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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
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
Utica College Eugene Paul Nassar Poetry Prize A prize of $2,000 will be given annually for a poetry collection by a resident of upstate New York. The winner must also give a reading and teach a master class at Utica College. Don Bogen will judge....	$0	Poetry	$2,000	Reading	8/31/12
Real Simple Life Lessons Essay Contest A prize of $3,000 and publication in Real Simple is given annually for an essay on a theme by a U.S. writer. The winner also receives an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to meet with the...	$0	Creative Nonfiction	$3,000	Publication	9/13/12
Claremont Graduate University Tufts Poetry Awards The $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award is given annually to honor a book of poetry by a midcareer U.S. poet. The winner spends one week in residence at Claremont Graduate University in California. The...	$0	Poetry	$100,000	100000	9/15/12
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Writing Fellowships Guggenheim Fellowships are awarded annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers who are residents of the United States and Canada on the basis of achievement and exceptional...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$30,000		9/15/12
Shakespeare and Company Paris Literary Prize A prize of €10,000 (approximately $12,275) will be given annually for a novella. Two second-place prizes of €2,000 (approximately $2,455) will also be given. Writers who have not published a book of...	$93	Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$12,275		9/15/12
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
University of Massachusetts Press Juniper Prizes Two prizes of $1,500 each and publication by University of Massachusetts Press are given annually for a poetry collection and a book of fiction. In poetry, the award alternates yearly between first and...	$0	Poetry, Fiction	$1,500	Publication	9/30/12
Harvard University Radcliffe Institute Fellowships Fellowships of $70,000 each, office space at the Radcliffe Institute, and access to the libraries at Harvard University are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers to...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$70,000		10/1/12
American Antiquarian Society Fellowships for Creative Writers Fellowships are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers for monthlong residencies at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts, to research pre-...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$1,350	Residency	10/5/12
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
Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarship Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarship An award of approximately $52,000 is given annually to a U.S. poet for a year of travel and study abroad. Publication is not required, but recent winners have been published poets. Submit two copies of...	$0	Poetry	$52,000		10/15/12
Dana Awards Literary Competition Four prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for an unpublished group of poems, a short story, a novel or novel-in-progress, and an essay. Submit five poems of no more than 100 lines each with a $15...	$15	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$1,000		10/31/12
North Carolina Arts Council Writers’ Fellowships Fellowships of $10,000 each are given biennially to North Carolina poets, fiction writers, creative nonfiction writers, and literary translators. Applicants must have lived in North Carolina for at least...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$10,000		11/1/12
Yale University Press Yale Series of Younger Poets An award of publication by Yale University Press is given annually to a poet under the age of 40 who has not published a book-length collection of poetry. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 64 pages with an...	$20	Poetry		Publication	11/15/12
Shenandoah Graybeal-Gowen Prize for Virginia Writers A prize of $500 and publication in Shenandoah is given annually for a poem by a writer born or residing in Virginia. Submit up to three poems by November 15. There is no entry fee. Send an SASE...	$0	Poetry	$500	Publication	11/15/12
Pushcart Press Editors’ Book Award A prize of $1,000 is given occasionally for a fiction or creative nonfiction manuscript that has been submitted to but not accepted by a commercial publisher. The award recognizes “worthy manuscripts...	$0	Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$1,000		11/15/12
Arrowhead Regional Arts Council Career Development Grants Grants of up to $2,500 are given three times a year to allow Minnesota writers to take advantage of a specific arts opportunity. Poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers who are U.S....	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$2,500		11/16/12
University of North Texas Rilke Prize A prize of $10,000 is given annually for a book published in the previous year by a mid-career poet. U.S. poets who have published at least two previous books of poetry are eligible. Authors, editors, or...	$0	Poetry	$10,000		11/30/12
American Library Association W. Y. Boyd Literary Award A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a novel set in a period when the United States was at war. Publishers or authors may submit seven copies of books published in 2011 by December 1. There is no...	$0	Fiction	$5,000		12/1/12
Langum Charitable Trust Prize in American Historical Fiction A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a book of historical fiction published in the current year. Submit three copies of books (or bound galleys) published in 2012 by December 1. There is no entry fee...	$0	Fiction	$1,000		12/1/12
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
Morehead State University Thomas and Lillie D. Chaffin Award for Appalachian Writing A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction by an Appalachian writer. Authors and publishers may submit five copies of a book of poetry or prose by December...	$0	Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$1,000		12/3/12
Friends of American Writers Literary Award A prize of up to $4,000 is given annually for a book of fiction or creative nonfiction published in the current year by a writer who is a resident of the Midwest or whose book features a Midwestern...	$0	Fiction, Creative Nonfiction	$4,000		12/10/12
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

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