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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Creative Nonfiction Walton Sustainability Solutions Best Creative Nonfiction Essay Award A prize of $10,000 and publication in Creative Nonfiction will be given for an essay on the theme “The Human Face of Sustainability.” The editors will judge. Submit an essay of up to 4,000 words... |
$20 | Creative Nonfiction | $10,000 | Publication | 5/31/13 |
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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 | |
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Winning Writers Sports Fiction & Essay Contest Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication on the Winning Writers website are given annually for a story and an essay on the theme of sports. Jendi Reiter will judge. Submit up to 6,000 words of prose... |
$15 | Fiction, Creative Nonfiction | $1,000 | Publication | 5/31/13 |
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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 |
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Philadelphia Stories Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction A prize of $2,000 and publication in Philadelphia Stories is given annually for a short story. Writers currently living in the United States are eligible. Michael Martone will judge. Using the... |
$10 | Fiction | $2,000 | Publication | 6/1/13 |
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Southern Indiana Review Thomas A. Wihelmus Editors’ Award A prize of $1,500 and publication in Southern Indiana Review is given annually for a work of creative nonfiction. All entries are considered for publication. Submit an essay of up to 35 pages... |
$20 | Creative Nonfiction | $1,500 | Publication | 6/1/13 |