Archive October 2023

Upcoming Contest Deadlines

Before the holiday season bogs you down, submit to some writing contests with a November 15 deadline. Prizes include $20,000 for a published story collection, $5,000 for published books that relate to California, $2,000 and publication for a poetry manuscript by an author who identifies as a woman, and a seven-month residency at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Three awards have no entry fee. Read on for more information, and good luck! 

Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival
Brooklyn Nonfiction Prize

A prize of $500 and publication on the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival website will be given annually for a work of nonfiction that is set in Brooklyn, New York, and renders the borough’s “rich soul and intangible qualities through the writer’s actual experiences in Brooklyn.” Entry fee: None.

Commonwealth Club of California
California Book Awards

Five prizes of $5,000 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, a first book of fiction, a book of creative nonfiction, and a book of nonfiction that relates to California. Three additional prizes of up to $2,500 each are also given in the fiction, first fiction, and nonfiction categories. Books written by authors residing in California are eligible. Entry fee: None.

Fine Arts Work Center
Writing Fellowships

Fellowships for a seven-month residency at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, are given annually to four poets and four fiction writers who have not published a full-length book in any genre. Each fellowship includes a private apartment, a monthly stipend of $1,250, and an exit stipend of $1,000. Entry fee: $40.

Nightboat Books
Poetry Prize

Up to four prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Nightboat Books are given annually for poetry collections. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $28.

Perugia Press
Perugia Press Prize

A prize of $2,000, publication by Perugia Press, and 10 author copies is given annually for a first or second poetry collection by a writer who identifies as a woman. Entry fee: $30.

Pushcart Press
Editors’ Book Award

A prize of $1,000 is given occasionally for a fiction or nonfiction manuscript that has been rejected by a commercial publisher. The award recognizes “worthy manuscripts that have been overlooked by today’s high-pressure, bottom-line publishing conglomerates.” Entry fee: None.

National Federation of State Poetry Societies
Barbara Stevens Poetry Book Manuscript Competition

A prize of $1,000, publication by National Federation of State Poetry Societies Press, and 50 author copies will be given annually for a poetry collection. The winner will also receive an invitation to read at the National Federation of State Poetry Societies convention, with a travel stipend of $300. Edward Hirsch will judge. Entry fee: $25.

The Story Prize
The Story Prize

A prize of $20,000 is given annually for a story collection written in English and first published in the United States in the current year. Two runners-up will receive $5,000 each, and one entrant will receive the $1,000 Story Prize Spotlight Award, given for a collection that merits further attention. Larry Dark and Julie Lindsey will select the three finalists and the Spotlight Award winner; three independent judges will choose the Story Prize winner. Entry fee: $75.

Writer’s Digest
Short Short Story Competition

A prize of $3,000 and travel and lodging expenses for a trip to the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference is given annually for a short short story. A second-place prize of $1,500 is also awarded. The winners will both be published in Writer’s Digest. Entry fee: $30.

Yale University Press
Yale Series of Younger Poets

A prize of $1,000, publication by Yale University Press, and a writing fellowship at the James Merrill House in Stonington, Connecticut, is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who has not published a full-length book of poetry and who resides in the United States. Rae Armantrout 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.

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Deadline Nears for Translation Prize

Poetry translators: Try for a treat this Halloween by submitting to the Malinda A. Markham Translation Prize by October 31. The award of $2,000 and publication by Saturnalia Books is open to translators who identify as female (including those who are assigned-female-at-birth [AFAB] nonbinary, genderfluid, agender, and intersex) and who are translating the work of a woman poet (including those who are AFAB nonbinary, genderfluid, agender, and intersex).

Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 120 pages with an entry fee of $25. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Founded in 2002 to offer “an edgy alternative to traditional public narratives around poetry and visual art,” Saturnalia typically publishes five books a year by established and emerging poets. Chronicler of the “gurlesque” poetry movement with the 2010 publication of Gurlesque: The New Grrly, Grotesque, Burlesque Poetics, edited by Lara Glenum and Arielle Greenberg, the press is known for challenging the status quo. It has published Cortney Lamar Charleston’s Telepathologies (2017), Diamond Forde’s Mother Body (2019), Kayleb Rae Candrilli’s All the Gay Saints (2020), and other innovative poetry collections.

