Archive May 2020

With a new month approaching, contests with a deadline of June 1 are upon us. These poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and translation awards are meant for college students, established authors, and everyone in between. All offer a cash prize of $1,000 or more. You could even win the opportunity to have a free glass of wine every day for a year!

American Short Fiction Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize: A prize of $2,500 and publication in American Short Fiction is given annually for a short story. Manuel Gonzales will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: June 1. Entry fee: $20.

Boulevard Emerging Poets Contest: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for a group of poems by a poet who has not published a poetry collection with a nationally distributed press. The editors will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: June 1. Entry fee: $16 (subscription included).

Crook’s Corner Book Prize: A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a debut novel set in the American South. The winner will also be entitled to a complimentary glass of wine every day for a year at Crook’s Corner Café & Bar in Chapel Hill. 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. Monique Truong will judge. Deadline: June 1. Entry fee: $35.

McGill University Montreal International Poetry Prize: A prize of $20,000 CAD (approximately $14,500) and publication in the 2020 Global Poetry Anthology is given biennially for a poem. Yusef Komunyakaa will judge, and Jordan Abel, Kaveh Akbar, CAConrad, Wendy Cope, Susan Elmslie, Steven Heighton, John Leonard, Marilène Phipps, Sridala Swami, and Gillian Sze will serve as jurors. Deadline: June 1. Entry fee: $25 CAD (approximately $18).

PEN America PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants: Grants of $2,000 to $4,000 each are given annually to support the translation of book-length works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction that have not previously appeared in English or have appeared only in an “outdated or otherwise flawed translation.” An additional $5,000 grant, the PEN Grant for the English Translation of Italian Literature, will be given to support the translation of a book of fiction or nonfiction from Italian into English. Manuscripts with up to two translators are eligible. Deadline: June 1. Entry fee: none.

Salamander Fiction Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Salamander is given annually for a short story. Elliot Ackerman will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Deadline: June 1. Entry fee: $15.

Stony Brook Southampton Undergraduate Short Fiction Prize: A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a short story by a college student. The winner also receives a full scholarship to attend the Southampton Writers Conference in July 2021, and their winning work will be considered for publication in Southampton Review. Deadline: June 1. Entry fee: none.

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

The end of May has a wealth of contests for poets and fiction writers alike. With deadlines of either May 30 or May 31, these awards include several opportunities to publish book-length work. All offer a prize of $1,000 or more.

Anhinga Press Anhinga–Robert Dana Prize for Poetry: A prize of $2,000, publication by Anhinga Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Major Jackson will judge. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $25 entry fee ($28 for electronic submissions).

BOA Editions Short Fiction Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication by BOA Editions is given annually for a short story collection. Peter Conners will judge. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $25.

Bridport Arts Centre Bridport Prizes: Two prizes of £5,000 (approximately $6,450) each and publication in the Bridport Prize anthology are given annually for a poem and a short story. Two second-place prizes of £1,000 (approximately $1,290) each and publication are given in each category. A prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,290) and publication is also given for a work of flash fiction. Mimi Khalvati will judge in poetry and Nell Leyshon will judge in fiction and flash fiction. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: £10 (approximately $13) for poetry, £12 (approximately $15) for fiction, and £9 (approximately $12) for flash fiction.

Elixir Press Fiction Award: A prize of $2,000, publication by Elixir Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a short story collection or a novel. Christy Stillwell will judge. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $40.

Gival Press Novel Award: A prize of $3,000 and publication by Gival Press is given biennially for a novel. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $50.

Milkweed Editions Max Ritvo Poetry Prize: A prize of $10,000 and publication by Milkweed Editions is given annually to a U.S. poet for a debut poetry collection. Henri Cole will judge. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $25.

Oversound Chapbook Prize: A prize of $1,000, publication by Oversound, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. francine j. harris will judge. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $18 (subscription included).

Southern Poetry Review Guy Owen Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication in Southern Poetry Review is given annually for a single poem. Deadline: May 31. Entry fee: $20 (subscription included).

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. Roxane Gay will judge. Deadline: May 31. 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, and creative nonfiction.

The deadline is just around the corner for this year’s Auburn Witness Poetry Prize. Named for the late poet Jake Adam York and sponsored by Southern Humanities Review, the prize is given annually for a “poem of witness.” The winner of the prize will receive $1,000 and publication in Southern Humanities Review, as well as travel expenses to give a reading at Auburn University in October. This year’s judge is Paisley Rekdal.

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Using only the online submission system, submit up to three poems with an entry fee of $15 by May 8. The entry fee includes a copy of the magazine. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

The Auburn Witness Poetry Prize was established after Jake Adam York’s untimely death in 2012. York, an alumni of Auburn University whose writing flourished during his time as a student, “went on to write poems that, with both love and anguish, examined race relations in the South, celebrating the triumphs of the Civil Rights movement and questioning, as a native son of the South, his own complicity in its tragedies.” The award celebrates this work and his legacy. Previous winners of the prize include Teresa Dzieglewicz, Amanda Gunn, and Laura Sobbott Ross.

Get a head start this month by submitting to contests with a deadline of May 15. These poetry, fiction, and nonfiction awards include several contests for emerging writers and a prize for a documentary project that features both images and text. All offer a prize of $1,000 or more.

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 purchased and distributed to members of the Academy of American Poets. Rick Barot, Gabrielle Calvocoressi, and Honorée Jeffers will judge. 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 an all-expenses paid ten-day residency at Glen Hollow in Naples, New York. Copies of the winning book are purchased and distributed to members of the Academy of American Poets. Garrett Hongo, Carol Muske-Dukes, and Tim Seibles will judge. 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. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $15 (includes a copy of the prize issue).

Carve Raymond Carver Short Story Contest: A prize of $2,000 and publication in Carve is given annually for a short story. The winning story will also be read by three literary agents. Pam Houston will judge. Entry fee: $15 ($17 for electronic submissions).

Center for Documentary Studies Dorothea Lange–Paul Taylor Prize: A prize of $10,000 and publication in the Center for Documentary Studies digital periodical is given annually for a documentary project that incorporates images and text in any genre. The winning piece will also be placed in the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University’s Rubinstein Library. Independent and collaborative fieldwork projects are eligible. Entry fee: $60.

Gaudy Boy Press Poetry Book Prize: A prize of $1,000 and publication by Gaudy Boy Press, an imprint of the literary nonprofit Singapore Unbound, is given annually for a poetry collection by an Asian writer. Cyril Wong will judge. Entry fee: $10.

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 Contest: A prize of $1,000, publication by Pittsburg State University, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Marcus Wicker 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. Writers who have not published a book or chapbook are eligible. Ilya Kaminsky, Kirstin Valdez Quade, and Esmé Weijun Wang will judge for poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, respectively. Entry fee: $24 (includes subscription).

Ruminate Janet B. McCabe Poetry Prize: A prize of $1,500 and publication in Ruminate is given annually for a single poem. Katie Peterson will judge. Entry fee: $20 (includes a digital copy of Ruminate).

University of Nebraska Press Backwaters Prize: A prize of $2,000, publication by University of Nebraska Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. An honorable mention prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Nebraska Press will also be given. Matt Mason 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, and creative nonfiction.