South Carolina Writers Association

There are presently no open calls for submissions.

The 2025 issue of The Petigru Review is supported by the South Carolina Writers Association, a literary arts and writing organization serving South Carolina authors.

The McCray Nickens and Coker Fellowships and Prizes are sponsored by the South Carolina Academy of Authors and South Carolina Writers Association.

The 2025 issue of The Petigru Review is excited to announce the opening of:

  1. General Submissions;
  2. Student Submissions for the Ginny Padgett Award in Creative Writing.

General Submissions:

TPR welcomes submissions of original fiction, nonfiction, poetry and art from members of the SWCA and the public at large. Prose, poetry, and art submissions will open on April 26th. The reading period for all genres will close on August 23rd.

The 2025 iteration of TPR will be a themed issue focused on: Taste of the Carolinas. Submissions need not be set in South Carolina, nor need they be written by South Carolina authors, nor do they need to focus on food or drink. However, preference will be given to pieces which engage that thematic element in some way.

There will be a $3 fee, payable through Submittable, for each general submission.

Prose: please submit only one piece of short fiction or nonfiction. Prose narratives must not exceed 5000 words in length. All prose submissions should be double-spaced.

Poetry: please submit no more than five poems. All poems must be submitted in a single file.

Files for all prose submissions must be uploaded to Submittable in either a .doc, .docx, or .pdf format. 

Art: please submit no more than five pieces. All art must be submitted in a single file and in a digital format.

Files for art submissions must be uploaded to Submittable in either a .tif, .gif, .jpg, or .png format. 

Student Submissions for the Ginny Padgett Award in Creative Writing:

TPR welcomes submissions of original fiction, nonfiction, poetry and art by students at South Carolina colleges and universities. For 2025 submissions for the award will be accepted beginning on April 26th and ending on August 23rd.

Prizes for the 2025 Ginny Padgett Award include:

  • Cash awards of $500, $300, and $200 respectively for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-place entries;
  • One-year memberships in the South Carolina Writers Association for the top five entries;
  • Publication in The Petrigru Review for the top five entries.

No fee is required to submit work for the Ginny Padgett Award; however, entries are limited to current undergraduate and graduate students at South Carolina colleges and universities. 

Students must submit their work electronically using a valid email address ending in .edu.

Submissions need not be set in South Carolina; but only current students at South Carolina colleges and universities are eligible to submit, and preference will be given to pieces focused on the theme: Taste of the Carolinas. Submissions need not focus on food or drink. However, preference will be given to pieces which engage that thematic element in some way.

Prose: please submit only one piece of short fiction or nonfiction. Prose narratives must not exceed 5000 words in length. All prose submissions should be double-spaced.

Poetry: please submit no more than five poems. All poems must be uploaded in a single file. Begin each new poem on a new page and save the entire batch under a single filename.

Files for all submissions must be uploaded in either a .doc, .docx, or .pdf format. 

Student submissions for the Ginny Padgett Award will be blind-judged. Student authors' names must not appear on their manuscript(s) in any form. All entries will be numbered upon receipt, and the judges will not know the identities of the student authors until after the winning entries have been selected.

South Carolina Writers Association