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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
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
Bard College Bard Fiction Prize A prize of $30,000 and a one-semester appointment as writer-in-residence at Bard College is given annually to a U.S. fiction writer under the age of 40. The recipient must give at least one public...	$0	Fiction	$30,000		7/15/13
University of Pittsburgh Press Drue Heinz Literature Prize A prize of $15,000 and publication by University of Pittsburgh Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. The prize is open to writers who have published a book of fiction or a minimum of...	$0	Fiction	$15,000	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
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
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
University of Wisconsin Press Brittingham and Felix Pollak Prizes Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by University of Wisconsin Press are given annually for poetry collections. Submit a manuscript of 60 to 90 pages with a $25 entry fee between August 15 and...	$25	Poetry	$2,500	Reading, Publication	9/15/13
Glimmer Train Press Fiction Open A prize of $2,500 and publication in Glimmer Train Stories is given quarterly for a short story. Using the online submission system, submit a story of up to 20,000 words with a $19 entry fee by...	$19	Fiction	$2,500	Publication	6/30/13
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
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
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
Hidden River Arts William Van Wert Fiction Award A prize of $1,000 and publication in Hidden River Review is given annually for a short story or a novel excerpt. Using the online submission system, submit up to 25 pages of fiction with a $17...	$17	Fiction	$1,000	Publication	6/30/13
University of North Texas Press Katherine Anne Porter Prize A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of North Texas Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Submit a manuscript of 100 to 200 pages with a $25 entry fee between May 1 and...	$25	Fiction	$1,000	Publication	6/30/13
Teachers & Writers Collaborative Bechtel Prize A prize of $1,000 and publication in Teachers & Writers Magazine is given annually for an essay that relates to creative writing education or literary studies. Susan Orlean will judge....	$20	Creative Nonfiction	$1,000	Publication	7/1/13
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
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
Red Hen Press Short Story Award A prize of $1,000 and publication in Los Angeles Review is given annually for a short story. Ron Carlson will judge. Submit up to two stories of no more than 25 pages each with a $20 entry fee...	$20	Fiction	$1,000	Publication	6/30/13
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
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
Hunger Mountain Howard Frank Mosher Short Fiction Prize A prize of $1,000 and publication in Hunger Mountain is given annually for a short story. Submit a story of up to 10,000 words with a $20 entry fee by June 30. Visit the website for complete...	$20	Fiction	$1,000	Publication	6/30/13
Crook’s Corner Book Prize Foundation Book Prize A prize of $1,000 will be given annually for a debut novel published in the United States in the preceding two years and set in the American South. The winner will also be entitled to receive a free...	$25	Fiction	$1,000		6/30/13
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
Northern Colorado Writers Creative Nonfiction Contest A prize of $1,000 and publication in the Northern Colorado Writers anthology will be given annually for a work of creative nonfiction. David Shields will judge. Submit an essay or excerpt of a longer...	$20	Creative Nonfiction	$1,000	Publication	6/30/13
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

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