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BLR Literary Prizes

Bellevue Literary Review

The BLR Prizes award outstanding writing related to themes of health, healing, illness, the mind, and the body. Winners are published in the spring issue of Bellevue Literary Review. For each genre, first prize is $1000 and honorable mention is $300.

Fiction: We seek character-driven fiction with original voices and strong settings. We do not publish genre fiction (romance, sci-fi, horror). We have only occasionally published flash fiction. While we are always interested in creative explorations in style, we do lean toward classic short stories.

Nonfiction: We are looking for essays that reach beyond the standard ‘illness narrative’ to develop a topic in an engaging and original manner. Incorporate engaging and creative analysis that allows anecdotes to serve a larger purpose. (Please, no academic discourses or works with footnotes. )

Poetry: We encourage poems that are accessible to a wide audience. Characteristics we look for are vivid writing, strong narrative, and rendering the familiar new. We encourage you to peruse back issues in our archive to get a sense of our ethos.

Submissions for BLR Prizes are open until July 1, 2026.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Strong fit with BLR’s core theme (highest predictor)

This is by far the biggest predictor.

BLR seeks work connected to:

health
healing
illness
the body
the mind
caregiving
medicine
mortality
disability
grief
recovery
the human experience in relation to health

The editors note they want work “broadly and creatively related” to these themes—not necessarily clinical writing, but emotionally or philosophically connected.

2. Literary quality and originality

For both publication and prizes, strong writing quality is essential.

Winning or accepted pieces usually show:

distinctive voice
emotional depth
vivid imagery
narrative clarity
memorable language
strong structure

For fiction especially, BLR notes a preference for character-driven fiction with original voices and strong settings.

3. Emotional authenticity / human insight

This seems especially important for BLR compared with many literary journals.

Competitive work often demonstrates:

nuanced emotional intelligence
empathy
vulnerability without sentimentality
thoughtful reflection on suffering, healing, or care
psychologically complex characters or speakers

Pieces that feel medically themed but emotionally flat may be less competitive than work with genuine human depth.

4. Accessibility to a broad readership

BLR specifically encourages poetry “accessible to a wide audience.”

Successful pieces often balance literary craft with readability:

clear storytelling
concrete imagery
emotional resonance
not overly academic or abstract

Editors appear to favor work that can connect with both literary readers and healthcare readers.

5. Strong narrative arc or memorable perspective

For prose (fiction/nonfiction), competitive pieces often have:

clear progression
strong scene-building
reflective insight
compelling tension or transformation

For poetry:

compressed but emotionally sharp language
memorable imagery
strong ending or turn

6. Relevance to BLR Prize categories and guidelines

Current BLR Prize submissions are open through July 1, 2026. Prize categories include:

Goldenberg Prize for Fiction
Felice Buckvar Prize for Nonfiction
John & Eileen Allman Prize for Poetry

General submission guidelines:

prose up to 5,000 words
up to 3 poems
unpublished work
electronic submission through Submittable

Following the category-specific expectations closely is an important screening factor.

Specialties

Others

Eligibility Requirements

We happily consider simultaneous submissions, but please inform us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.

Manuscripts can only be accepted electronically via Submittable.

Fiction/nonfiction word max is 5,000 words (though most of our published prose is in the range of 2,000-4,000 words.) Please submit no more than three poems. Each poem should be on a separate page within a single document.

Do not put your name or other identifying information on the manuscript document (or in the filename) so that the submissions can be read blindly. No cover letter needed.

Students/friends/colleagues/relations of a judge are not permitted to enter submissions to that judge’s genre.

There is a $20 fee per contest submission. Contest submission qualifies you for a 50% discount on a BLR subscription. (The fee helps BLR fund the contest and the journal, but if it’s a hardship for you, please contact us.)

Winners from each genre (poetry, fiction, nonfiction) receive $1000. Honorable mentions from each genre receive $300.

Winners will be published in BLR Issue 52 in Spring 2027.

All contest submissions are automatically considered for general publication as well. (No need to submit in both categories!)

All submissions must be of previously unpublished work.* BLR acquires First North American rights, and the right to reprint in anthologies and online. After publication, all other rights revert to the author and the work may be reprinted as long as appropriate acknowledgement to BLR is made.

Contest winners are usually announced in November. Decisions for the rest of Issue 50 will be made by the end of the year.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: Bellevue Literary Review

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 149 East 23rd Street, #1516 New York, NY 10010

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