Genre: Creative Nonfiction

Editor’s Prizes

Florida Review
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
April 15, 2025
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. Submit up to five poems of any length or up to 30 pages of prose with a $25 entry fee, which includes a subscription to Florida Review, by April 15. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Steinberg Memorial Essay Prize

Fourth Genre
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
April 15, 2025
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Fourth Genre is given annually for an essay. Sonya Huber will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit an essay of up to 6,000 words with a $20 entry fee by April 15. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

The Choice to Create

by
Elissa Altman
Online Exclusive
2.19.25

An excerpt from Permission: The New Memoirist and the Courage to Create by Elissa Altman, a compassionate, inspiring literary guide to transcend the fear and shame that can too often keep important stories from being written.

Waterston Desert Writing Prize

High Desert Museum
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
May 1, 2025
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.” The winner is also provided with money for travel and lodging to attend a reception and award ceremony at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon, in September. Works-in-progress as well as published or unpublished prose are accepted. Using only the online submission system, submit up to 10 pages of nonfiction, a brief bio, and a one-page project description by May 1. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Creative Nonfiction Prize

Indiana Review
Entry Fee: 
$20
Deadline: 
March 15, 2025
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Indiana Review is given annually for an essay. Submit a work of prose of up to 6,000 words with a $20 entry fee, which includes a subscription to Indiana Review, by March 15. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Paul Engle Prize

Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
March 31, 2025
A prize of $25,000 is given annually to a writer “who, like Paul Engle, represents a pioneering spirit in the world of literature through writing, editing, publishing, or teaching, and whose active participation in the larger issues of the day has contributed to the betterment of the world through the literary arts.” Poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers are eligible. Submit a nomination, including the writer’s curriculum vitae and a statement about how the writer embodies the spirit of the prize, by March 31. Self-nominations are not accepted. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Winter Story Contest

Narrative
Entry Fee: 
$27
Deadline: 
March 31, 2025
A prize of $2,500 and publication in Narrative is given annually for a short story, a work of flash fiction, an essay, a memoir, or an excerpt from a longer work of fiction or creative nonfiction. A second-place prize of $1,000 is also awarded. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit up to 15,000 words of prose with a $27 entry fee by March 31. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Literary Prizes

New Ohio Review
Entry Fee: 
$22
Deadline: 
April 15, 2025
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. Submit a poem or group of poems of up to six pages or a story or essay of up to 20 pages with a $22 entry fee, which includes a subscription to New Ohio Review, by April 15. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

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