See What's Happening this Month in Writers' Morning Out

Well, folks, we're into a brand new year and have a new website!

“And now we welcome the new year.

Full of things that have never been.”

- Rainer Maria Rilke

News of the Month

Happy 2026, dear writers! With the new year before us, we are excited to launch our new website, designed by Josh Cottrell, our IT wizard. Visit https://www.writersmorningout.org to check it out.

Saturday, January 10, 2026 at 1:00pm - Writers Discuss Writing

Please join us to share your accomplishments, questions, anecdotes, and comments as we discuss all things writing. Think of this as a writers' support group.

Saturday, January 17, 2026 at 1:00pm - Seasons of Change led by Carol Phillips

Let’s talk about 2026. The start of a new year is often a time for change—out with the old, in with the new and all that. What part of your writing practice would you like to throw out and start anew? Your tired old genre perhaps. Or where you write. Possibly your fingers are weary of tapping keys. Maybe your process in generating new ideas or in revision isn’t working. Perchance you are feeling stuck in some other way. Or, your writing practice is the way you like it.

We welcome writers of all genres, levels, and stages of writing to join us.

Carol Phillips is the author of several works of poetry and nonfiction, including her upcoming memoir Hit Over the Head: A Cautionary Tale. She posts regularly on Substack (https://calsea.substack.com) and is an invaluable contributor to Writers’ Morning Out and the North Carolina Writers’ Network. You can learn more about Carol and her writing at https://carol-phillips.com.

Tuesday, January 27, 2026 at 7:00pm - Writers Discuss Craft

Join us for what is always a valuable learning session with literary agent, Tracy Crow, a true expert in the field. Learn more about Tracy at https://tracycrow.com.

News from the North Carolina Writers’ Network

Is it time to renew your NCWN membership?

Check the top of the NCWN newsletter to see when your membership needs renewal.

Not a member?
You’re missing out on discounts on Network-sponsored programs and events.

What are you waiting for? Membership is open to writers of all experience levels and genres, across the state and beyond. Join now at https://www.ncwriters.org/

Online Course - “Making Your Dialogue Sing” Presented by Jeff Zentner

In this course, former musician and award-winning YA author Jeff Zentner will teach his philosophy of good dialogue, make the case for incorporating more dialogue into your work, and impart tips and tricks for making characters and scenes sing through dialogue.

Registration is $45 for NCWN members, $65 for nonmembers. The class will begin at 7 PM Eastern on Thursday, January 15.

Jeff Zentner is the author of The Serpent King, which Kirkus Reviews named one of the best books of the 21st Century, as well as In the Wild Light, Goodbye Days, Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee, Colton Gentry's Third Act, and Sunrise Nights, coauthored with Brittany Cavallaro. He has two books—Wayfarers and Love, Like Apples—forthcoming in 2026. Among other honors, he has won the ALA’s William C. Morris Award, the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award twice, the Muriel Becker Award, the International Literacy Association Award, been longlisted twice for the Carnegie Medal, and is a two-time Southern Book Prize finalist. His books have been translated into fifteen languages and been featured on The Today Show, Good Morning America, and in Vanity Fair and People Magazine. Before becoming a writer, he was a musician who recorded with Iggy Pop, Nick Cave, and Debbie Harry. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Rose Post Creative Nonfiction Competition

Submissions accepted November 15 – January 15

The Rose Post Creative Nonfiction Competition, sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network, encourages the creation of lasting nonfiction that is outside the realm of conventional journalism and has relevance to North Carolinians. Subjects may include traditional categories such as reviews, travel articles, profiles or interviews, place/history pieces, or culture criticism. The first-, second-, and third-place winners will receive $1,000, $300, and $200 respectively. The winning entry will be considered for publication by Ecotone.

