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.

Oversound

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 4/30/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000, publication by Oversound, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Diana Khoi Nguyen will judge. Using only the online submission...

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Tadpole Press

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 4/30/24

A prize of $2,000 is given biannually for a work of flash poetry or prose. Manuscripts written in a language other than English are accepted when accompanied by an English...

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Inlandia Institute

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 4/30/24
Genre: Poetry

Two prizes of $1,000 each, publication by the Inlandia Institute, and 20 author copies are given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S. resident and a poetry collection by...

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University of Iowa Press

Cash Prize: $20
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 4/30/24
Genre: Poetry

Publication by University of Iowa Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 50 to 150 pages with a $20...

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Marsh Hawk Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 4/30/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Marsh Hawk Press is given annually for a poetry collection. John Keene will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a...

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Atlanta Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 5/1/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Atlanta Review is given annually for a single poem. Using only the online submission system, submit up to five poems of any length...

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McGill University

Cash Prize: $14,807
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 5/1/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $20,000 Canadian (approximately $14,807) and publication in the Montreal Poetry Prize anthology is given biennially for a poem. A.E. Stallings will judge, and...

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Noemi Press

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/1/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $2,000 and publication by Noemi Press is given annually for a book of poetry. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of...

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Ashland Poetry Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 5/1/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000, publication by Ashland Poetry Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Matthew Rohrer will judge. Using only the online...

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Moon City Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/1/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Moon City Press is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a...

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Backwaters Press

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $32
Application Deadline: 5/1/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $2,000 and publication by Backwaters Press, an imprint of University of Nebraska Press, is given annually for a poetry collection. An honorable...

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Breakwater Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 5/1/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Breakwater Review...

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Writer’s Digest

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 5/6/24

A prize of $5,000, an interview in Writer’s Digest, and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference is given annually for a single poem, a short...

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Academy of American Poets

Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $75
Application Deadline: 5/15/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $25,000 is given annually for a poetry collection by a living poet published in the United States during the previous year. The winner also...

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Academy of American Poets

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/15/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a second book of poetry by a living poet to be published in the next calendar year. The winner also receives an all-...

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Ploughshares

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $24
Application Deadline: 5/15/24

Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication in Ploughshares are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Each winner also receives a...

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