Genre: Fiction

Emerging Writers’ Contest

Ploughshares
Entry Fee: 
$30
Deadline: 
March 31, 2026
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 Creative Management. Writers who have not published a book or a chapbook with a print run of over 350 copies are eligible. Using only the online submission system, submit three to five pages of poetry or up to 6,500 words of prose with a $30 entry fee (there is no entry fee for current subscribers), which includes a subscription to Ploughshares, by March 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Italian Prose in Translation Award

American Literary Translators Association
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
March 16, 2026
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a book of fiction or nonfiction translated from Italian into English and published in the previous year. Publishers or translators may submit a book published in 2025 in the United States by March 16. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

Paul Engle Prize

Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
March 15, 2026
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, the writer’s contact information, and a statement about how the writer embodies the spirit of the prize by March 15. Self-nominations are not accepted. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

National Translation Awards

American Literary Translators Association
Entry Fee: 
$50
Deadline: 
March 16, 2026
Two prizes of $4,000 each are given annually for a poetry collection and a book of prose translated from any language into English and published in the previous year. Publishers may submit either a poetry collection in translation or a short story collection, essay collection, novel, memoir, or hybrid prose work in translation that was published in 2025 by March 16. The entry fee is $30 for presses that publish 10 or fewer titles each year and $50 for presses that publish more than 10 titles each year. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

Prime Number Magazine Awards

Press 53
Entry Fee: 
$15
Deadline: 
March 31, 2026
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Prime Number Magazine are given annually for a poem and a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit a poem of up to three pages or a short story of up to 5,300 words with a $15 entry fee by March 31. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Spain-USA Foundation Translation Award

American Literary Translators Association
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
March 16, 2026
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a book of fiction or nonfiction translated from Basque, Catalan, Galician, or Spanish into English and written by an author of Spanish nationality. Publishers or translators may submit a book published in the United States or Canada in the previous year by March 16. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

Fugere Book Prize

Regal House Publishing
Entry Fee: 
$25
Deadline: 
May 15, 2026
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing is given annually for a novella. The editors will judge. English translations of works originally written in another language are accepted. Using only the only submission system, submit a novella of 17,000 to 40,000 words with a $25 entry fee by May 15. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation

Banipal Trust for Arab Literature
Entry Fee: 
$0
Deadline: 
March 31, 2026
A prize of £3,000 (approximately $4,038) is given annually for a poetry collection or a book of fiction translated from Arabic into English and published for the first time in English during the previous year. A runner-up will receive £1,000 (approximately $1,346). Translations of Arabic works of poetry or fiction originally published in or after 1967 are eligible. Publishers may submit five copies of a book in English translation published between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026, three copies of the original work, and a digital copy in both languages by March 31. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for the required entry form and complete guidelines.

First Novel Prize

The Center for Fiction
Entry Fee: 
$100
Deadline: 
March 13, 2026
A prize of $15,000 is given annually for a debut novel by an American citizen or permanent resident published in the United States during the award year. Six finalists receive $1,000 each. Self-published works, books published exclusively in e-book editions, and novels previously published in other countries are not eligible. Publishers may submit 10 finished copies or bound galleys/edited manuscripts of a novel published, or scheduled to be published, in 2026 with a $100 entry fee by March 13. Small independent publishers may apply for a fee reduction. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Literary Awards

Bellingham Review
Entry Fee: 
$15
Deadline: 
March 15, 2026
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Bellingham Review are given annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The Parallel Award for Poetry is given for a poem or group of poems. The Tobias Wolff Award for Fiction is given for a short story or a work of flash fiction. The Annie Dillard Award for Creative Nonfiction is given for an essay or a work of flash nonfiction. Using only the online submission system, submit up to three poems of any length, three pieces of flash fiction or nonfiction of up to 1,500 words each, or a story or essay of up to 4,000 words with a $15 entry fee by March 15. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

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