| Give a Gift |

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
University of Iowa Press Short Fiction Awards Two publication awards are given annually by the University of Iowa Press for first collections of short fiction. Writers who have not published a book of fiction are eligible. Submit a manuscript of at...	$0	Fiction		Publication	9/30/12
Lynchburg College Thornton Writer Residency A fourteen-week residency at Lynchburg College, including a stipend, is awarded annually to a fiction writer for the fall term and a poet or creative nonfiction writer for the spring term. The stipend...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction		Reading, Workshop, Residency	10/15/12
Before Columbus Foundation American Book Awards Awards are given annually for books published in the United States during the preceding year that make contributions to American multicultural literature. Submit two copies of a book published in 2012 by...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction			12/31/12
Commonwealth Club of California California Book Awards Three prizes are given annually to California writers for books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction (including creative nonfiction). Prizes are also given for a first book of fiction and a book of fiction...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction			12/14/12
Pushcart Press Pushcart Prizes Publication in The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses is awarded annually for poetry, fiction, and essays published by literary magazines or small presses in the current year. Editors may...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction		Publication	12/1/12
The Writer’s Center Emerging Writer Fellowships Three fellowships are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. Fellows who live within a 250-mile radius of the center receive a $250 honorarium each, and others receive...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$250	Reading	4/12/13
Poets & Writers, Inc. Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award Two prizes of $500 each are awarded annually to a poet and a fiction writer from a select state. Each winner also receives an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to give a reading and meet with...	$0	Poetry, Fiction	$500	Reading, Residency	12/15/12
Micro Award Micro Award A prize of $500 is given annually for a short short story published during the current year. Stories published “in any print or electronic publication designed for public display” are eligible. Jacob...	$0	Fiction	$500		12/31/12
Black Caucus of the American Library Association Literary Awards Four prizes of $500 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a first novel, a book of fiction, and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) by an African American writer and published...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$500		12/14/12
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
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
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
Poets & Writers, Inc. California Writers Exchange Contest Two prizes of $500 each are awarded every three years to a poet and a fiction writer living in California. Each winner also receives an all-expenses-paid, weeklong trip to New York City to meet with...	$0	Poetry, Fiction	$500	Reading	8/31/12
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

Browse by Sponsor Name

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | All