G&A: The Contest Blog

Deadline Nears for Max Ritvo Poetry Prize

Calling all emerging poets: Don’t forget to send your poetry manuscripts to Milkweed Editions’ Max Ritvo Poetry Prize, which offers an award of $10,000 and publication for a debut poetry collection.

Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of at least 48 pages with a $25 entry fee by May 31. Nobel Prize–winning poet Louise Glück will judge. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

The Max Ritvo Poetry Prize celebrates the life of the acclaimed author of the poetry collections Four Reincarnations (2016) and The Final Voicemails (2018), both published by Milkweed Editions, an independent publisher based in Minneapolis. Ritvo, who died in 2016, “came into the Milkweed family like a ball of fire,” Daniel Slager, the press’s publisher, said when the prize was established in 2017. “I can think of no better way to honor Max and his legacy than a first-book poetry prize, which will honor outstanding accomplishment in the art form he excelled in, enriching American letters for years to come.”

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

Though the dog days of summer may be, thankfully, weeks away, now is the perfect time to submit to contests with a May 31 deadline! Don’t miss the opportunity to win over $6,000 and publication in poetry and short story categories; an emerging writer fellowship offering $5,000, plus the chance to meet editors and agents; or a $10,000 cash prize for a debut poetry collection, among other awards. These contests have renowned judges such as Toi Derricotte, Louise Glück, Lori Ostlund, and Kirk Wilson. All awards and fellowships offer a prize of $1,000 or more. Best of luck, writers!  

Anhinga Press
Anhinga Prize for Poetry

A prize of $2,000, publication by Anhinga Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Entry fee: $25 ($28 for electronic submissions).

Autumn House Press
Literary Prizes

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Autumn House Press are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, and a book of creative nonfiction. Each winner also receives a $1,500 travel and publicity grant. Toi Derricotte will judge in poetry, Pam Houston will judge in fiction, and Jenny Boully will judge in nonfiction. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $30.

BOA Editions
Short Fiction Prize

A prize of $1,000 and publication by BOA Editions is given annually for a story collection. BOA publisher Peter Conners will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Bridport Arts Centre
Bridport Prizes

Two prizes of £5,000 (approximately $6,034) each and publication in the Bridport Prize anthology are given annually for a poem and a short story. A second-place prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,207) and publication is also given in each category. Additionally, a prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,207) and publication is given for a work of flash fiction. Roger Robinson will judge in poetry, Colin Barrett will judge in short story, and Christopher Allen will judge in flash fiction. Entry fee: £12 (approximately $14) for poetry, £14 (approximately $17) for fiction, and £11 (approximately $13) for flash fiction.

The Center for Fiction
Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellowships

Nine fellowships of $5,000 each, a one-year membership to the Center for Fiction in New York City, and a year of access to the Writers Studio writing space at the center are given annually to fiction writers living in New York City who have not yet published a book of fiction. Winners also have the opportunity to meet with editors and agents who represent new writers, and to receive critical feedback on their work from an editor. Applicants who on June 1, 2023, will be enrolled in a degree-granting program or are currently under contract with a publisher for a work of fiction are ineligible. Entry fee: none.

Elixir Press
Fiction Award

A prize of $2,000, publication by Elixir Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a story collection or a novel. Kirk Wilson will judge. Entry fee: $40.

Milkweed Editions
Max Ritvo Poetry Prize

A prize of $10,000 and publication by Milkweed Editions is given annually for a debut poetry collection by a U.S. poet. Louise Glück will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Southern Poetry Review
Guy Owen Prize

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Southern Poetry Review is given annually for a single poem. Entry fee: $20, which includes a subscription to Southern Poetry Review.

University of Georgia Press
Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction

A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Georgia Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Lori Ostlund will judge. Entry fee: $30.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.

