The top three winners will receive gift cards of $200, $100, and $50.
Last updated Wednesday, December 3, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Officials at Bucks County Community College are seeking entries for the ninth annual Bucks County Short Fiction Contest. The contest is open to Bucks County residents who are 18 years or older; employees of Bucks County Community College are not eligible.
The top three winners will receive gift cards of $200, $100, and $50, and will share their work at a celebratory reading in March on the College’s Newtown Campus. They will be joined by the contest’s final judge, writer John Phillips.
The deadline for submissions is noon Thursday, January 22. Stories must be previously unpublished – including in blogs and online platforms – and must be submitted online. Complete rules and the submissions link are available on the Bucks County Short Fiction Contest page.
A separate contest for high-school students will also be held this spring. See the Bucks County Short Fiction Contest webpage for rules and deadlines.
Author John Phillips, who will serve as the final judge, recently published his debut collection of short stories, “Dress Whites,” by Admission Press. His stories explore the aftermath of the Vietnam War, both for those who served and those who remained at home. As a sportswriter for Reuters, Phillips covered more than 60 world titles. Among other events he covered were the Olympics, World Series, Super Bowl, figure skating, tennis, and horse racing.
The Bucks County Short Fiction Contest receives funding and administrative support from Bucks County Community College’s School of Language and Literature. For further information, contact the contest director, Professor Elizabeth Luciano, at Elizabeth.Luciano@bucks.edu.