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 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 |
|
Slippery Elm Poetry and Prose Awards Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Slippery Elm will be given annually for a poem and a short story or an essay. All entries will be considered for publication. Mary Biddinger will... |
$15 | Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction | $1,000 | Publication | 9/13/13 |
|
Hunger Mountain Creative Nonfiction Prize A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Hunger Mountain website is given annually for a work of creative nonfiction. Submit a manuscript of up to 10,000 words with a $20 entry fee by September... |
$20 | Creative Nonfiction | $1,000 | Publication | 9/10/13 |
|
Bear Deluxe Magazine Doug Fir Fiction Award A prize of $1,000, publication in Bear Deluxe Magazine, and a residency of up to 14 weeks at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology in Oregon is given annually for a short story relating to the... |
$15 | Fiction | $1,000 | Publication, Residency | 9/3/13 |
|
Schaffner Press Nicholas Schaffner Award for Music in Literature A prize of $1,000 and publication by Schaffner Press will be given annually for a work of fiction or creative nonfiction that "deals in some way with the subject of music and its influence." Submit a... |
$25 | Fiction, Creative Nonfiction | $1,000 | Publication | 9/1/13 |
|
Santa Cruz Writes Morton Marcus Memorial Poetry Contest A prize of $1,000 and publication in phren-Z, an online literary journal, will be given annually for a poem. The winner will also be invited to give a reading at the fourth annual Morton Marcus... |
$15 | Poetry | $1,000 | Reading, Publication | 9/1/13 |