Writing 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.

Alice James Books

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 10/11/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $2,000 and publication by Alice James Books is given annually for a poetry collection. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages with a $30 entry fee by October 11. All...

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San Diego Entertainment & Arts Guild

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 10/15/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication in San Diego Poetry Annual is given annually for a single poem. The winner also receives an invitation to read at an award ceremony in...

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National Federation of State Poetry Societies

Cash Prize: $1,300
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/15/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000, publication by National Federation of State Poetry Societies Press, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The winner also receives...

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University of Louisville

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/15/24
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. Elizabeth Crane...

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Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 10/15/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a group of poems by a writer who has not published a chapbook or full-length book of poetry. The winner is also invited to give a...

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Pulitzer Prizes

Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $75
Application Deadline: 10/15/24

Six prizes of $15,000 each are given annually for books of poetry, fiction, general nonfiction, U.S. history, biography, and memoir first published in the United States during...

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Silverfish Review Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/15/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000, publication by Silverfish Review Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a debut poetry collection. Submit a manuscript of at least 48 pages with a...

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Copper Nickel

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/15/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $2,000 and publication by Milkweed Editions is given annually for a first or second poetry collection. Matthew Olzmann will judge. Using only the online submission...

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Fordham University at Lincoln Center

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 10/15/24
Genre: Poetry

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Fordham University Press are given annually for poetry collections. The winners also receive a one-on-one publicity consultation...

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TulipTree Publishing

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/17/24

A prize of $1,000 and publication in the Fall/Winter issue of TulipTree Review is given annually for a humorous poem, story, or essay. Submit a poem of up to five pages...

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Sixfold

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $5
Application Deadline: 10/24/24
Genre: Poetry, Fiction

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Sixfold are given quarterly for a group of poems and a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit up to...

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Masters Review

Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/27/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $3,000 and publication in Masters Review is given annually for an excerpt of an unpublished novel or novel-in-progress displaying “a strong voice, compelling...

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University of North Texas Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/31/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of North Texas Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of...

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Saturnalia Books

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/31/24

A prize of $2,000 and publication by Saturnalia Books is given annually for a poetry collection in translation. Translators who identify as female (including those who are...

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Comstock Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 10/31/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000, publication by Comstock Review, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Abayomi Animashaun will judge. Submit a manuscript of 25 to 34...

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Persea Books

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 10/31/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Persea Books is given annually for a debut poetry collection by a writer who identifies as a woman. The winner also receives an optional...

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Cloudbank Books

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/31/24

A prize of $1,000, publication by Cloudbank Books, and 50 author copies is given annually for a collection of poetry, flash fiction, or a combination of the two. Submit a...

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Carlow University

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/31/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Voices From the Attic is given annually to a woman poet over 40 who has not published a full-length poetry collection. The winner...

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Tupelo Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 10/31/24

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Tupelo Press will be given annually for a full- or chapbook-length poetry collection or a book of nonfiction (including memoir, essays, and...

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Poetry Society of the United Kingdom

Cash Prize: $6,504
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 10/31/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of £5,000 (approximately $6,504) and publication on the Poetry Society of the United Kingdom website is given annually for a single poem. A second-place prize of £2,000...

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Bedford Competition

Cash Prize: $1,951
Entry Fee: $11
Application Deadline: 10/31/24
Genre: Poetry, Fiction

Two prizes of £1,500 (approximately $1,951) each and publication in the Bedford Competition anthology are given annually for a poem and a short story. Jessica Mookherjee will...

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Tucson Festival of Books

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/31/24

Three prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The winners will also receive scholarships to attend a workshop at the...

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Red Hen Press

Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/31/24
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $3,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Jason Schneiderman will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a...

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River Teeth

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 10/31/24

A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of New Mexico Press is given annually for a book of creative nonfiction. Beth Nguyen will judge. Using only the online...

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Fiction Collective Two

Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/1/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,500 and publication by Fiction Collective Two is given annually for a novel, a story collection, a novella, or a novella collection. Writers who are from or are...

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