This is the third year for the Northern Colorado Writers writing contests, and the organization is increasing the prize money to 1st: $1,000; 2nd: $250; and 3rd: $100.

Like last year, all winners, honorable mentions, and editor’s picks will be published in and receive a free copy of the 2013 Pooled Ink.

The deadline for the short fiction writing contest category is coming up on March 31. The judge for this category is novelist and short story writer Alyson Hagy. Originally from Virginia, Ms. Hagy now lives in Laramie and teaches at the University of Wyoming.

Deadline for the nonfiction (including personal essays) and poetry categories are June 30 and September 30, respectively. Nonfiction writer and novelist David Shields will be the judge for creative nonfiction, and Colorado Poet Laureate David Mason for poetry.

Note that NCW is only accepting electronic/emailed submissions this year. If you don’t have a credit card or prefer to pay with a check you can still mail in your payment, or pay online with PayPal. The entry fee is $20 per entry. The contest is open to anyone.

For more information about the contests, check out the contest page on the NCW website.

The 2012 edition of Pooled Ink is on sale at amazon.com.