The Henry Dumas Fiction Prize 2026

Closes: March 22, 2026

Judge: John Keene

In honor of Henry Dumas’ legacy, we seek to award an emerging writer for innovative fiction that “inhabits the geography” of its place in rare ways. Entries for The Henry Dumas Fiction Prize should be a single prose work of fiction not exceeding 7,500 words. Entrants may submit more than once, but each new entry must be accompanied by a separate $20 entry fee. The winner receives $1000 and publication in the Arkansas International. 

Contest Guidelines:

• Open to English-language writers of any nation who haven’t published a full-length book and who have no book forthcoming before December 1, 2026. Writers who have self-published books are ineligible. Writers who have published chapbooks qualify.
• All submissions will be considered for inclusion in the Arkansas International. 
• Only work previously unpublished in any venue will be considered.
• The contest will be judged blindly. Remove any identifying information from your submission. Submissions with identifying information will be disqualified.
• Submit your double-spaced work as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file. 
• Close friends and previous students of the judge, as well as anyone recently affiliated with the Arkansas International, which includes those who have been on staff within the past 4 years, are ineligible.