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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
Boulevard Emerging Poets Contest A prize of $1,000 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for a group of poems by a poet who has not published a poetry collection with a nationally distributed press. All entries are...	$15	Poetry	$1,000	Publication	6/1/13
Comstock Review Muriel Craft Bailey Award A prize of $1,000 and publication in Comstock Review is given annually for a poem. Submit poems of up to 40 lines each with a $5 entry fee per poem by July 1. Send an SASE, call, e-mail, or...	$5	Poetry	$1,000	Publication	7/1/13
Finishing Line Press Open Chapbook Competition A prize of $1,000 and publication by Finishing Line Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook. The winner will also receive a standard royalty contract for a Kindle edition of the winning chapbook....	$15	Poetry	$1,000	Publication	6/30/13
New England Poetry Club Daniel Varoujan Award A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poem in honor of Daniel Varoujan, an Armenian poet killed in the genocide in Turkey in 1915. Submit a poem with a $10 entry fee by May 31. Send an SASE, e-mail,...	$10	Poetry	$1,000		5/31/13
Oberlin College Press FIELD Poetry Prize A prize of $1,000 and publication by Oberlin College Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Using the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 50 to 80 pages with a $28 entry fee, which...	$28	Poetry	$1,000	Publication	5/31/13
Southern Poetry Review Guy Owen Prize A prize of $1,000 and publication in Southern Poetry Review is given annually for a poem. Submit three to five poems totaling no more than 10 pages with a $20 entry fee, which includes a...	$20	Poetry	$1,000	Publication	6/15/13
Towson University Prize for Literature A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction by a writer who has lived in Maryland for at least three years and is currently a resident. Books published...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$1,000		6/15/13
Bellevue Literary Review Prizes in Poetry and Prose Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Bellevue Literary Review are given annually to a poet, a fiction writer, and a creative nonfiction writer for works about health, healing, illness...	$15	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$1,000	Publication	7/1/13
Pearl Editions Pearl Poetry Prize A prize of $1,000 and publication by Pearl Editions is given annually for a poetry collection. Fred Voss will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 64 pages with a $25 entry fee by June 30. Send an SASE or...	$25	Poetry	$1,000	Publication	6/30/13
New Millennium Writings New Millennium Awards Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in New Millennium Writings and on the journal’s website are given twice yearly for a poem, a short story, a short short story, and an essay that have...	$20	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$1,000	Publication	6/17/13
Indiana Review “1/2 K” Prize A prize of $1,000 and publication in Indiana Review is given annually for a poem or a work of fiction under 500 words. All entries are considered for publication. Dinty Moore will judge. Submit...	$20	Poetry, Fiction	$1,000	Publication	8/1/13
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Award A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation website is given annually for a poem that explores “positive visions of peace and the human spirit.” Submit two copies of up to three...	$15	Poetry	$1,000	Publication	7/1/13
National Poetry Review Press Book Prize A prize of $1,000 and publication by National Poetry Review Press is given annually for a poetry collection. C. J. Sage will judge. Submit a manuscript of 45 to 80 pages with a $25 entry fee by June 30....	$25	Poetry	$1,000	Publication	6/30/13
ABZ Press First Book Prize A prize of $1,000, publication by ABZ Press, and 50 author copies is given annually for a first poetry collection. C. D. Wright will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 76 pages with a $30 entry fee...	$30	Poetry	$1,000	Publication	6/30/13
Autumn House Press Book Contests Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Autumn House Press are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, and a book of creative nonfiction. Each winner also receives a $1,500...	$30	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$1,000	Publication	6/30/13
Barrow Street Press Book Prize A prize of $1,000 and publication by Barrow Street Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Afaa Michael Weaver will judge. Submit a manuscript of 50 to 80 pages with a $25 entry fee ($28 for...	$25	Poetry	$1,000	Publication	6/30/13
Bitter Oleander Press Library of Poetry Book Award A prize of $1,000 and publication by Bitter Oleander Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Original works written in English are eligible. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 80 pages with a $25...	$25	Poetry	$1,000	Publication	6/15/13
Cider Press Review Editors’ Prize Book Award A prize of $1,000, publication by Cider Press Review, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 80 pages with a $25...	$25	Poetry	$1,000	Publication	6/30/13
Late Night Library Debut-litzer Award Three prizes of $1,000 each will be given annually for books of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction published in the previous year. In addition, the winners will be featured on the Late Night...	$25	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$1,000		5/31/13
Literal Latté Poetry Award A prize of $1,000 and publication in Literal Latté is given annually for a poem. Submit up to six poems of no more than 2,000 words each with a $10 entry fee ($15 for up to 10 poems) by July 15...	$10	Poetry	$1,000	Publication	7/15/13
