TWFest FICTION Contest 2026-2027

The 2026-2027 TWFest Fiction Judge is Bernice L. McFadden.

Bernice L. McFadden is a national bestselling, award-winning author celebrated for her richly layered novels that center ancestry, memory, and the enduring strength of Black women. She is the author of Sugar, The Book of Harlan, Praise Song for the Butterflies, and other acclaimed works of fiction. Her writing has earned numerous honors, including the American Book Award and an NAACP Image Award. Her most recent publication, Firstborn Girls: A Memoir, is a deeply personal exploration of generational trauma, maternal legacy, and spiritual reckoning that traces her own story alongside the lives of the women who came before her. Toni Morrison, the Nobel Laureate, praised her work in The Warmest December: “Riveting . . . so nicely avoids the sentimentality that swirls around the subject matter. I am as impressed by its structural strength as by the searing and expertly imagined scenes.” McFadden is also a devoted educator, committed to storytelling as a powerful tool for healing, remembrance, and truth.

Grand Prize

• $1,500
• Domestic airfare (up to $500) and French Quarter accommodations to attend the Festival in New Orleans
• VIP All-Access Festival pass for the next Festival ($600 value)
• Public reading at the next Festival
• Publication in French Quarter Journal
• Photo and bio on our website for approximately one year
• Interview feature in our newsletter and social media pages

Finalists 

The top finalists will receive a LitPass ($100 value) to the Festival. Their photos and bios will be published on our website, in our newsletter, and our social media pages. 

Eligibility 

• This contest is open only to emerging writers who have not yet published a book of fiction. Published books include any book with an ISBN, including self-published. Those who have published books in other genres besides fiction remain eligible.
• Only previously unpublished stories will be accepted.
• Stories submitted to this contest in previous years that did not place are eligible.
• Stories that have won and/or placed in any other writing contest are ineligible. 
• Students and faculty of the University of New Orleans Film & Theatre Arts Graduate Program and Creative Writing Workshop are ineligible.
• Unlimited entries allowed. One manuscript per submission. 
• Simultaneous submissions accepted; please withdraw your submission, and notify the Festival if it is accepted elsewhere.

Guidelines 

• A submission is one original short story, written in English, up to 7,000 words.
• The author’s name must not appear on the manuscript or in the file name.
• Submissions must be typed and double-spaced; pages must be numbered.
• Please use a standard font, either Times New Roman, Arial, or Georgia in 12 point font size.
• Do not use bold or italics unless necessary.
• Do not include a cover page. Include your title on the first page of the manuscript.
• Please do not include professional resumes or biographies with your entry. Entries are judged anonymously; the judges only consider manuscript quality.
• Please take the judges of the contest into consideration. If you know the judges personally, or have ever attended classes or workshops they instructed, please use manuscripts that the judges would not have seen before.
• Content is not limited to Tennessee Williams or New Orleans-related themes.
• Include a word count on the first page.
• Revisions or edits will not be accepted once submitted for judging.  Writers wishing to submit a revised manuscript must re-enter the contest and pay the submission fee again.

Failure to follow these guidelines may result in entry disqualification.