Eligibility and Guidelines

The competition is open to any writer who is a legal resident of North Carolina or a member of the North Carolina Writers’ Network.
The deadline is January 15. All entries, online or in print, must reach the NCWN by then.
The entry fee is $10 for NCWN members, $12 for nonmembers.
Entries can be submitted in one of two ways:
1. Send two printed copies through the U.S. Postal Service (see guidelines and address below), along with a check for the appropriate fee, made payable to the North Carolina Writers’ Network.
2. Submit an electronic copy online at ncwriters.submittable.com, and pay by VISA or MasterCard.
Simultaneous submissions ok, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
Please read the Network’s statement on “A.I.” in contests and other Network-administered programs.
Each entry must be an original and previously unpublished manuscript of no more than 3,500 words, typed in a 12-point standard font (i.e., Times New Roman) and double-spaced.
Author’s name should not appear on manuscripts. Instead, include a separate cover sheet with name, address, phone number, e-mail address, word count, and manuscript title. (If submitting online, do not include a cover sheet with your document; Submittable will collect and record your name and contact information.)
An entry fee must accompany the manuscript. Multiple submissions are accepted, one manuscript per entry fee: $10 for NCWN members, $12 for nonmembers.
You may pay the member entry fee if you join NCWN with your submission. Checks should be made payable to the North Carolina Writers’ Network.
Entries will not be returned. Winners will be announced by March.
When you submit online at ncwriters.submittable.com/submit, Submittable will collect your entry fee via credit card ($10 NCWN members / $12 non-members). (If submitting online, do not include a cover sheet with your document; Submittable will collect and record your name and contact information. For more information about Submittable, click here.)
- To submit as a Member of NCWN ($10), click here.
- To submit as a Non-Member of NCWN ($12), click here.
If submitting by mail, send submission to:

North Carolina Writers’ Network
ATTN: Rose Post
PO Box 21591
Winston-Salem, NC 27120

Entries must arrive by January 15.

Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize

Submissions accepted December 1 – January 30

The Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize, sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network, honors internationally celebrated North Carolina novelist Thomas Wolfe. The prize is administered by the Great Smokies Writing Program at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. The winner receives $1,000 and publication in The Thomas Wolfe Review.

Eligibility and Guidelines

The competition is open to all writers regardless of geographical location or prior publication.
Submit two copies (if submitting by mail) of an unpublished fiction manuscript – short story or self-contained novel excerpt – not to exceed 3,000 words, double-spaced, single-sided pages (1″ margins, 12-pt. Times New Roman font).
Please read the Network’s statement on “A.I.” in contests and other Network-administered programs.
Author’s name should not appear on manuscripts. Instead, include a separate cover sheet with name, address, phone number, e-mail address, word count, and manuscript title. (If submitting online, do not include a cover sheet with your document; Submittable will collect and record your name and contact information.)
An entry fee must accompany the manuscript: $15 for NCWN members, $25 for nonmembers.
The entry fee is per submission. You may submit multiple entries.
You may pay the member entry fee if you join the NCWN with your submission. Checks should be made payable to the North Carolina Writers’ Network.
Entries will not be returned.
The winner is announced each April.
Simultaneous submissions ok, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
When you submit online at https://ncwriters.submittable.com/submit, Submittable will collect your entry fee via credit card ($15 NCWN members / $25 non-members). (If submitting online, do not include a cover sheet with your document; Submittable will collect and record your name and contact information. For more information about Submittable, click here.)
- To submit as a Member of NCWN ($15), click here.
- To submit as a Non-Member of NCWN ($25), click here.
To submit by regular mail:

Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize
Great Smokies Writing Program
UNC Asheville
1 University Heights – CPO 1915
Asheville, NC 28804

Entries must arrive by January 30.

Questions? Please contact Liam Danzis, ldanzis@unca.edu.

*“Published” means the work has appeared for public consumption in any form: print, online, digital, etc.

Has it appeared in a magazine or journal, of any size or circulation? Then it’s been published. Has it appeared on a blog, even one hardly anybody reads? Then it’s published. Audio book? E-book? Free download? ‘Zine, mimeographed and stapled in 1995? Published.

For our contests, we’re looking for new work, fresh work, work unseen by anyone outside your immediate family and/or critique group. Shine a light on your published work in your portfolio, and submit your new work for one (or more) of our annual prizes. Good luck.

Marianne Gingher Flash Prose Contest

Submissions accepted December 15 – February 15

The NCWN’s Marianne Gingher Flash Prose Contest is open to pieces of flash prose, fiction or creative nonfiction, of no more than 1,000 words. Entrants must have a mailing address in North Carolina or one of its four adjacent states (Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia), or be a member of the North Carolina Writers’ Network. The Marianne Gingher Flash Prose Contest honors Marianne Gingher, former director of the Creative Writing Program at UNC Chapel Hill and editor of the pioneering flash anthology Long Story Short: Flash Fiction by 65 of North Carolina’s Finest Writers. The contest is administered by Cold Mountain Review at Appalachian State University. The winner receives $500 and possible publication in Cold Mountain Review.

