$1000, online publication, and publication in Issue 82 of Sonora Review will be awarded for our annual poetry contest. Our poetry contest this year will be judged by Stephanie Cawley. 

Stephanie Cawley is a poet in Philadelphia and the author of My Heart But Not My Heart( Slope Editions). Stephanie’s poems and hybrid writing have been featured in Poetry Daily, the PEN Poetry Series, and the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day, and have been published in journals including Protean, TYPO, and West Branch. They were a 2023 NEA Creative Writing Fellow and their next book, No More Flowers, will be published by Birds, LLC in spring 2024. More at stephaniecawley.com. 

This year's contest theme is THE EROTIC. Who is eroticism for? Where do you locate it? When is it needed, wanted, desired? Can living be an act of eroticism? How? In what ways does the erotic appear in your life? In the natural world? In your loving of anyone or anything, living or dead? We are open to creative interpretations of the theme. Send us your best.

You may submit 3 to 8 pages of poetry. Your submission should be typed and submitted in one document, and titles of multiple poems should be separated by commas in the “Submission Title” field. You may abbreviate the titles if they do not fit. Please include a cover letter with a brief biography, your contact information, and any other pertinent information about your submission. We ask that you remove your name from your manuscript before uploading.

We welcome previously unpublished work from writers of all backgrounds and identities, particularly including people of color, LGBTQIA+ people, people with disabilities, members of religious minorities, people outside the United States, and all others whom traditional publishing has historically excluded. We believe your stories are valid stories, and we want to consider your work! 

$1000, online publication, and publication in Issue 82 of Sonora Review will be awarded for our annual fiction contest. Our fiction contest this year will be judged by Bojan Louis. 

Bojan Louis is Diné of the Naakai dine’é, born for the Áshííhí. He is the author of the short-story collection, Sinking Bell (Graywolf Press 2022), the poetry collection Currents (BkMk Press 2017), and the nonfiction chapbook Troubleshooting Silence in Arizona (The Guillotine Series 2012). His work can also be found in Shapes of Native Nonfiction: Collected Essays by Contemporary Writers, When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry, Native Voices Anthology, and The Diné Reader: An Anthology of Navajo Literature. His honors include a MacDowell Fellowship, a 2018 American Book Award, a 2023 National Endowments for the Arts Literature Fellowship, and a 2023 American Book Award. In addition to teaching at the Institute for American Indian Arts, Louis is an associate professor in the Creative Writing MFA and American Indian Studies programs at the University of Arizona.

This year's contest theme is THE EROTIC. Who is eroticism for? Where do you locate it? When is it needed, wanted, desired? Can living be an act of eroticism? How? In what ways does the erotic appear in your life? In the natural world? In your loving of anyone or anything, living or dead? We are open to creative interpretations of the theme. Send us your best.

Fiction should be typed, double-spaced, and include page numbers. We are unable to read prose submissions that exceed 6,000 words. Please include a cover letter with your name, address, phone number, and email in the header, and a brief biography. We ask that you remove your name or any other identifying marks from your manuscript before uploading.

We welcome previously unpublished work from writers of all backgrounds and identities, particularly including people of color, LGBTQIA+ people, people with disabilities, members of religious minorities, people outside the United States, and all others whom traditional publishing has historically excluded. We believe your stories are valid stories, and we want to consider your work! 

$1000, online publication, and publication in Issue 82 of Sonora Review will be awarded for our annual nonfiction contest. Our nonfiction contest this year will be judged by Margo Steins. 

Margo Steines holds an MFA in nonfiction writing from the University of Arizona, where she is faculty in the Writing Program. Her work was named Notable in Best American Essays and has appeared in The Sun, Slate, Air Mail, Brevity, Off Assignment, The New York Times (Modern Love), the anthology Letter to a Stranger, and elsewhere. She is the author of the memoir-in-essays Brutalities: A Love Story.

Margo is a born-and-raised New Yorker, a journeyman ironworker, and serves as mom to a small person. She is also a private creative coach and writing class facilitator. You can read more about her practices at margosteines.com.

This year's contest theme is THE EROTIC. Who is eroticism for? Where do you locate it? When is it needed, wanted, desired? Can living be an act of eroticism? How? In what ways does the erotic appear in your life? In the natural world? In your loving of anyone or anything, living or dead? We are open to creative interpretations of the theme. Send us your best.

Nonfiction should be typed, double-spaced, and include page numbers. We are unable to read prose submissions that exceed 6,000 words. Please include a cover letter with your name, address, phone number, and email in the header, and a brief biography. We ask that you remove your name or any other identifying marks from your manuscript before uploading.

We welcome previously unpublished work from writers of all backgrounds and identities, particularly including people of color, LGBTQIA+ people, people with disabilities, members of religious minorities, people outside the United States, and all others whom traditional publishing has historically excluded. We believe your stories are valid stories, and we want to consider your work!