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: 9/21/24
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
Coffee-House Poetry
Cash Prize: $2,602
Entry Fee: $8
Application Deadline: 9/23/24
Genre: Poetry
A prize of £2,000 (approximately $2,602) is given annually for a single poem. A second-place prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,301) is also given. Both winners receive...
read moreNew York Public Library
Cash Prize: $85,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/27/24
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 moreOne Page
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
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 moreDzanc Books
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Dzanc Books will be given for a poetry collection. Jonathan Fink and Keith Taylor will judge. Using only the online submission system,...
read moreTexas Review Press: The University Press of SHSU
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $2,000, publication by Texas Review Press: The University Press of SHSU, and 10 author copies is given annually for a short story collection or novel. Using only the...
read moreThe Moth
Cash Prize: $1,094
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,094) and online publication in Irish Times is given annually for a poem, a story, or an essay that features “an exploration of the...
read moreHackney Literary Awards
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
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...
Dzanc Books
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $5,000 and publication by Dzanc Books is given annually for a novel. Farah Ali, Chika Unigwe,...
read moreUniversity of Mississippi
Cash Prize: $12,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
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 moreUniversity of Massachusetts Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
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 moreGhost Story
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
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 moreBoulevard
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
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 moreDzanc Books
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $2,500 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 moreUniversity of Mississippi
Cash Prize: $12,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $12,000 is given annually for a book of nonfiction published during the current year that asks readers “to engage with or reflect on the complexities of the U.S....
read morePEN/Faulkner Foundation
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $95
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
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 moreUniversity of Mississippi
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
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 Oxford, Mississippi, for the awards...
read moreUniversity of Iowa Press
Cash Prize: $0
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
Genre: Fiction
Two prizes of publication by University of Iowa Press are given annually for debut collections of short fiction. Submit a manuscript of at least 150 pages by September 30....
read moreCalifornia State University in Fresno
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
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 moreConnecticut Poetry Society
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
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. Aaron Caycedo-Kimura...
read moreLascaux Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Lascaux Review website is given annually for an essay. Previously published and unpublished essays are eligible. Using only the...
read moreTexas Review Press: The University Press of SHSU
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 9/30/24
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $10,000, publication by Texas Review Press: The University Press of SHSU, and 10 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The winner also receives a...
read moreGeorgia Writers
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 10/1/24
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three grants of $500 each are given annually in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction to “elevate, encourage, and inspire the voices of Black writers in Georgia.” Grantees also...
read moreWillow Springs Books
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/1/24
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Willow Springs Books is given annually for a short story collection. Submit a manuscript of three or more stories totaling at least 98...
read more