Submissions Open for the Masters Review Spring Small Fiction Awards

Submissions are still open for the Masters Review’s new Spring Small Fiction Awards, offering three $1,000 cash prizes and online publication to winners in the categories of micro fiction, flash fiction, and sudden fiction. Emerging writers, including but not limited to those who have self-published books or who have titles published by independent presses, are eligible to apply.  

Using the online submission system, submit a work of micro fiction of up to 500 words, a work of flash fiction between 501 and 1,000 words, and/or a work of sudden fiction between 1,001 and 1,500 words with a $20 entry fee by June 1. Submissions may include up to two stories in any combination of the three categories. K-Ming Chang, author of the novel Bestiary and a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree, will judge. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Founded to celebrate “the mighty power of the compressed form,” the Spring Small Fiction Awards are meant to broaden the Masters Review’s search for “the very best in small fiction.” Contest entrants will receive a response by the end of August, and the winners will be announced by the end of September. With a commitment to “celebrating new and emerging writers” the Masters Review launched in 2011 “with the hopes of bridging the gap between new and established writers.”

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

Spring is in full swing: Give your writing the chance to bloom by submitting to contests with a May 15 deadline. Prizes include $5,000 for a debut novel set in the American South; $1,000 for a single poem; and $15,000 for women, transgender, and/or otherwise gender-nonconforming poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers in the Philadelphia area who have been creating art for social change. All prizes have a cash award of $1,000 or more, and two have no entry fee. Good luck, writers!

Academy of American Poets
James Laughlin Award

A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a second book of poetry by a living poet to be published in the coming calendar year. The winner also receives an all-expenses-paid weeklong residency at the Betsy Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. Copies of the winning book are distributed to members of the Academy of American Poets. Entry fee: None.

Academy of American Poets
Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize

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 receives a 10-day residency, free of charge, at the Glen Hollow cottage in Naples, New York. Copies of the winning book are distributed to members of the Academy of American Poets. Entry fee: $75.

American Poetry Review
Stanley Kunitz Memorial Prize

A prize of $1,000 and publication in American Poetry Review is given annually for a single poem by a poet under the age of 40. Multilingual submissions are eligible, provided one of the languages is English. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $15.

Crook’s Corner Book Prize Foundation
Book Prize

A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a debut novel set in the American South. The author may live anywhere, but eligible novels must be set primarily in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, or Washington, D.C. Self-published books are eligible, but books available only as e-books are not. Wiley Cash will judge. Entry fee: $35.

Gaudy Boy
Poetry Book Prize

A prize of $1,500 and publication by Gaudy Boy, an imprint of the New York City–based literary nonprofit Singapore Unbound, is given annually for a poetry collection by a writer of Asian heritage residing anywhere in the world. Divya Victor will judge. Entry fee: $10.

Leeway Foundation
Transformation Awards

Awards of $15,000 each are given annually to women, transgender, and/or otherwise gender-nonconforming poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers in the Philadelphia area who have been creating art for social change for five or more years. Writers who have lived for at least two years in Bucks, Camden, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia counties, who are at least 18 years of age, and who are not full-time students in a degree-granting arts program are eligible. Entry fee: None.

Lost Horse Press
Idaho Prize for Poetry

A prize of $1,000, publication by Lost Horse Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S. poet. Entry fee: $28.

Pittsburg State University
Cow Creek Chapbook Prize

A prize of $1,000, publication by Pittsburg State University, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Chad Abushanab will judge. Entry fee: $15.

Ploughshares
Emerging Writer’s Contest

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 consultation with the literary agency Aevitas Creative Management. Writers who have not published a book or a chapbook with a print run of over 300 copies are eligible. Entry fee: $24.

Regal House Publishing
Fugere Book Prize

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing will be given annually for a novella. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $25.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.
 

