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.

Black Lawrence Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 8/31/26

A prize of $1,000, publication by Black Lawrence Press, and 10 author copies is given annually for a debut collection of poems, short stories, or essays. The editors and a...

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Utica University

Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 8/31/26
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $3,000 is given annually for a poetry collection published during the previous year by a resident of upstate New York. The winner will also give a reading and teach...

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Grid Books

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 8/31/26
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication in print and audiobook formats by Grid Books is given annually for a poetry collection by a writer over the age of 60. Elise Paschen will...

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Munster Literature Centre

Cash Prize: $1,175
Entry Fee: $29
Application Deadline: 8/31/26
Genre: Poetry

A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,175); publication by Southword Editions, Munster Literature Centre’s publishing imprint; and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry...

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Talking Gourds

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $14
Application Deadline: 8/31/26
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem. Lesley Wheeler will judge. Submit a poem of up to 125 lines totaling no more than three pages with a $14 entry fee ($35...

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Talking Gourds

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $14
Application Deadline: 8/31/26
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem about the state of Colorado or written by a poet residing in Colorado. Scott Nicolay will judge. Submit a poem of up to...

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Academy of American Poets

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 9/1/26
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $5,000 and publication by Graywolf Press is given annually for a poetry collection by a writer who has not published a book of poetry in a standard edition. The...

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American Literary Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 9/1/26

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in American Literary Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the online submission...

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Naugatuck River Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 9/1/26
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Naugatuck River Review is given annually for a narrative poem. Mary Beth Hines will judge. Using only the online submission system...

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Academy for Teachers

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/1/26
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Epiphany is given annually for a work of flash fiction about teachers and school in which the protagonist or narrator is a K–12...

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Literary Arts

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $55
Application Deadline: 9/4/26

Four prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for books of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and general nonfiction published in the current year by writers living in...

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Dogwood

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 9/5/26

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Dogwood are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the online submission system, submit up...

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Harvard University

Cash Prize: $78,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/10/26

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...

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American-Scandinavian Foundation

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/15/26

A prize of $5,000 and publication of an excerpt in Scandinavian Review is given annually for an English translation of a work of poetry, fiction, or creative...

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Academy of American Poets

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/15/26

A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Arizona Press is given annually for a poetry collection originally written in Spanish by a living writer and translated into...

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Ex Ophidia Press

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 9/16/26
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $2,000, publication by Ex Ophidia Press, and 10 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Leslie Adrienne Miller will judge. Using only the online...

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