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Writing 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.

Sponsor and Award	Entry Fee	Genre	Cash Prize	Prize includes	Application Deadline
Shakespeare and Company Paris Literary Prize A prize of €10,000 (approximately $12,275) will be given annually for a novella. Two second-place prizes of €2,000 (approximately $2,455) will also be given. Writers who have not published a book of...	$93	Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$12,275		9/15/12
San José State University Steinbeck Fellowship in Creative Writing A one-year residency at San José State University, which includes a stipend of $10,000, is given annually to a fiction writer or a creative nonfiction writer. The resident will give one public reading...	$0	Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$10,000	Reading, Residency	1/2/13
Sustainable Arts Foundation Writing Awards Five awards of $6,000 each will be given twice yearly to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers with children. Five Promise Awards of $1,000 each will also be given twice yearly to poets...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$6,000		8/31/13
Summer Literary Seminars Unified Literary Contest Three prizes, valued at $5,200 each, to attend the Summer Literary Seminars program in Lithuania or Kenya are given annually to a poet, a fiction writer, and a creative nonfiction writer. The prizes...	$17	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$5,200	Publication, Residency	2/28/13
South Carolina Arts Commission Artist Fellowships Two fellowships of $5,000 each are given biennially to a poet and a writer of fiction or creative nonfiction. Residents of South Carolina may submit three copies of up to 20 pages of poetry or prose and...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$5,000		11/1/11
Stanford University Libraries William Saroyan International Prize Two prizes of $5,000 each are given biennially for works of fiction and creative nonfiction. The awards, cosponsored by the Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation, are “intended...	$50	Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$5,000		1/31/12
Stadler Center for Poetry Philip Roth Residence A four-month residency, including a $4,000 stipend, at the Stadler Center for Poetry at Bucknell University is given annually to a poet, a fiction writer, or a creative nonfiction writer. The 2013 Philip...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$4,000	Residency	2/1/13
Southern Indiana Review Thomas A. Wihelmus Editors’ Award A prize of $1,500 and publication in Southern Indiana Review is given annually for a work of creative nonfiction. All entries are considered for publication. Submit an essay of up to 35 pages...	$20	Creative Nonfiction	$1,500	Publication	6/1/13
Salem College International Literary Awards Three prizes of $1,200 each are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Erika Meitner will judge in poetry, Timothy Schaffert in fiction, and Marianne Gingher in creative nonfiction....	$15	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$1,200		2/1/13
Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Awards Two prizes of $1,000 are given annually for works of fiction and creative nonfiction. David Morrell will judge in fiction, and Lee Gutkind will judge in creative nonfiction. Submit a manuscript of any...	$30	Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$1,000		7/15/13
Sycamore Review Wabash Prize for Nonfiction A prize of $1,000 and publication in Sycamore Review is given annually for an essay. Mary Karr will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Submit an essay of up to 7,500 words with a...	$15	Creative Nonfiction	$1,000	Publication	10/1/12
Southern Illinois University Devil's Kitchen Reading Awards Two prizes of $1,000 each and an all-expenses-paid trip to give a reading at the Devil's Kitchen Fall Literary Festival at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale are given annually for a book of...	$20	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$1,000	Reading	2/1/13
Schaffner Press Nicholas Schaffner Award for Music in Literature A prize of $1,000 and publication by Schaffner Press will be given annually for a work of fiction or creative nonfiction that "deals in some way with the subject of music and its influence." Submit a...	$25	Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$1,000	Publication	9/1/13
Slippery Elm Poetry and Prose Awards Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Slippery Elm will be given annually for a poem and a short story or an essay. All entries will be considered for publication. Mary Biddinger will...	$15	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$1,000	Publication	9/13/13
Stone Canoe Literary Awards Four prizes of $500 each are given annually to a poet, a fiction writer, a creative nonfiction writer, and a United States military veteran writing in any genre who have a connection with upstate New...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$500		7/15/12

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