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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Memoir Journal Prize for Memoir in Prose or Poetry A prize of $500 and publication in Memoir Journal is given twice yearly for a memoir in the form of a poem, a short story, or an essay. The editors will judge. Using the online submission system... |
$0 | Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction | $500 | Publication | 8/16/12 |
|
Black Lawrence Press St. Lawrence Book Award A prize of $1,000 and publication by Black Lawrence Press is given annually for a collection of poems or short stories by a writer who has not published a book-length collection. All entries are... |
$25 | Poetry, Fiction | $1,000 | Publication | 8/31/12 |
|
Gemini Magazine Flash Fiction Contest A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gemini Magazine is given annually for a short short story. The editors will judge. Submit a story of up to 1,000 words with a $4 entry fee ($3 for each... |
$4 | Fiction | $1,000 | Publication | 8/31/12 |
|
Glimmer Train Press Short Story Award for New Writers A prize of $1,500 and publication in Glimmer Train Stories is given quarterly for a short story by a writer whose fiction has not been published in a print publication with a circulation over 5,... |
$15 | Fiction | $1,500 | Publication | 8/31/12 |
|
New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award A prize of $10,000 is given annually to honor a novel or short story collection by a U.S. citizen who is 35 or younger. Publishers and agents may submit 10 copies of a book (or bound galleys) published... |
$0 | Fiction | $10,000 | 8/31/12 | |
|
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 |