Deadline Nears for Waterston Desert Writing Prize

Are you a nonfiction writer whose prose explores the ethos or ecology of dry climates? If so, consider submitting to the High Desert Museum’s Waterston Desert Writing Prize, which offers $3,000 for a work of nonfiction that recognizes “the vital role deserts play worldwide in the ecosystem and the human narrative, with the desert as both subject and setting.” The winner will also be provided with travel and lodging to attend a reception and awards ceremony at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon, in September, as well as the opportunity to attend a residency at PLAYA at Summer Lake.

Using the online submission system, submit up to 10 pages of nonfiction, a biographical statement, and a one-page project description by May 1. There is no entry fee. Works-in-progress as well as published and unpublished prose are eligible. Proposals will be reviewed by the Waterston Desert Writing Prize Advisory Committee and Rena Priest, the first Indigenous poet laureate of Washington. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Last year’s prize winner was Caroline Tracey for “Salt Lakes,” a group of eighteen essays offering a queer take on the eponymous water bodies, which are under threat due to climate change. Founded in 2014 by writer Ellen Waterston, the High Desert Museum’s Waterston Desert Writing Prize has a mission to “strengthen and support the literary arts and humanities in the High Desert region through recognition of literary excellence in nonfiction writing about desert landscapes, through community interaction with the winning authors of the annual prize, and presentations and programs that take place in association with the program,” according to the museum’s website. Oregon’s High Desert region includes most of Central Oregon, beginning east of the Cascade mountains at the “high” elevation of 4,000 feet above sea level. The High Desert Museum is located on 135 acres that offer a “close-up view of native wildlife, such as river otters, porcupines and raptors” and 100,000 square feet of exhibition space.

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

During these increasingly sunny days, stay cool indoors and submit to contests with deadlines of April 30 and May 1! A poet residing or working in Inland Southern California could win $1,000 and publication by the Inlandia Institute; a fiction writer with a supernatural story to tell could receive $1,500 and publication on the Ghost Story website; and a nonfiction writer with work focusing on the desert “as both subject and setting” could be awarded $3,000, an invitation to a High Desert Museum ceremony in Oregon, and a writing residency. All contests offer a cash prize of $1,000 or more. Keep cool as your literary careers heat up, writers!  

Backwaters Press
Backwaters Prize in Poetry

A prize of $2,000 and publication by University of Nebraska Press is given annually for a poetry collection. An honorable mention prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Nebraska Press is also given. Deadline: May 1. Entry fee: $32.

Beloit Poetry Journal
Adrienne Rich Award for Poetry

A prize of $1,500 and publication in Beloit Poetry Journal is given annually for a single poem. Marie Howe will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $15. 

Ghost Story
Supernatural Fiction Award

A prize of $1,500 and publication on the Ghost Story website is given twice yearly for a short story with a supernatural or magic realism theme. The winning work will also be published in the print anthology 21st Century Ghost Stories—Volume III. The editors will judge. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $20.

High Desert Museum
Waterston Desert Writing Prize
 
A prize of $3,000 is given annually for a work of nonfiction that recognizes “the vital role deserts play worldwide in the ecosystem and the human narrative, with the desert as both subject and setting.” The winner will also be provided with travel and lodging to attend a reception and awards ceremony at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon, in September, as well as the opportunity to attend a residency at PLAYA at Summer Lake. Works-in-progress as well as published and unpublished prose are eligible. Deadline: May 1. Entry fee: none.

Inlandia Institute
Hillary Gravendyk Prizes

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 a poet residing or working in Inland Southern California, including Riverside and San Bernardino Counties and any non-coastal area of Southern California, from Death Valley to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $20.

Noemi Press
Book Award

A prize of $2,000 and publication by Noemi Press is given annually for a book of poetry. The editors will judge. Deadline: May 1. Entry fee: $25.

Oversound
Chapbook Prize

A prize of $1,000, publication by Oversound, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Andrew Zawacki will judge. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $18, which includes a subscription to Oversound.

University of Pittsburgh Press
Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize

A prize of $5,000 and publication by University of Pittsburgh Press is given annually for a debut poetry collection. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $25.