Parlor Press New Measure Poetry Prize A prize of $1,000 and publication by Parlor Press in the Free Verse Editions series is given annually for a poetry collection. Carolyn Forché will judge. Using the online submission system, submit a...	$25	Poetry	$1,000	Publication	6/30/13
University of Akron Press Akron Poetry Prize A prize of $1,500 and publication by University of Akron Press is given annually for a poetry collection. David Kirby will judge. Submit a manuscript of at least 48 pages with a $25 entry fee by June 15...	$25	Poetry	$1,500	Publication	6/15/13
Boston Review Poetry Contest A prize of $1,500 and publication in Boston Review is given annually for a poem or group of poems. All entries are considered for publication. Linda Gregerson will judge. Submit up to five poems...	$20	Poetry	$1,500	Publication	6/3/13
New Letters Literary Awards Three prizes of $1,500 each and publication in New Letters are given annually for a group of poems, a short story, and an essay. All entries are considered for publication. Submit up to six...	$15	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$1,500	Publication	5/18/13
River Styx International Poetry Contest A prize of $1,500 and publication in River Styx is given annually for a poem. All entries are considered for publication. Terrance Hayes will judge. Submit up to three poems totaling no more...	$20	Poetry	$1,500	Publication	5/31/13
Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund Individual Artist Grants for Women Grants of $500 to $1,500 each are given twice yearly to feminist writers who are citizens of the United States or Canada. The current round of grants will be awarded to women poets and creative...	$20	Poetry, Creative Nonfiction	$1,500		6/30/13
American-Scandinavian Foundation Translation Prizes A prize of $2,000 and publication of an excerpt in Scandinavian Review is given annually for an English translation of a Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, or Swedish work of poetry, fiction...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$2,000	Publication	6/7/13
Crab Orchard Series in Poetry First Book Award A prize of $2,000, publication by Southern Illinois University Press, and a $1,500 honorarium to give a reading at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale is given annually for a poetry collection. U....	$25	Poetry	$2,000	Reading, Publication	7/8/13
Sonia Raiziss-Giop Foundation Bordighera Poetry Prize A prize of $2,000 and bilingual publication by Bordighera Press is given annually for a poetry collection written in English to be translated into Italian. The prize is evenly divided between the poet,...	$0	Poetry	$2,000	Publication	5/31/13
Literary Arts Oregon Literary Fellowships Fellowships of $2,500 each are given annually to Oregon writers to initiate, develop, or complete literary projects in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. In addition, Women Writers Fellowships of...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$2,500		6/28/13
Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition A prize of $3,000 and an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to meet with editors and agents is given annually for a poem, a short story, or an essay. Prizes of $1,000 each are also given for a work...	$32	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$3,000	Travel	6/3/13
Omnidawn Publishing First/Second Book Prize A prize of $3,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 100 author copies is given annually for a first or second poetry collection. Donald Revell will judge. Submit a manuscript of 40 to 120 pages...	$27	Poetry	$3,000	Publication	6/30/13
Blue Mountain Center Richard J. Margolis Award A prize of $5,000 and a monthlong residency at the Blue Mountain Center, an artists colony in Blue Mountain Lake, New York, is given annually to a writer of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction with...	$0	Poetry, Creative Nonfiction	$5,000	Residency	7/1/13
Bridport Arts Centre Bridport Prize Two prizes of £5,000 (approximately $7,760) each and publication in the Bridport Prize anthology are given annually for a poem and a short story. A second-place prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,552) and...	$0	Poetry, Fiction	$7,760	Publication	5/31/13
National Book Foundation National Book Awards Three prizes of $10,000 each are awarded annually to honor a book of poetry, a book of fiction, and a book of creative nonfiction written by U.S. writers and published in the United States during the...	$125	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$10,000		6/3/13
Pulitzer Prizes Prizes in Letters Three prizes of $10,000 each are given annually to U.S. writers to honor books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) published in the United States during the current year....	$50	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$10,000		6/15/13
Astounding Beauty Ruffian Press Poetry Chapbook Award A prize of $10,000 and publication by Astounding Beauty Ruffian Press is given biennially for a poetry chapbook by a U.S. poet. Submit a manuscript of 10 to 20 pages with a $25 entry fee by May 31. Visit...	$25	Poetry	$10,000	Publication	5/31/13
Dylan Thomas Centre Dylan Thomas Prize A prize of £30,000 (approximately $45,880) is given annually for a book of poetry or fiction published in the preceding year that “displays creative, imaginative, and innovative use of the English...	$0	Poetry, Fiction	$45,880		5/31/13
Mexico Fil Prize in Romance Languages A prize of $150,000 is given annually to honor a poet, a fiction writer, or a creative nonfiction writer who writes in Catalan, French, Galician, Italian, Portuguese, Roumanian, or Spanish. The prize is...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$150,000		6/22/13

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