$1,250 First Prize in Colorado Fiction Contest

Cutthroat, A Journal of the Arts based in Durango, CO, is offering publication and a $1,250 first prize and publication for an original short story.

The postmark deadline for submissions is Oct. 1, 2011 with maximum length of 5,000 words.

That gives you about three days to pluck something from the slop pile, give it a tune-up and either get the story to the post office (they need the business) or submit it on-line.

Luis Alberto Urrea, author of the forthcoming novel Queen of America (Little,Brown publishers), is the judge.

The Cutthroat contest has very specific requirements, reading fees—$15 via postal service, $17 on line—along with the caveat that all manuscripts must be submitted in 12 point font.

To get a full listing of the rules, including to whom to make out the fee check, visit the journal's website.

Winners will be announced in late December.

Good luck.