Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin
The first lines of a dozen noteworthy books, including There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib and Glitter Road by January Gill O’Neil.
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Genre: Translation
Upcoming Contest Deadlines
Don’t let your writing life become a version of Groundhog Day, the 1993 film in which a disgruntled weatherman—played by Bill Murray—must relive, seemingly ad infinitum, the eponymous holiday. Change things up by submitting your work to a new contest! Nine awards have a deadline of February 15 or February 16, offering prizes that include $3,000 and publication for collections of poetry, fiction, and essays; $1,000 for a poetry collection translated from any language into English; and five prizes of $1,000 to $1,500 for a single poem “composed in the traditional modes of meter, rhyme, and received forms.” Good luck, writers!
Academy of American Poets
Ambroggio Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Arizona Press is given annually for a poetry collection originally written in Spanish by a living writer and translated into English. Norma Elia Cantú will judge. Deadline: February 15. Entry fee: None.
Academy of American Poets
Harold Morton Landon Translation Award
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poetry collection translated from any language into English and published in the United States during the previous year. Valzhyna Mort will judge. Deadline: February 15. Entry fee: None.
Arrowsmith Press
Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry
A prize of $2,000 is given annually for a poetry collection published in English during the previous year by a writer who is not a citizen of the United States. English translations of works originally written in another language are accepted. Deadline: February 15. Entry fee: $20.
Center for African American Poetry and Poetics/Autumn House Press
Book Prize
A prize of $3,000 and publication by Autumn House Press is given annually for a first or second poetry collection (or a work that intersects with poetry, including hybrid text, speculative prose, and translation) by a writer of African descent. Aracelis Girmay will judge. Deadline: February 15. Entry fee: None.
Finishing Line Press
Open Chapbook Competition
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Finishing Line Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Manuscripts written in a language other than English are accepted when accompanied by an English translation. Deadline: February 15. Entry fee: $20.
Furious Flower Poetry Center
Furious Flower Poetry Prize
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Obsidian, the literary journal of Illinois State University, is given annually for a group of poems that explore Black themes. The winner also receives a $500 honorarium to give a reading at James Madison University. Poets who have published no more than one poetry collection are eligible. Roger Reeves will judge. Deadline: February 15. Entry fee: $15.
Omnidawn Publishing
First/Second Poetry Book Contest
A prize of $3,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 20 author copies is given annually for a first or second poetry collection. Desirée Alvarez will judge. Deadline: February 16. Entry fee: $35.
Sarabande Books
Morton, McCarthy, and Sarabande Prizes
Two prizes of $3,000 each and publication by Sarabande Books are given annually for collections of poetry and fiction; in 2024, a new prize of $3,000 and publication will also be given for a collection of essays. For the Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry, Hanif Abdurraqib will judge. For the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction, Lauren Groff will judge. For the Sarabande Prize in the Essay, Alexander Chee will judge. Deadline: February 15. Entry fee: $29.
West Chester University
Poetry Awards
Five prizes of $1,000 to $1,500 will be given annually for a single poem “composed in the traditional modes of meter, rhyme, and received forms” (Iris N. Spencer Poetry Award); a single poem written in haiku form (Myong Cha Son Haiku Award); a single poem written in sonnet form (Sonnet Award); a single poem written in villanelle form (Villanelle Award); and a single poem written in Spanish and accompanied by the English translation or translated into Spanish and accompanied by the English original (Rhina P. Espaillat Award). Second-place prizes of $500 will also be awarded for the Iris N. Spencer Poetry Award and the Myong Cha Son Haiku Award. Only undergraduate students who are enrolled in a United States college or university are eligible. Ernest Hilbert will judge. Deadline: February 16. 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, creative nonfiction, and translation.
Emily Wilson: The Iliad
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In this 2023 London Review of Books event, Emily Wilson reads from and discusses her translation of The Iliad by Homer, published in September by Norton, and how she wishes to present Homer to a new generation in a conversation with classicist and historian Edith Hall. Passages from Wilson’s translation are also read by actors Tobias Menzies and Juliet Stevenson.
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Toshikazu Kawaguchi on the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series
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In this Pan Macmillan video, Toshikazu Kawaguchi talks about his surprise of the international popularity of his Before the Coffee Gets Cold series and the theme of awkward intimacy that runs through each book. His latest book, Before We Say Goodbye (Hanover Square Press, 2023), translated from the Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselot, concludes the series.
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Yu Miri: The End of August
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In this event hosted by the Korea Society in New York, prolific and award-winning author Yu Miri talks about her family’s history under Japanese occupation, her struggles writing for Japanese and Korean readers as a Zainichi Korean author, and the themes in her latest translated novel, The End of August (Riverhead Books, 2023), translated from the Japanese by Morgan Giles.
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Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin
The first lines of a dozen noteworthy books, including You Bury the Birds in My Pelvis by Kelly Weber and Irregular Heartbeats at the Park West by Russell Brakefield.
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UCR Writers’ Week Festival
The 47th annual UCR Writers’ Week Festival, sponsored by the Los Angeles Review of Books (LARB), was held from February 10 to February 16 at the University of California campus in Riverside (UCR) and online. The festival’s programming features author readings and talks, panel discussions, book signings, Q&A sessions, and a Lifetime Achievement Award presentation for poets, fiction writers, nonfiction writers, and translators.
