Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in the Ocotillo Review will be given annually for a poem and a short story. The winners will also each receive a two-year...
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.
Kallisto Gaia Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 8/20/19
Red Hen Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 8/31/19
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a short story collection, a novel, or an essay collection by a queer writer. Uzodinma Iweala will judge...
read moreGrid Books
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 8/31/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Grid Books is given annually for a poetry collection by a writer over the age of 60. Jon Davis will judge. Using the online submission...
read moreAesthetica
Cash Prize: $1,300
Entry Fee: $23
Application Deadline: 8/31/19
Two prizes of £1,000 (approximately $1,300) each and publication in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual are given annually for a poem and a short story. The winner...
read moreOmnidawn Publishing
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 8/31/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $3,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 100 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Rachel Zucker will judge. Submit a manuscript of 40 to...
read moreGulf Coast
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 8/31/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gulf Coast is given in alternating years for a group of poems or a prose excerpt translated from any language into English. The...
read moreUniversity of New Orleans Press
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 8/31/19
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $10,000 and publication by University of New Orleans Press is given annually for a short story collection or a novel. Using the online submission system, submit a...
read moreMasters Review
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 8/31/19
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $3,000 and publication in Masters Review is given twice yearly for a short story by a writer who has not published a novel (writers who have published story...
read moreEx Ophidia Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 8/31/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Ex Ophidia Press, and 15 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Richard-Gabriel Rummonds will judge. Submit a manuscript of...
read moreGemini Magazine
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $6
Application Deadline: 8/31/19
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gemini Magazine is given annually for a short short story. The editors will judge. Submit a story of up to 1,000 words with a $6...
read moreBlack Lawrence Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 8/31/19
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Black Lawrence Press is given annually for a debut collection of poems or short stories. The editors will judge. Using the online...
read moreUtica College
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 8/31/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 is given annually for a poetry collection published in the previous year by a resident of upstate New York. The winner will also give a reading and teach a...
read moreBlack Warrior Review
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 9/1/19
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,500 each and publication in Black Warrior Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Tommy Pico will judge in poetry, Rivers...
read moreRadar Poetry
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 9/1/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Radar Poetry is given annually for a group of poems by a woman. Using the online submission system, submit three to six poems with...
read moreDogwood
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 9/5/19
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Dogwood are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Submit up to three poems totaling no more than 10...
read moreHarvard University
Cash Prize: $77,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/12/19
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Fellowships of $77,500 each, office space at the Radcliffe Institute, and access to the libraries at Harvard University are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and...
read moreUniversity of Wisconsin Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 9/15/19
Genre: Poetry
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by University of Wisconsin Press are given annually for poetry collections. Submit a manuscript of 50 to 90 pages with a $28 entry fee...
read moreRed Mountain Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 9/15/19
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Red Mountain Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 72 pages with a $30 entry fee by September 15....
read moreJohn Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Cash Prize: $50,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/16/19
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Fellowships of approximately $50,000 each are awarded annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers on the basis of achievement and exceptional promise....
read moreManchester Metropolitan University
Cash Prize: $12,700
Entry Fee: $22
Application Deadline: 9/20/19
Two prizes of £10,000 (approximately $12,700) each are given annually for a group of poems and a short story. The winners will be invited to attend an award ceremony in...
read moreTravelers’ Tales
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/21/19
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in the biannual anthology The Best Travel Writing and on the Travelers’ Tales website is given annually for a travel essay. Writers...
read moreAmerican Academy in Berlin
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/23/19
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Residential fellowships are given annually to fiction writers and creative nonfiction writers to spend an academic semester in residence at the Hans Arnhold Center at the...
read moreNew Guard
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $22
Application Deadline: 9/27/19
Two prizes of $1,500 each and publication in New Guard are given annually for a poem and a short story. Richard Blanco will judge in poetry and Elizabeth Hand will...
read moreNew York Public Library
Cash Prize: $75,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/27/19
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Up to 15 fellowships are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers whose work will benefit directly from access to the research collections at...
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