Witness Literary Awards

A project of Witness

About

We welcome work that declares and/or demands a new persepctive to the everyday condition, and stories that contextualize American experience, highlight issues of global concern, grapple with the relationship between the personal and the political (however defined), and/or keenly observe interior/exterior landscapes.

Fees Notice: This project charges fees (or requires purchases) for all submissions.
The fee is USD $8 (below average for contests).

Submission Caps: They may close to submissions early if they reach their quota.

Want more insight into the affiliated editors' preferences? Read our interview with the editor(s) of Witness.

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States

Established in 2018

Publication Media & Contest Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication: Awarded 1 x per year
Print Publication Print Publication: Awarded 1 x per year

AI Policy

Unknown AI policy

26 members set this contest as a Favorite.

Statistics Synopsis

Faster: Witness Literary Awards's overall average response time is faster than most contests.
More Challenging: Witness Literary Awards's overall acceptance rate is lower than most contests.
More Responsive: Witness Literary Awards's overall rate of non-response is lower than most contests.

Learn more about our statistics

Collapse section Fiction Temp Closed

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Flash Fiction: Up to 1,000 words.
Short Story: 1,000 - 7,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Society/Culture: Current events, See guidelines.

Winner's Prize:

Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Professional payment. Details: USD $500 for first prize.

Submissions:

Method: Submittable submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Multiple entries: Multiple entries are NOT allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Nonfiction Temp Closed

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Essay: Up to 7,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Society/Culture: Current events, See guidelines.

Winner's Prize:

Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Professional payment. Details: USD $500 for first prize.

Submissions:

Collapse section Poetry Temp Closed

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Poem: No line limits known; Up to 3 pieces.

Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Society/Culture: Current events, See guidelines.

Winner's Prize:

Professional payment (US$50 or more per poem) Professional payment. Details: USD $500 for first prize.

Submissions:

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

Recent cover image or website screenshot for Witness

Go to contest webpage

Report:
Submission/Response
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For the Editor(s):
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Link to Duotrope

Witness Literary Awards 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:

Group by submission

Include outliers

Accuracy

We have received 14 reports from 14 different members within the past 12 months. The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.

Days Reported

27 min | 63.2 mean avg | 72.0 median | 81 max days (55.2 std dev)

Responses

100.00 %

Acceptances:

0.00 %

Rejections:

100.00 % (63.2 avg. days per rejection) | 0.0 % personal, 64.3 % form, 35.7 % unspecified

Non-Responses

0.00 %

Lost/Returned:

Never Responded:

Withdrawals

Other Information

The most common submission fee paid: USD $8.00.
Most recent response reported was received on 22 Jan 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 15 Nov 2025.
Date compiled: 11 Sep 2026 19:28 UTC (4 hours, 16 minutes 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: 06 Sep 2026

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