Eligibility and Guidelines

The competition is open to anyone with a mailing address in North Carolina or one of its four adjacent states (Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia), and to members of the North Carolina Writers’ Network
Entries must be unpublished* single pieces of flash prose, 1,000 words or less.
Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
An entry fee must accompany each piece. Multiple submissions are accepted, one piece per entry fee: $5 for NCWN members, $8 for non-members.
You may pay the member entry fee if you join the NCWN with your submission. Checks should be made payable to the North Carolina Writers’ Network.
To submit online you must create an account with Submittable, which will collect your entry fee. If submitting online, do not include a cover sheet with your document; Submittable will collect and record your name and contact information.
To submit as a Member of NCWN ($5), click here.
To submit as a Non-Member of NCWN ($8), click here.
If submitting by mail, submit two copies of each flash piece, double-spaced on single-sided pages, in black 12-point Times New Roman font, with 1-inch margins.
If submitting by mail, do not include the author’s name on the piece(s). Instead, include a separate cover sheet with name, mailing address, phone number, e-mail address, and title(s).
To submit by USPS:

Marianne Gingher Flash Prose Contest
NCWN
PO Box 21591
Winston-Salem, NC 27120
Entries will not be returned.
The winner will be announced on ncwriters.org.
For questions, please contact ed@ncwriters.org.
Please read the Network’s statement on “A.I.” in contests and other Network-administered programs.

*“Published” means the work has appeared for public consumption in any form: print, online, digital, etc.

Has it appeared in a magazine or journal, of any size or circulation? Then it’s been published. Has it appeared on a blog, even one hardly anybody reads? Then it’s published. Audio book? E-book? Free download? ‘Zine, mimeographed and stapled in 1995? Published.

Randall Jarrell Poetry Competition

Submissions accepted January 15 – March 1

The Randall Jarrell Poetry Competition, sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network, accepts one-poem submissions. The contest awards the winner $200 and publication in The Greensboro Review. Questions may be directed to Terry L. Kennedy, Associate Director, MFA Writing Program, at tlkenned@uncg.edu.

Eligibility & Guidelines

The competition is open to any writer who is a legal resident of North Carolina or a member of the North Carolina Writers’ Network.
The deadline is March 1.
Entries can be submitted one of two ways:
1. Send one printed copy through the U.S. Postal Service (see guidelines and address below), along with a check for the appropriate fee, made payable to the North Carolina Writers’ Network.
2. Submit an electronic copy online at ncwriters.submittable.com, and pay by VISA or MasterCard.
Simultaneous submissions ok, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
Please read the Network’s statement on “A.I.” in contests and other Network-administered programs.
Poem will not be returned. If submitting by mail, include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a list of winner and finalists. The winner and finalists will be announced by May.
An entry fee must accompany the poem. Multiple submissions are accepted, one poem per entry fee: $10 for NCWN members, $15 for non-members.
You may pay member entry fee if you join the NCWN with your submission. Checks should be made payable to the North Carolina Writers’ Network.
Submissions should be one poem only (40-line limit, including epigraphs and stanza breaks), original, and previously unpublished*.
Poem must be typed (single-spaced) and stapled in the left-hand corner.
Author’s name should not appear on manuscripts. Instead, include a separate cover sheet with name, address, phone number, e-mail address, word count, and manuscript title. (If submitting online, do not include a cover sheet with your document; Submittable will collect and record your name and contact information.)
When you submit online at ncwriters.submittable.com/submit, Submittable will collect your entry fee via credit card ($15 NCWN members / $25 non-members). (If submitting online, do not include a cover sheet with your document; Submittable will collect and record your name and contact information. For more information about Submittable, click here.)
- To submit as a Member of NCWN ($10), click here.
- To submit as a Non-Member of NCWN ($15), click here.
If submitting by mail, send submissions to:

Terry L. Kennedy
MFA Writing Program
3302 MHRA Building
UNC Greensboro
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170

Entries must arrive by March 1.

*“Published” means the work has appeared for public consumption in any form: print, online, digital, etc. Has it appeared in a magazine or journal, of any size or circulation? Then it’s been published. Has it appeared on a blog, even one hardly anybody reads? Then it’s published. Audio book? E-book? Free download? ‘Zine, mimeographed and stapled in 1995? Published.

Postscript:

WMO’s programs and meetings are a collaborative effort with Penny Cottrell, Tracy Crow, Tom Dow, Catherine Duncan, George Kauffman, Carol Phillips, and Judith Stanton—plus our ex-officio member and IT wizard, Josh Cottrell—all contributing.

Wishing you all the best in your writing endeavors!

Penny Cottrell, NCWN Regional Rep, Central Piedmont

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