Type:
FESTIVAL
Ignore Event Date Field?:
yes
Event Date:
September 8, 2025
Rolling Admissions:
ignore
Application Deadline:
September 8, 2025
Financial Aid?:
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline:
September 8, 2025
Free Admission:
yes
Contact Information:
UCR Writers’ Week Festival, University of California in Riverside, Department of Creative Writing, Interdisciplinary North Building 3012, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521. Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, Director.
Allison Adelle Hedge Coke
Director
Contact City:
Riverside
Contact State:
CA
Contact Zip / Postal Code:
92521
Country:
US
Narratives of Borders and Migration
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In this PEN America event from their 2022 World Voices Festival, authors Jean Guerrero, Omar El Akkad, Ousman Umar, and Yuri Herrera come together for a conversation about border and migrant narratives, the current global crises of displacement, and how literature tells the stories of those often ignored or hidden.
Translation in Theory and Imagination: Emily Apter and Katie Kitamura
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In this installment of the Creative Writing and Critical Thought series, novelist Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies (Riverhead, 2021), speaks with professor Emily Apter, author of Against World Literature: On the Politics of Untranslatability (Verso Books, 2013), about the complexity and consequences of translation and the paradoxes and power of language. The series is cosponsored by New Literary History and the Center for Fiction.
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Upcoming Contest Deadlines
With just a couple of weeks until Thanksgiving, be grateful for time off to prepare your work for a variety of upcoming contests that have a November 30 deadline! Prizes include $2,500 and publication for a short work of fiction, graphic narrative, or memoir or an excerpt from a longer work of prose; $2,500, publication, and 50 author copies for a poetry chapbook; and $1,000 and publication for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction translated from any language into English. Continue reading to find details on nearly a dozen other prizes, and good luck!
Autumn House Press
Rising Writer Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Autumn House Press is given in alternating years for a debut work of poetry or fiction. The 2024 prize will be given for poetry. The winner will also receive a $500 grant for travel and book promotion. Eduardo C. Corral will judge. The submission fee may be waived in cases of financial need. All finalists are considered for publication. Entry fee: $25.
Beloit Poetry Journal
Chad Walsh Chapbook Series
A prize of $2,500, publication by Beloit Poetry Journal, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. A limited number of fee waivers are available upon request via e-mail. Entry fee: $20.
BOA Editions
A Poulin Jr. Poetry Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication by BOA Editions is given annually for a first book of poetry by a U.S. resident. Matthew Shenoda will judge. Entry fee: $25.
Fish Publishing
Fish Short Story Prize
A prize of €3,000 (approximately $3,287) and publication in the annual Fish Publishing anthology is given annually for a short story. The winner will also be invited to attend a five-day short story workshop and read at the West Cork Literary Festival in July 2024. Sarah Hall will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: €20 (approximately $22) for online submissions; €22 (approximately $24) for mailed submissions.
Green Linden Press
Wishing Jewel Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Green Linden Press is given annually for an innovative book of poetry “that questions the boundaries of genre, form, or mode while engaging the rich possibilities of lyrical expression.” English translations of poems originally written in another language are accepted. Christopher Nelson will judge. All finalists are considered for publication. Entry fee: $25.
Green Linden Press
Stephen Mitchell Translation Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Green Linden Press will be given annually for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction translated from any language into English. Christopher Nelson will judge. All finalists will be considered for publication. Entry fee: $25.
LitMag
Anton Chekhov Award for Flash Fiction
A prize of $1,250 and publication in LitMag is given annually for a work of flash fiction. The winner will also have their work reviewed by agents from the Bent Agency, Brandt & Hochman, Folio Literary Management, InkWell Management, Sobel Weber Associates, and Triangle House Literary. The editors will judge. Entry fee: $16.
Munster Literature Center
Gregory O’Donoghue International Poetry Competition
A prize of €2,000 (approximately $2,192) and publication in Southword is given annually for a single poem. The winner will also receive a four-night hotel stay with full board to give a featured reading at the Cork International Poetry Festival in Cork, Ireland, in May 2024 and will be featured on the Southword Poetry Podcast. Entry fee: €7 (approximately $8).
Narrative
Fall Story Contest
A prize of $2,500 and publication in Narrative is given annually for a short story, a short short story, an essay, a short graphic narrative, a short work of memoir, or an excerpt from a longer work of prose. A second-place prize of $1,000 and publication in Narrative is also awarded. The editors will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $27.
Nina Riggs Poetry Foundation
Nina Riggs Poetry Award
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem that examines relationships, family, or domestic life and was published in a book or magazine in the last three years. English translations of poems originally written in another language are accepted. Entry fee: None.
Quarter After Eight
Robert J. DeMott Short Prose Contest
A prize of $1,008.15 and publication in Quarter After Eight is given annually for a prose poem, a short short story, a micro essay, or other work of short prose. Dianne Seuss will judge. All entries are considered for publication. Entry fee: $15.
Red Hen Press
Quill Prose Award
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a story or essay collection, a novel, or a hybrid work of prose by a queer writer. Carlos Allende will judge. Entry fee: $10.
Tadpole Press
100-Word Writing Contest
A prize of $2,000 is given biannually for a work of flash poetry or prose. English translations of works originally written in another language are accepted. Entry fee: $15.
White Pine Press
Poetry Prize
A prize of $1,000 and publication by White Pine Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Entry fee: $20.
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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