A prize of $3,000 and publication in Masters Review is given annually for a short story or an essay by an emerging writer. Writers who have not published a book, self-...
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.
Masters Review
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 9/7/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Harvard University
Cash Prize: $78,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/11/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Fellowships of $78,000 each, as well as office space at the Radcliffe Institute and access to the libraries at Harvard University, are given annually to poets, fiction writers...
read moreSanta Fe Writers Project
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 9/15/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication by the Santa Fe Writers Project is given biennially for a book of fiction or creative nonfiction. Deesha Philyaw will judge. Using only the...
read moreUniversity of Wisconsin Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 9/15/25
Genre: Poetry
Two prizes of $1,500 each and publication by University of Wisconsin Press are given annually for poetry collections. Using only the online submission system, submit a...
read moreEx Ophidia Press
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000, publication by Ex Ophidia Press, and 10 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Felicia Zamora will judge. Using only the online submission...
read moreAmerican-Scandinavian Foundation
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/15/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation
A prize of $2,500 and publication of an excerpt in Scandinavian Review is given annually for an English translation of a work of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction...
read moreJohn Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Cash Prize: $60,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/16/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Fellowships of approximately $60,000 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers on the basis of “exceptional creative ability.” Citizens...
read moreLightscatter Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 9/17/25
Genre: Poetry, Cross-Genre
A prize of $1,000, multimodal publication by Lightscatter Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection or hybrid work by an emerging writer. Heid E....
read moreTravelers’ Tales
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 9/21/25
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Travelers’ Tales website is given annually for a travel essay. Writers from Arizona and Vermont are eligible for publication but not...
read moreNew York Public Library
Cash Prize: $90,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/26/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation
Fifteen fellowships are given annually to artists, academics, and creative writers, including poets, fiction writers, creative nonfiction writers, and translators, whose work...
read moreTexas Review Press
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 9/30/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $2,000, publication by Texas Review Press, and 10 author copies is given annually for a short story collection or novel. Using only the online submission system,...
read moreUniversity of Mississippi
Cash Prize: $12,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/30/25
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $12,000 is given annually for a book of creative nonfiction published during the current year that asks readers “to engage with or reflect on the complexities of the...
read moreHive Poetry Collective
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 9/30/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and an invitation to read at the University of California in Santa Cruz in November will be given annually for a poem. Nancy Miller Gomez will judge. Using...
read moreHackney Literary Awards
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 9/30/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for an unpublished novel. Submit a manuscript of any length with a $30 entry fee by September 30. Visit the website for complete guidelines...
Boulevard
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 9/30/25
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 moreDzanc Books
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/30/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $5,000 and publication by Dzanc Books is given annually for a novel. Eugene Cross, Mubanga Kalimamukwento, and Tara Isabel Zambrano will judge. Using only the online...
read moreGhost Story
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 9/30/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication on the Ghost Story website is given biannually for a short story with a supernatural or magical realist theme. The editors will judge...
read moreUniversity of Mississippi
Cash Prize: $12,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/30/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $12,000 is given annually for a novel published during the current year that asks readers “to engage with or reflect on the complexities of the U.S. South.” The...
read moreThe Moth
Cash Prize: $1,158
Entry Fee: $17
Application Deadline: 9/30/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,158) and online publication in Irish Times is given annually for a poem, a short story, or an essay that features “an exploration...
read morePEN/Faulkner Foundation
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $95
Application Deadline: 9/30/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $15,000 is given annually for a book of fiction published during the current year. Four finalists each receive $5,000. The winner and finalists will also be invited...
read moreUniversity of Massachusetts Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 9/30/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Five prizes of $1,000 each and publication by University of Massachusetts Press are given annually for a debut poetry collection, a poetry collection by an author who has...
read moreUniversity of Mississippi
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/30/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $3,000 is given annually for a single poem that evokes the U.S. South. The winner will also receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Oxford, Mississippi, for the awards...
read moreLascaux Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 9/30/25
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Lascaux Review website is given annually for an essay. Previously published and unpublished essays are eligible. Using only...
read moreCreative Writing Ink
Cash Prize: $1,340
Entry Fee: $16
Application Deadline: 9/30/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,340), publication on the Creative Writing Ink website, and a free online writing course with Creative Writing Ink will be given annually for...
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