A yearlong fellowship of $2,000, access to One Story online classes, and admission to One Story’s weeklong summer writers’ conference, which includes craft lectures,...
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.
Principal Foundation
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 10/12/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Short Édition website and in Principal Foundation’s Short Story Dispensers (located in six cities across the United States) will be...
read morePermafrost
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/15/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Alaska Press is given in alternating years for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. The 2025 prize will be...
read moreSilverfish Review Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/15/25
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...
read moreFinishing Line Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Finishing Line Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook by a writer who identifies as a woman and has not published a full-length...
read moreNational Federation of State Poetry Societies
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/15/25
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...
read moreUniversity of Louisville
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/15/25
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. Jenny Boully...
read morePulitzer Prizes
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $75
Application Deadline: 10/15/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
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...
read moreColumbus State University
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/15/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $10,000 and publication with DLJ Books, the imprint of Columbus State University Press, will be given annually for a book of fiction or creative nonfiction “that...
read moreAmy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarship
Cash Prize: $76,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 10/15/25
Genre: Poetry
An award of approximately $76,000 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 published or...
read moreTennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/15/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 is given annually for a short story by a writer who has not published a book of fiction. The winner also receives domestic airfare of up to $500, private...
read moreCopper Nickel
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Milkweed Editions is given annually for a first or second poetry collection. Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript...
read moreSan Diego Entertainment & Arts Guild
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 10/15/25
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...
read moreTennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 10/15/25
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...
read moreFordham University at Lincoln Center
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 10/15/25
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...
read moreAlice James Books
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 10/17/25
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 17. All...
read moreTulipTree Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/17/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
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...
read moreRed Hen Press
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/31/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $3,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Brenda Cardenas will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a...
read moreBedford Competition
Cash Prize: $2,680
Entry Fee: $11
Application Deadline: 10/31/25
Two prizes of £2,000 (approximately $2,680) each and publication in the Bedford Competition anthology are given annually for a poem and a short story. Fran Lock will judge in...
read moreTupelo Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 10/31/25
Genre: Poetry, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Tupelo Press is given annually for a full- or chapbook-length poetry collection or a book of creative nonfiction (including memoir, essays...
read morePersea Books
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 10/31/25
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...
read moreCarlow University
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/31/25
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...
read moreTucson Festival of Books
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/31/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
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...
read moreRiver Teeth
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 10/31/25
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of New Mexico Press is given annually for a book of creative nonfiction. Ander Monson will judge. Using only the online...
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