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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
New Hampshire State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowships Fellowships of $5,000 each are given every three years to New Hampshire poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. New Hampshire residents who are not enrolled full-time in a degree-...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$5,000		1/31/11
New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowships in Poetry and Prose Fellowships ranging from $7,000 to $12,000 each are awarded biennially to New Jersey poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers to support new work. Full-time New Jersey residents who are...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$7,000		7/15/11
Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards Grants of $5,000 are awarded biennially to Ohio poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. Writers who have been residents of Ohio for one year prior to the application deadline and are not...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$5,000		9/1/11
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
Kenyon College Kenyon Review Fellowships Two two-year fellowships, each including an annual stipend of $32,500, will be given biennially to poets, fiction writers, or creative nonfiction writers who have completed an MFA or PhD in creative...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$32,500		12/1/11
Tony Quagliano International Poetry Fund Poetry Award A prize of $1,000 will be given biennially to an experimental or avant-garde poet. Poets who have published at least one book or 20 poems in five or more journals or anthologies may submit four copies of...	$0	Poetry	$1,000		12/1/11
New York Foundation for the Arts Artists' Fellowships Grants of $7,000 are given triennially to New York State fiction writers. Writers who have lived in New York State for two years or more, are at least 25 years of age, and are not enrolled in a degree-...	$0	Fiction	$7,000		12/15/11
University of Notre Dame Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize A prize of $1,000 and publication by the University of Notre Dame Press is given biennially for a poetry collection by a Latino poet who has not yet published a book. The winner is also invited to give a...	$0	Poetry	$1,000	Reading, Publication	1/15/12
University of Notre Dame Letras Latinas/Red Hen Poetry Prize A prize of $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press will be given biennially for a second or third book by a Latino poet. Orlando Ricardo Menes will judge. The winner will also receive a two-week...	$0	Poetry	$1,000	Publication, Residency	1/15/12
Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellowships Grants of $7,500 each are given biennially to Massachusetts poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. Using the online submission system, submit up to 15 pages of poetry or 25 pages of...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$7,500		1/30/12
Artist Trust Literature Fellowships Fellowships of $7,500 are awarded biennially to Washington State poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. Writers who are not enrolled in a degree-granting program are eligible. Submit up...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$7,500		2/26/12
Creative Capital Artist Grants Grants of up to $50,000 are offered triennially to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. Writers also receive advisory and development services from Creative Capital. United States...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$50,000		3/1/12
Kentucky Arts Council Artist Fellowships and Awards Grants of $7,500 each are given biennially to Kentucky poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. Emerging Artist Awards of $1,000 are also given biennially to writers in the early stages...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$7,500		3/15/12
Arkansas Arts Council Individual Artists Fellowships Fellowships of up to $4,000 are given annually to Arkansas writers in alternating genres. In 2012 the awards will be given for novels. Writers who are at least 25 years of age and have lived in Arkansas...	$0	Fiction	$4,000		4/20/12
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
The Writer’s Center McLaughlin-Esstman-Stearns First Novel Prize A prize of $500 is given annually to honor a first novel by a U.S. author published during the previous year. Submit three copies of a novel published in 2011 by July 15. There is no entry fee. Call or...	$0	Fiction	$500		7/15/12
Great Lakes Colleges Association New Writers Awards Three prizes are given annually to a poet, a fiction writer, and a creative nonfiction writer to honor their first books. The winners receive all-expenses-paid trips to several of the 13 GLCA colleges,...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$500	Reading	7/25/12
Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards Fellowships of $1,000 to $6,000 are given annually on a rotating basis to Maryland poets, fiction writers, and playwrights. The 2013 awards will be given in fiction. Maryland residents who have lived in...	$0	Poetry, Fiction	$1,000		7/27/12
Marie Alexander Poetry Series Prose Poetry and Flash Fiction Open A prize of $1,000 and publication by Marie Alexander Poetry Series, an imprint of White Pine Press, is given annually for a collection of prose poems or flash fiction by a U.S. writer. Submit a...	$0	Poetry, Fiction	$1,000	Publication	7/31/12
Delaware Division of the Arts Individual Artist Fellowships Established Professional Fellowships of $6,000 each and Emerging Professional Fellowships of $3,000 each are given annually to Delaware poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. Writers...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$6,000		8/1/12
Leeway Foundation Art and Change Grants Grants of up to $2,500 each are given twice yearly by the Leeway Foundation to women and transsexual, transgender, genderqueer, and Two-Spirit poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers in...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$2,500		8/1/12
North Carolina Humanities Council Linda Flowers Literary Award A prize of $500, publication in North Carolina Conversations, and a weeklong residency at Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities in Southern Pines, North Carolina, is given annually for a...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$500	Publication, Residency	8/15/12
Memoir Journal Prize for Memoir in Prose or Poetry A prize of $500 and publication in Memoir Journal is given twice yearly for a memoir in the form of a poem, a short story, or an essay. The editors will judge. Using the online submission system...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$500	Publication	8/16/12
Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize A prize of $12,000 and publication by Graywolf Press is given annually for a work-in-progress of creative nonfiction by a writer not yet established in that genre. U.S. writers who have published at...	$0	Creative Nonfiction	$12,000	Publication	8/31/12
New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award A prize of $10,000 is given annually to honor a novel or short story collection by a U.S. citizen who is 35 or younger. Publishers and agents may submit 10 copies of a book (or bound galleys) published...	$0	Fiction	$10,000		8/31/12

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