Wick Poetry Center
Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize

A prize of $2,500 and publication by Kent State University Press is given annually for a debut poetry collection. The winner is also invited to teach a weeklong writing workshop at Kent State University and give a reading with the judge, Marilyn Chin. Deadline: May 1. Entry fee: $30.

Winning Writers
Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest

Two prizes of $3,000 each, two gift certificates for two-year membership to the literary database Duotrope, and publication on the Winning Writers website are given annually for a short story and an essay. Unpublished and previously published works are eligible. Mina Manchester will judge. Deadline: April 30. Entry fee: $22.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.

Submissions Open for the Pen Parentis Writing Fellowship for New Parents

Calling all parent-writers with young children! Submissions are still open for the Pen Parentis Writing Fellowship for New Parents. Given annually to a fiction writer who is the parent of a child under the age of 10, the winner will receive a $2,000 cash prize; a year of mentorship; publication both in print and online in Dreamers Creative Writing Magazine, a Canadian journal “dedicated to heartfelt writing;” and an invitation to give a virtual reading on November 14. The winner will be paired with three established authors who are also parents for their reading; previous participants have included Jennifer Egan, Mira Jacob, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, and Darin Strauss. Additionally, the winning story will be included in the annual Dreamers Creative Writing anthology.

Using the online submission system, submit a story of up to 531 words with a $20 entry fee by April 17. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

With the goal of “motivating all writers to continue to create new high-quality creative writing at the very busiest time of the parenting journey,” the word count for applications to the fellowship is kept intentionally low to gently nudge parents towards creating new work. The winner will be announced on the Pen Parentis website by September 1, and for one year after their win they will be encouraged to attend Pen Parentis Literary Salon events as well as a weekly accountability group to help introduce them to other authors and to aid them in networking with editors, agents, and readers.  

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

Tomorrow may be April Fools’ Day, but these contests with deadlines of April 13, 14, and 15 are no joke! Prizes include five $25,800 fellowships from the Poetry Foundation; $1,500 and publication for a single poem or group of poems, a short story, or an essay; a weeklong residency at an Italian castle for a short fiction writer; and more. All contests offer an award of at least $1,000, and one has no entry fee. Good luck, writers!

Desperate Literature
Short Fiction Prize

A prize of €1,500 (approximately $1,581), a weeklong residency at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation’s castle in the Umbria region of Italy, and publication in Desperate Literature’s prize anthology is given annually for a work of short fiction. Winners will also receive a consultation with literary agent Charlotte Seymour (Johnson & Alcock Literary Agency), an editorial meeting with the Literary Consultancy, and the opportunity to give readings at Desperate Literature in Madrid and Burley Fisher Books in London. Mariana Enríquez, Ottessa Moshfegh, and Tiffany Tsao will judge. Deadline: April 15. Entry fee: €20 (approximately $21) for first entry, €10 (approximately $11) for each additional entry, with a maximum of five entries per person.

Florida Review
Editor’s Prizes

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Florida Review are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. The editors will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: April 15. Entry fee: $25, which includes a subscription to Florida Review.

New Ohio Review
Literary Prizes

Three prizes of $1,500 each and publication in New Ohio Review are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: April 15. Entry fee: $22, which includes a subscription to New Ohio Review.

Omnidawn Publishing
Single Poem Contest

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem. The winner also receives 10 copies of a letterpress broadside of the winning poem. Nathalie Khankan will judge. Deadline: April 13. Entry fee: $25 ($15 for each additional poem).

Poetry Foundation
Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships

Five fellowships of $25,800 each are given annually to U.S. poets between the ages of 21 and 31. Deadline: April 14. Entry fee: none.

Spoon River Poetry Review
Editors’ Prize

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Spoon River Poetry Review, prefaced by a judge’s introduction, is given annually for a single poem. Multilingual submissions accompanied by translations are eligible. Deadline: April 15. Entry fee: $20, which includes a subscription to Spoon River Poetry Review.

