The 2026 contest is live! The contest reading period is now through April 15, 2026.
The Bill Boggs Contest Guidelines:
- Submit either a flash, medium, or traditional-length essay.
- Submit all entries to the SLAB Submission Manager
- Submit your $10 PayPal entry fee. (Contest submissions that do not include the fee will not be considered for the Boggs Prize)
- All entries considered for publication.
We encourage you to read over back issues of SLAB to see if your work is akin to the work we have previously published.
SLAB is only seeking unpublished work.
Our 2026 Judge:
Hattie Fletcher, editor of the monthly True Story magazine.
First Place:
$850 and publication in SLAB.
Runner-Up:
$500 and publication in SLAB.
Contest Rules:
All winners will be published in SLAB.
All entries considered for publication.
All manuscripts are submitted to the readers and judges anonymously.
*Current and former students of the judge are ineligible to enter.