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T Paulo Urcanse Prize For Literary Excellence

A project of High Horse

About

The Second Annual T Paulo Urcanse Prize for Literary Excellence is open to poets, writers, and essayists of all colors and stripes. Whether you be a lonely writer looking for community and wanting to make your literary debut, or a similarly eggheaded and celebrated writer in the vein of the namesake of this prize, we welcome your submissions with open arms, without fees or prerequisites, without ever having known you or met you at a cocktail party where we discussed the terror of contemporary history and post-structuralist theory or the pitfalls of the first person perspective in a short story or weird childhood stories that involve stray cats and the throwing of tennis balls at moving vehicles from behind bushes at night in the summer on the Main Street of the provincial town where we were raised.

No Fees! This contest does not charge mandatory fees.

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States
Established in 2023

Publication Medium & Contest Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication
Unknown contest frequency

AI Policy

Unknown AI policy

Statistics Synopsis

Slower
T Paulo Urcanse Prize For Literary Excellence's overall average response time is slower than most contests.

Collapse section Fiction Temp Closed

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Short Story: No specific word count limits known (our definition: 1000 to 7500 words).

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Winner's Prize:

Semi-pro payment (1-4.9 US cents per word) to Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Pay ranges from Semi-pro payment to Professional payment. Details: USD $250 first prize.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Unknown.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Multiple entries: Unknown.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Nonfiction Temp Closed

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Essay: No specific word count limits known.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Winner's Prize:

Semi-pro payment (1-4.9 US cents per word) to Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Pay ranges from Semi-pro payment to Professional payment. Details: USD $250 first prize.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Unknown.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Multiple entries: Unknown.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Poetry Temp Closed

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Poem: No line limits known; Unknown number of pieces.

Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Winner's Prize:

Professional payment (US$50 or more per poem) Professional payment. Details: USD $250 first prize.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Unknown.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Multiple entries: Unknown.
Media: Text.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.

T Paulo Urcanse Prize For Literary Excellence Submission Statistics

The statistics in this section are compiled from submission reports sent to us through our submission tracker. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's admins. Information in this section is updated a few times per day. Learn more about the statistics.

Filter:
Accuracy
We have received 5 reports from 5 different members within the past 12 months. The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.
Days Reported
48 min | 190.2 mean avg | 62.0 median | 412 max days (184.0 std dev)

Other Information

Most recent response reported was received on 27 Dec 2025.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 26 Oct 2025.
Date compiled: 11 Sep 2026 23:44 UTC (less than a minute ago).

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Before Submitting

We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is correct. It is not unusual for publications to evolve or close without notice. We do our best to keep up, but it isn't always possible. Duotrope listings do not imply endorsement or recommendation of the project being listed. Before submitting, you should use your own judgment to determine whether the project meets your standards.

  • Always read the full guidelines provided by the publisher.
  • Try to read at least one previous publication to get a better idea of what the editor would like to see.
  • Unless the publisher's guidelines state otherwise, always use industry standard manuscript formatting.
  • Be professional, patient, and persistent.

Dates

Last Updated: 21 Aug 2026

We check their guidelines for changes every four weeks, and we audit the listing twice a year.

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