up to three (3) poems
- Single document: Upload all your works as one document with each entry beginning on a new page.
- Limitations: First place winners in any genre MUST wait six months before entering in the same category. For example, a first place Poetry winner in January may enter a contest in Fiction or Nonfiction, but may not enter a Poetry contest again until July.
- CWG writing contests celebrate creative writing. If generative AI (i.e., tools such as ChatGPT or Claude that can produce text, images, or other content at someone’s request) was used to create titles or headings or to generate initial or final drafts of a work, do not submit the work to a CWG contest. Any entry found to have to have used generative AI in these prohibited ways will be disqualified. Effective May 1, 2026.