University of Arkansas Press
Etel Adnan Poetry Prize

A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Arkansas Press is given annually for a first or second poetry collection by a writer of Arab heritage. Series editors Hayan Charara and Fady Joudah will judge. Deadline: April 15. Entry fee: $25.

Visit the contest websites for complete guidelines, and check out the Grants & Awards database and Submission Calendar for more contests in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translation.

Whiting Award Winners Announced

At a ceremony held this evening at the New-York Historical Society in New York City, the Whiting Foundation announced the ten winners of the 2023 Whiting Awards. The awards, now in their thirty-eighth year, celebrate exceptional emerging literary talent. Each winning writer receives a prize of $50,000 in support of their work.

This year’s winners are poets Tommye Blount and Ama Codjoe; poet and dramatist Emma Wippermann; fiction writers Marcia Douglas, Sidik Fofana, and Carribean Fragoza; nonfiction writers Linda Kinstler and Stephania Taladrid; dramatist Mia Chung; and graphic novelist R. Kikuo Johnson, who is the first graphic novelist to be recognized with the award.

The winners will read together at an event at the Center for Fiction in Brooklyn, New York, on Thursday, March 30 at 6:30PM. The event is free and open to the public and will also be livestreamed.

“Every year we look to the new Whiting Award winners, writing fearlessly at the edge of imagination, to reveal the pathways of our thought and our acts before we know them ourselves,” said the foundation’s director of literary programs Courtney Hodell in a press release. “The prize is meant to create a space of ease in which such transforming work can be made.”

Since its inception in 1985, the Whiting Awards have bestowed a total of $9.5 million on 370 celebrated writers. For many recipients, this financial support enables a “first chance to devote themselves to their own writing, or to take bold new risks in their work.” Previous winners include such luminaries as poets Don Mee Choi, Roger Reeves, and Ocean Vuong; fiction writers Denis Johnson, Ling Ma, Sigrid Nunez, and Colson Whitehead; nonfiction writers Elif Batuman and Jia Tolentino; and playwright Tony Kushner.

There is no application process for the Whiting Awards. Recipients are nominated by a rotating pool of writers, editors, professors, critics, and others working in the literary or dramatic arts. Final selections are made by a panel of “recognized writers, literary scholars, and editors.” The Whiting Foundation’s other initiatives include the Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grants, which support the development of researched nonfiction books and are open for applications through April 25.

Deadline Nears for Orison Books’ Prizes in Poetry and Fiction

Do you have a poetry or fiction manuscript in need of a home? Try submitting to Orison Books’ Prizes in Poetry and Fiction, which offer $1,500 for a book in each genre and publication by the press.

Using only the online submission system, submit a poetry manuscript of 50 to 100 pages or a novel, novella, or collection of short stories or flash fiction of at least 30,000 words with a $25 entry fee by April 1. Pádraig Ó Tuama will judge in poetry and David Heska Wanbli Weiden will judge in fiction. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Last year’s winner of the Orison Poetry Prize was Hussain Ahmed for Blue Exodus. Judge Rajiv Mohabir said the collection’s “lines ask the reader to interrogate all things in new vocabularies of anguish, born from the inheritor of a war—still being fought in the muscle memory of the people who lived through it.” M. C. Benner Dixon was the winner of last year’s Orison Fiction Prize for her novel, The Height of the Land. Judge Tania James called the book “a refreshing approach to the post-apocalyptic novel, showing us both the possibilities of collective action and the power of a single dissenting voice.”

Based in Asheville, North Carolina, Orison Books is a nonprofit literary press interested in writing that engages “the life of the spirit.” Taking its name from the archaic word for “prayer,” Orison seeks writers who “call us to meditate and contemplate, rather than asking us to adopt any ideology or set of propositions.”

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