A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Travelers’ Tales website is given annually for a travel essay. Writers from Arizona and Vermont are eligible for publication but not...
read moreWriting Contests, Grants & Awards
The Writing Contests, Grants & Awards database includes details about the creative writing contests—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, and more—that we’ve published in Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it. Ours is the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.
Travelers’ Tales
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 9/21/26
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
Lightscatter Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 9/21/26
Genre: Poetry, Cross-Genre
A prize of $1,000, multimodal publication by Lightscatter Press, and 30 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection or hybrid work by an emerging writer. Using only...
read moreNew York Public Library
Cash Prize: $90,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/25/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation
Fifteen fellowships are given annually to artists, academics, and creative writers, including poets, fiction writers, creative nonfiction writers, and translators, whose work...
read moreTRP
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 9/30/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $10,000, publication by TRP: The University Press of Sam Houston State University, and 10 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The winner also...
read moreHackney Literary Awards
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 9/30/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for an unpublished novel. Submit a manuscript of any length with a $30 entry fee by September 30. Visit the website for complete guidelines...
Fresno State
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000, publication by Black Lawrence Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The winner is also invited to give a public reading at...
read moreUniversity of Massachusetts Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 9/30/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Five prizes of $1,000 each and publication by University of Massachusetts Press are given annually for a debut poetry collection, a poetry collection by an author who has...
read moreBoulevard
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 9/30/26
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for an essay by a writer who has not published a full-length book in any genre with a nationally...
read moreUniversity of Mississippi
Cash Prize: $12,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/30/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $12,000 is given annually for a novel published during the current year that asks readers “to engage with or reflect on the complexities of the U.S. South.” The...
read moreMoment Magazine
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a story that relates to Judaism or Jewish culture or history. The winning story will be considered for publication in Moment...
read moreThe Moth
Cash Prize: $1,142
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 9/30/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,142) and online publication in Irish Times is given annually for a poem, a short story, or an essay that features “an exploration...
read moreUniversity of Mississippi
Cash Prize: $12,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/30/26
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $12,000 is given annually for a book of creative nonfiction published during the current year that asks readers “to engage with or reflect on the complexities of the...
read moreCreative Writing Ink
Cash Prize: $1,335
Entry Fee: $16
Application Deadline: 9/30/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,335), publication on the Creative Writing Ink website, and a free online writing course with Creative Writing Ink is given annually for a...
read moreUniversity of Mississippi
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/30/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $3,000 is given annually for a single poem that evokes the U.S. South. The winner will also receive an all-expenses-paid trip to give a reading at the Oxford...
read moreDzanc Books
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $5,000 and publication by Dzanc Books is given annually for a story collection. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript...
read moreGhost Story
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 9/30/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication on the Ghost Story website is given biannually for a short story with a supernatural or magical realist theme. The editors will judge...
read moreHive Poetry Collective
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 9/30/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poem. The winner also receives an invitation to read at the University of California in Santa Cruz in November. Brynn Saito will judge...
read moreConnecticut Poetry Society
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 9/30/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Connecticut River Review and on the Connecticut Poetry Society website is given annually for a single poem. January O’Neil will...
read moreDzanc Books
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $5,000 and publication by Dzanc Books is given annually for a novel. Ruyan Meng, Alan Michael Parker, and Alyssa Quinn will judge. Using only the online submission...
read moreOne Page
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 is given annually for a single poem. A second-place prize of $1,000 is also given. Mark Graham, monique jonath, Mridvi Khetan, and Ann Tinkham will judge....
read morePEN/Faulkner Foundation
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $95
Application Deadline: 9/30/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $15,000 is given annually for a book of fiction published during the current year. Four finalists each receive $5,000. The winner and finalists will also be invited...
read moreWinning Writers
Cash Prize: $3,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/1/26
Genre: Poetry
Two prizes of $3,500 each, two-year gift certificates for membership to the literary database Duotrope, and publication on the Winning Writers website are given annually for a...
read moreAmerican Poetry Review
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/1/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $3,000 and publication by American Poetry Review is given annually for a debut poetry collection. The winning book is distributed by Copper Canyon Press...
read moreReed Magazine
Cash Prize: $1,333
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/1/26
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,333 and publication in Reed Magazine is given annually for a short work of nonfiction. Using only the online submission system, submit an essay or other...
read more