California Writers Club

Events

Contests

The California Writers Club offers 2-3 state-wide contests each year. CWC contests are open to the members and the general public.  The fee to submit to a contest is $10.00 for members and $20.00 for non-members. Submissions are blind judged by a panel of 2-3 judges. There are three cash prizes: 1st place $100.00; 2nd place $50.00; third place $25.00. The winning submissions will be featured in The Bulletin. Submissions that do not follow the published guidelines will not be judged.

February 2026 – The Smalls Too: A big contest for small poems and prose.

Announcing a statewide CWC poetry and prose contest beginning on February 15 – March 15, inviting your submissions of 8-line poems or 75-word prose.

Awards

  • First Place $100
  • Second Place $50
  • Third Place $25

Winning and selected poems/prose will also appear in a forthcoming publication. Billy Collins, past Poet Laureate of the U.S.A. writes in his book, Musical Tables, “Whenever I pick up a new book of poems. I flip through the pages, looking for small ones. Just as I might trust an abstract painter more if I knew he or she could draw a credible chicken, I have faith in poets who can go short.”

Here is an example of one of his poems from this book:
Falling Asleep
Walking backwards
into a dark forest,
I sweep my footprints
out of existence
with a large
weightless branch

General Guidelines

  • Submission period is February 15 to March 15
  • $10 submission fee for CWC members, $20 for non-members
  • Maximum 8 lines per poem (please no Haiku or Tanka)
  • In addition to the 8 line poems, we will be accepting prose of 75 words or less.
  • This contest invites participation from writers of all genres. Any combination of prose and poetry in your submission is welcome
  • Maximum 3 poems or prose pieces (or a combination) can be submitted
  • Typeface: Times New Roman 12-point font
  • Format submission in a Microsoft Word document
  • Multiple poems or prose pieces must be submitted in a single document
  • Each submission must have a title
  • Submissions must be the unpublished original work of author
  • Author name cannot appear in the Word Doc

Judges

Les Berstein, head judge, is an award-winning poet and anthologist whose poems have appeared in journals and anthologies in the United States and internationally. Her full-length book, Loose Magic, was reviewed by the Los Angeles Review of Books and is available on Amazon.

Robin Gabbert has poems published in local, state, and international anthologies. Her books include—The Clandestine Life of Paintings, in Poems and a new book Somehow, I Haven’t Drowned published by Blue Light Press. www.robingabbert.com.

For questions, please contact Les Bernstein at lessieb13@yahoo.com.

Submission
Enter your small poems and/or prose here.

[submission form]

June 2026 –

Announcing a statewide CWC poetry and prose contest beginning on February 15 – March 15, inviting your submissions of 8-line poems or 75-word prose.

October 2026 –

Announcing a statewide CWC poetry and prose contest beginning on February 15 – March 15, inviting your submissions of 8-line poems or 75-word prose.