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Upcoming Contest Deadlines

As we approach Halloween, don’t get spooked by the array of contests awarded for poetry collections, novel excerpts, flash fiction, creative nonfiction, translations, and more, all with a deadline of October 31! Several prizes celebrate the work of writers who identify as women, including one that features an optional six-week, all-expenses-paid residency at the Civitella Ranieri Center in Umbria, Italy. Nine of eleven prizes offer publication in addition to a cash award of at least $1,000. What better way of honoring the holiday than overcoming your fears and submitting your work?

Bedford Competition
International Short Story & Poetry Awards

Two prizes of £1,500 each (approximately $1,914) and publication in the Bedford Competition anthology are given annually for a poem and a short story. MacGillivray will judge in poetry and Tim Jarvis will judge in fiction. Entry fee: £7.50 (approximately $9.50), or £15 (approximately $19) for three poems or stories.

Carlow University
Patricia Dobler Poetry Award

A prize valued at $2,000 is given annually to a woman poet over 40 who has not published a full-length poetry collection. Allison Joseph will judge. The winner receives $1,000, publication in Voices From the Attic, and travel and lodging to give a reading with the contest judge at Carlow University. Entry fee: $20.

Cloudbank Books
Vern Rutsala Book Prize

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Cloudbank Books is given annually for a collection of poetry, flash fiction, or a combination of the two. Entry fee: $25. 

Elixir Press
Poetry Award

A prize of $2,000, publication by Elixir Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Jennifer Franklin will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $30.

Novel Slices
Novel Excerpt Contest
  
Five prizes of $1,000 each will be given twice yearly for a novel excerpt. Winners will also receive letters of support sent on their behalf to agents and publishers. Juliette Wade will judge. Entry fee: $12 (which includes an issue of Novel Slices). 

Persea Books
Lexi Rudnitsky First Book Prize

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Persea Books is given annually for a debut poetry collection by a writer who identifies as a woman. The winner also receives an optional six-week, all-expenses-paid residency at the Civitella Ranieri Center in Umbria, Italy. Writers who are either U.S. citizens or who currently reside in the United States are eligible. Entry fee: $30. 

Poetry Society of the United Kingdom
National Poetry Competition
 
A prize of £5,000 (approximately $6,382) and publication on the Poetry Society of the United Kingdom website is given annually for a single poem. A second-place prize of £2,000 (approximately $2,553) and a third-place prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,276) is also given. The top three winners will be published in Poetry Review. Poems written in English by poets from any country are eligible. Jane Draycott, Will Harris, and Clare Pollard will judge. Entry fee: £8 (approximately $10) entry fee, plus £5 (approximately $6) for each additional poem.

Red Hen Press
Benjamin Saltman Poetry Award

A prize of $3,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Juan Felipe Herrera will judge. Entry fee: $25. 

Saturnalia Books
Malinda A. Markham Translation Prize

A prize of $2,000 and publication by Saturnalia Books is given annually for a translation of a poetry collection. Translators who identify as female (including those who are assigned-female-at-birth [AFAB] nonbinary, genderfluid, agender, and intersex) and who are translating the work of a woman poet (including those who are AFAB nonbinary, genderfluid, agender, and intersex) are eligible. Entry fee: $25. 

Tucson Festival of Books
Literary Awards
 
Three prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The winners will also receive scholarships to attend a workshop at the University of Arizona campus in March 2024. Entry fee: $20.

University of North Texas Press
Vassar Miller Prize

A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of North Texas Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Melissa Range 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.

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Alice James Award Accepting Submissions

Calling all poets! The time is right to submit to the Alice James Award. Given annually for a poetry collection, the award confers a prize of $2,000 and publication by the celebrated independent press Alice James Books. Both emerging and established poets are eligible to receive the prize. Submissions are open through October 16.

Submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages with a $30 entry fee. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Established in 1973 and named for writer and feminist hero Alice James, Alice James Books “is committed to collaborating with literary artists of excellence whose voices have been historically marginalized.” Previous winners of the Alice James Award include Lee Kinnard III, for Orders of Service; Ina Cariño, for Feast; and Aldo Amparan, for Brother Sleep.

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