'77 Short Story Contest Deadline: Oct. 15, 2009

Reading Writers
Seventy-Seven Writing Contest

Submission Period: Deadline: 10/15/09

Eligible Entry: short story 1,000 words or less inspired by a song from 1977

Open to: international writers welcome

Entry Fee: None

Prize: $100 and publication in The Verb

Student Essay Contest Deadline: Oct. 15, 2009

Creative Communication
Essay Contest

Submission Period: Deadline: 10/15/09

Eligible Entry: original poem of 250 words or less

Open to: students in grades K-12 in the United States or Canada

Entry Fee: none indicated in the guidelines

Prize: $50 savings bond, publication in an anthology, a free copy of the anthology

Fiction & Poetry Chapbook Contest Deadline: Feb. 15, 2010

Gertrude Press
Poetry and Fiction Chapbook Contest

Submission Period: 8/01/09 - 2/15/10

Eligible Entry: 16-20 pages of poetry or fiction, any subject matter

Open to: no restrictions indicated

Entry Fee: $15

Prize: $50 cash award50 complimentary copies of the chapbook

Flash Fiction Contest Deadline: Oct. 01, 2009

Southeast Missouri State University Press
The Wilda Hearne Flash Fiction Contest

Submission Period: Deadline: 10/01/09

Eligible Entry: unpublished short story, 500 words or less

Open to: no restrictions indicated

Entry Fee: $10

Prize: $200 and publication in Big Muddy: A Journal of the Mississippi River Valley

Short Story Contest Deadline: Oct. 01, 2009

Southeast Missouri State University Press
Misty River Short Story Contest

Submission Period: Deadline: 10/01/09

Eligible Entry: unpublished short story 30 pages or less

Open to: No restrictions indicated

Entry Fee: $15

Prize: $500 and publication in Big Muddy: A Journal of the Mississippi River Valley

Novel, Short Story, and Poetry Contests Deadline: Nov. 30, 2009 (Sept. 30 for Novels)

Birmingham-Southern College
Hackney Literary Awards

Submission Period: Deadline: 11/30/09; 09/30/09 for novels

Eligible Entry: short story- less than 5,000 words; poetry- less than 50 lines

Open to: writers in the United States

Entry Fee: novels- $25; short stories- $15; poetry- $10

Prize: national and state prizes
1st place: $600
2nd place: $400
3rd place: $250

Dialogue Short Story Contest Deadline: Sept. 30, 2009

Bartleby Snopes Literary Magazine
Bartleby Snopes Writing Contest

Submission Period: Deadline: 09/30/09

Eligible Entry: a short story entirely made of dialogue, must be unpublished

Open to: No restrictions indicated.

Entry Fee: $10 for unlimited entries

Prize: at least $250 (see contest guidelines)

This sounds like a fun challenge. You can't even use dialogue taglines ("he said", "she said") in the story.