Slippery Elm Prize Guidelines

• $1000 prizes in Poetry & Prose
• 2025 Judges: Timothy Geiger in Poetry; Lara Lillibridge in Prose
• Submissions open annually in the fall, and close at midnight EST on Feb. 1st.
• All contest entrants will receive a copy of the winning issue and be considered for publication.
• All entries should be original and previously unpublished; all rights to the submitted works must belong to the submitter.
• Simultaneous submissions are fine.
• $15 entry fee for up to 3 poems (no line/length limit) or one essay or story (5000 words maximum).  Multiple entries are fine.
• All entries must be sent through our Submittable interface.
• All contest entries will be considered for publication in Slippery Elm’s print issue.
• We welcome General Submissions from all, but those currently or recently affiliated with the University of Findlay or Slippery Elm should refrain from entering the Contests.  Although judging will be blind, we wish to avoid any potential appearance of conflict of interest.
• If either General Submission category is not visible, that category has reached its current cap and closed.  We may expand those caps before the end of the submission period, and will announce on FB, Twitter, & Bluesky in the event of reopening a closed category.