The 4th edition of the annual 'Best in Rural Writing contest' is now underway, seeking the best fiction and non-fiction entries under 7,000 words.
The deadline is midnight GMT on September 1, with the contest open to writers of all levels of experience from all around the world.
Top prize is $500 (approximately €432) while second place receives $200 (roughly €172.)
Both finalists will be published in the 2027 Best in Rural Writing print anthology. The entry fee is $10 (about €8.64).
Last year, the contest was won by Dennis McFadden, who sadly died from cancer shortly after he submitted his short story 'The Escapee's Love'.
The 2025 runner-up was Lena (Sunada-Matsumura) Newlin for her essay 'God, Guns and Baseball', which explored gun culture in her home state of Wyoming.
Lena described winning 'best essay' in the Milk House contest and being a finalist for the overall prize as an "incredible honour".
She said: "It elevated my confidence and career as a writer; and more importantly, it helped me share the complex stories of rural life to a broader audience.
"I am grateful to the Milk House and sponsors of the contest for recognising the importance of rural voices."
The judge for this year's contest is American author Will Weaver.
Weaver’s novel Power & Light (2023) was a finalist for the 2024 Minnesota book award.
His other fiction includes the Sweet Land short story collection and film, and his novel on the American mid-west, Red Earth, White Earth.
The 2026 Best in Rural Writing contest is hosted by The Milk House and The Daily Yonder, a rural news journal based in the US.
The Milk House was founded by Galway-based author Ryan Dennis, in a bid to help highlight the work of those writing about rural subjects. Ryan is the author of Barn Gothic: Three Generations and the Death of the Family Dairy Farm.
More information and the link to submit an entry is on the Milk House website.