For detailed information about the contests and other opportunities mentioned in the May/June 2026 special section, “Inspiring Contests: A Season’s Worth of Winning Reasons to Write,” visit the websites of their sponsoring organizations. While every effort has been made to include the most up-to-date information about upcoming deadlines, be sure to check with sponsors for changes to anticipated plans, particularly for opportunities with deadlines in winter 2025 or later. To discover more avenues of support for your work, visit the Grants & Awards database and search opportunities by genre, deadline, entry fee, and other criteria: pw.org/grants.
Academy of American Poets
Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize
poets.org/academy-american-poets/prizes/treehouse-climate-action-poem-prize
American Short Fiction
American Short(er) Fiction Prize
americanshortfiction.org/submityourwork/the-shorter-fiction-prize
Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize
americanshortfiction.org/submityourwork/the-halifax-ranch-fiction-prize
Artist Trust
Grants for Artist Projects
artisttrust.org/grants/grants-for-artist-projects
Bellevue Literary Review
Prizes in Poetry and Prose
blreview.org/blr-prizes
Boulevard
Short Fiction Contest for Emerging Writers
boulevardmagazine.org/short-fiction-contest
Poetry Contest for Emerging Poets
boulevardmagazine.org/poetry-contest
Carlow University
Patricia Dobler Poetry Award
carlow.edu/about/madwomen-in-the-attic/dobler-poetry-award
Center for Fiction
Center for Fiction/ Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellowship
centerforfiction.org/grants-awards/nyc-emerging-writers-fellowship
Cincinnati Review
Robert and Adele Schiff Awards
cincinnatireview.com/contests/robert-and-adele-schiff-awards
De Groot Foundation
Courage to Write Grants
degrootfoundation.org/courage-to-write-grants
Ellen Meloy Fund
Desert Writers Award
ellenmeloy.com
Farrar, Strauss and Giroux
FSG Writer’s Fellowship
fsgfellowship.com
Georgia Review
Loraine Williams Poetry Prize
thegeorgiareview.com/the-loraine-williams-poetry-prize
Grid Books
Off the Grid Poetry Prize
grid-books.org/off-the-grid-press
James Jones Literary Society
James Jones First Novel Fellowship
jamesjonesliterarysociety.org/first-novel-fellowship
James Patterson
“Go Finish Your Book” Campaign
jamespatterson.com/landing-page/go-finish-your-book
Lambda Literary
J. Michael Samuel Prize
lambdaliterary.org/awards/special-awards
Laurel Prize
laurelprize.com
Literary Arts
Oregon Literary Fellows
literary-arts.org/about/programs/oba/fellowships
Los Angeles Review
Literary Awards
losangelesreview.org/awards
Michigan Quarterly Review
James A. Winn Prize
sites.lsa.umich.edu/mqr/about-us/prizes
Missouri Review
Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prizes
missourireview.com/submissions/contests/jeffrey-e-smith-editors-prize
Money for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund
Individual Artist Grants for Women
demingfund.org
The Moth
Nature Writing Prize
themothmagazine.com
National Book Foundation
Science + Literature program
nationalbook.org/programs/science-literature
Nature Chronicles Prize
naturechroniclesprize.com
NatureCulture
NatureCulture Poetry Award
nature-culture.net/natureculture-poetry-award
New Letters
Literary Awards
newletters.org/awards
Palette Poetry
Nature Poetry Prize
palettepoetry.com/nature-poetry-prize
PEN America
PEN/Bare Life Review Grants
pen.org/literary-grants/pen-bare-life-review-grant
PEN Emerging Voices Fellowship
pen.org/emerging-voices-fellowship
PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award
pen.org/literary-awards
Pen Parentis
Writing Fellowship for New Parents
penparentis.org/fellowship
Poetry Foundation
Pegasus Poetry Book Prize
poetryfoundation.org/awards/poetry-book-prize
Southern Environmental Law Center
Phillip D. Reed Environmental Writing Award
selc.org/how-to-help/reed-environmental-writing-award
Southern Poetry Review
Guy Owen Prize
southernpoetryreview.org/spr/guy-owen-award
Speculative Literature Foundation
Older Writers Grant
speculativeliterature.org/grants-3/slf-older-writers-grant
Thoreau Society
Henry David Thoreau Prize for Literary Excellence in Nature Writing
thoreausociety.org/about/thoreau-prize
Wesleyan University Press
Cardinal Poetry Prize
www.weslpress.org/the-cardinal-poetry-prize
