A prize of £2,000 (approximately $2,830) is given annually for a single poem. A second-place prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,415) is also given. Both winners receive...
read moreWriting Contests, Grants & Awards
The Writing Contests, Grants & Awards database includes details about the creative writing contests—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, and more—that we’ve published in Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it. Ours is the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.
University of Iowa Press
Cash Prize:
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/30/21
Genre: Fiction
Two awards of publication by University of Iowa Press are given annually for first collections of short fiction. Submit a manuscript of at least 150 pages by September 30....
read moreDzanc Books
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/21
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Dzanc Books is given for a nonfiction book. Using only the online submission system, submit a memoir, essay collection, biography, history...
read moreDzanc Books
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/21
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $5,000 and publication by Dzanc Books is given annually for a novel. Nina Shope, David Tromblay, and Anne Valente will judge. Using only the online submission system...
read moreGhost Story
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 9/30/21
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500, publication on the Ghost Story website and in the Ghost Story print anthology, 21st Century Ghost Stories, is given twice yearly for a short...
read moreUniversity of Arkansas Press
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 9/30/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $5,000 and publication by University of Arkansas Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Patricia Smith will judge. Using only the online submission system...
read moreRed Hen Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/21
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given biennially for a short story collection or a novel. Aimee Liu will judge. Using only the online submission system,...
read moreUniversity of Massachusetts Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 9/30/21
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Five prizes of $1,000 each and publication by University of Massachusetts Press are given annually for a first poetry collection, a poetry collection by an author who has...
read moreCalifornia State University in Fresno
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $22
Application Deadline: 9/30/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Anhinga Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Carmen Giménez Smith will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 80 pages with a $22...
read moreDzanc Books
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/21
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $2,500 and publication by Dzanc Books is given annually for a story collection. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript...
read moreBoulevard
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $16
Application Deadline: 9/30/21
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for an essay by a writer who has not published a full-length book in any genre with a nationally...
read moreWinning Writers
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 9/30/21
Genre: Poetry
Two prizes of $3,000 each and publication on the Winning Writers website are given annually for a poem in any style and a poem that either rhymes or is written in a traditional...
read moreCarlow University
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 9/30/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize valued at $2,000 is given annually to a woman poet over 40 who has not published a book in any genre. The winner receives $1,000, publication in Voices From the...
read moreAfrican Poetry Book Fund
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 10/1/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a book of poetry by an African poet published in the previous year. Writers who were born in Africa, who are a national or a resident of...
read moreZoetrope: All-Story
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 10/1/21
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Zoetrope: All-Story website is given annually for a short story. The winner and finalists are considered for representation by...
read moreMissouri Review
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/1/21
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $5,000 each and publication in Missouri Review are given annually for a group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Submit up to 10 pages of poetry or...
read moreCopper Nickel
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/15/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Milkweed Editions is given annually for a first or second poetry collection. Dana Levin will judge. Using only the online submission system...
read moreSilverfish Review Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/15/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Silverfish Review Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a first poetry collection. Submit a manuscript of at least 48 pages with a...
read moreAmy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarship
Cash Prize: $62,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 10/15/21
Genre: Poetry
An award of approximately $62,500 is given annually to a U.S. poet for a year of travel and study outside of North America. Submit two copies of up to 40 pages of poetry or a...
read moreSan Diego Poetry Annual
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 10/15/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in San Diego Poetry Annual is given annually for a single poem. The winner will also receive an invitation to read at an award ceremony...
read moreUniversity of Louisville
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/15/21
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $2,000 and publication in Miracle Monocle is given annually for a work of fiction written in the fabulist experimental style of Italo Calvino. The winner will...
read moreLorian Hemingway Short Story Competition
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 10/15/21
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication on the competition website is given annually for a short story by a writer whose fiction has not appeared in a nationally distributed...
read moreAlice James Books
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 10/15/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Alice James Books is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet residing in the United States. Submit a manuscript of 45 to 100 pages...
read morePulitzer Prizes
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $75
Application Deadline: 10/15/21
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Five prizes of $15,000 each are given annually to U.S. writers to honor books of poetry, fiction, general nonfiction, U. S. history, and biography or autobiography (including...
read moreTulipTree Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/17/21
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in TulipTree Review is given annually for a poem, story, or essay. The theme for this fall’s contest is “disruption.” Submit a poem of...
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