Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize

$5,000 Fiction | $5,000 Nonfiction | $5,000 Poetry 

THE 2026 JEFFREY E. SMITH EDITORS’ PRIZE IS NOW OPEN.

DEADLINE EXTENDED! The new deadline is October 16. Winners in short fiction, poetry, and nonfiction are each awarded a cash prize of $5,000, publication in our spring 2027 issue, and promotion across our social media platforms. All entries are considered for publication. Standard entry fee: $25.

Guidelines

• Submit one piece of fiction or nonfiction up to 7,500 words, or any number of poems in 6–12 pages. Please double-space fiction and nonfiction entries.
• Entries must be original and previously unpublished. If artificial intelligence has been used to generate any portion of your submission, you must disclose your usage in specific detail within the piece and in your cover letter.
• Multiple submissions and simultaneous submissions are welcome, but you must pay a separate fee for each entry and withdraw the piece immediately if accepted elsewhere.
• Winners will be published in a print issue of TMR. All entries will be considered for publication (whether in print or online, as part of our Poem of the Week or BLAST features).
• Standard entry fee: $25. Each entrant receives a one-year subscription to the Missouri Review in digital format (regular price $24) and a digital copy of the latest title from our imprint, TMR Books, a short-story anthology by contributors (regular price $7.95).
• All-Access entry fee: $30. In addition to the one-year digital subscription to the Missouri Review and a digital copy of the latest title from TMR Books, each entrant receives access to the last ten years of digital issues.

Eligibility

• Previous winners of the Editors’ Prize and current University of Missouri students and faculty are ineligible.
• Previous Editors’ Prize finalists and runners-up are welcome to enter again.

Past Winners

View winners, runners-up, and finalists for the Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize.

Read prize-winning fiction by Peter Kessler, poetry by Seth Simons, and nonfiction by Eden Mecham in the latest Editors’ Prize issue.

Submit

• Online via Submission Manager

OR

• By mail:
  • Postmark deadline: October 16
  • Please enclose a cover letter. Make sure your name, address, email, and phone number appear at the top of the first page of your entry.
  • Include a check for $25 (Standard) or $30 (All-Access) payable to the Missouri Review.
  • Mention in your cover letter if you want your manuscript returned, and remember to include self-addressed stamped envelope with sufficient postage.
  • Mail entries to:
    Missouri Review Editors’ Prize [GENRE]
    453 McReynolds Hall
    University of Missouri
    Columbia, MO 65211

Questions? Email question@moreview.com.