Well Versed 2024

Well Versed 2024 Winners

Well Versed 2024 Guidelines

Greetings Fellow Writers!

The editors are pleased to announce the Well Versed Contest and Anthology for 2024. Submissions will be accepted from November 1, 2023 to January 31, 2024. We want stories, essays and poems that bring subjects to life with well-developed characters, compelling voices, and carefully chosen details. We’re excited and looking forward to accepting your work!

Win money and get published in Well Versed 2024! Prizes include:
$50 first place;
$30 second place;
$20 third place 

Prizes awarded in each of four categories – Fiction, Non-Fiction, Flash-Fiction and Poetry.

Guidelines for literary works and for photography are listed, below, and judges for each category will be posted on the CCMWG website and under the Well-Versed tab. 

NEW this year: we are opening a contest for the cover photo. The winner will receive a $50 prize. The judge will select four photos from the remaining submissions for inclusion inside the anthology, and these photos will be published in black and white.

All entries must be received via the 2024 Well Versed Submission Form by 11:59 CST on January 31, 2024. The link will be emailed to members in early November and will also be available through the CCMWG website soon after that time.

  • Members: Entry fees are included with your paid membership.
  • Nonmembers: Entry fees are as follows:
    • Prose (fiction/non-fiction): $15/each submission.  (Max of 2)
    • Poetry: bundle (3 poems): $15/each bundle of 3 (Max of 1 bundle)

Mail payment to:
CCMWG
P.O. Box 7795
Columbia, MO 63205-7795

To inquire about electronic payment, please email the editors at: wellversed.ccmwg@gmail.com

General Literary Guidelines

  • Submissions must be unpublished at the time of submission, which includes print or electronic versions. They may be published elsewhere after publication in Well Versed 2024.
  • Contact information: Please complete a form for your submission(s). A text field for your name and contact information will be found on the form.
  • Manuscripts must NOT include any identifying information anywhere in the document or your submission will be disqualified.
  • Submissions that intentionally demean people or groups of people based on appearance, gender, sexual orientation, beliefs, practices, politics or any other category or generalization will be disqualified. 
  • Submissions that include graphic or gratuitous violence/sexual content will be disqualified.
  • Please avoid graphic language, particularly “F-bombs.”
  • Please proofread your work.

Additional Guidelines by Genre

Prose (Fiction/Non-Fiction) Guidelines

Submissions are limited to 2 submissions per person. Please format your entry according to the provisions below:

  • Maximum length per submission: 2000 words/each
  • Single spaced (no line between paragraphs)
  • First line indent set to .3 (not spaces and do not use tab)
  • No page numbers
  • No headers or footers
  • Times New Roman 12 point font
  • Standard document margins (1”)
  • Left-justify paragraphs 
  • One space between sentences.
  • Identifying information must NOT appear on the manuscript

Poetry Guidelines

Submissions are limited to 3 poems per person. Submit each poem on a separate form.

  • Poems are limited to 50 lines of text per submission
  • Subject matter is open
  • Times New Roman 12 point font
  • Single-space lines in a stanza and double-space between stanzas. NOTE: The line width in the book is approximately 4.3 inches. If any line is wider than 4.3 inches, it will wrap to the next line and may not appear as you expected.
  • Identifying information must NOT appear anywhere in your poems.

Flash Fiction Finalists are those chosen by the Guild during our Summer Flash Fiction Challenge running from June-October 2023. A judge will choose a Grand Prize Winner from among the winning entries. 

Photography Guidelines

Submissions are limited to 2 per person.

  • Photos submitted must be at least 640 pixels on the shorter side and no more than 2000 pixels on the longer side
  • Images should be no larger than 2MB and in JPEG format
  • Photos must have no borders, logos, copyright marks or other visible marks on the image
  • Editing of the photo is acceptable
  • Photos that portray inappropriate and/or offensive content, nudity, violence, or demean cultural or religious practices will not be accepted

SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AFTER THE DEADLINE.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are a finalist in our contests and wish to withdraw your work from publication in Well Versed 2024, you will also agree to withdraw that same work from final judging.

By submitting to Well Versed 2024, you give permission for your work to be published unless you submit a withdrawal, in writing, by February 1, 2024. 

CCMWG purchases first rights. If your submission is chosen, payment upon publication is one copy of the issue in which the work appears, plus $1.00 per piece accepted.

For additional information about the judging process and awards, please visit www.ccmwg.org.

If you have questions, please email the editors at: wellversed.ccmwg@gmail.com

Thank you in advance for participating in Well Versed 2024. It’s going to be a great year!
M. Cortney Daniels & Sharon SingingMoon,
Co-Editors, Well Versed 2024