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...
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.
River Teeth
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 10/31/25
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
Comstock Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 10/31/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Comstock Review, and 50 author copies will be given biennially for a poetry chapbook. Georgia A. Popoff will judge. Submit a...
read moreUniversity of North Texas Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/31/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of North Texas Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Karen An-hwei Lee will judge. Using only the online submission...
read moreSaturnalia Books
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 11/1/25
Genre: Poetry, Translation
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...
read moreFiction Collective Two
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/1/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $15,000 and publication by Fiction Collective Two, an imprint of University of Alabama Press, is given annually for a novel, a story collection, a novella, or a...
read moreFiction Collective Two
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/1/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $3,000 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...
read moreStanford University
Cash Prize: $75,000
Entry Fee: $55
Application Deadline: 11/1/25
Ten fellowships, five in poetry and five in fiction, of $75,000 each per year to attend Stanford University’s two-year creative writing program are given annually for...
read moreNorth American Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $23
Application Deadline: 11/1/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in North American Review is given annually for a work of speculative fiction. Rachel Yoder will judge. Submit up to two works of...
read moreMalahat Review
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $22
Application Deadline: 11/1/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $2,000 Canadian (approximately $1,455) each and publication in Malahat Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only...
read moreNorth American Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $23
Application Deadline: 11/1/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in North American Review is given annually for a single poem. Danez Smith will judge. Submit up to five poems of any length with a $...
read moreEpiphany
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/1/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $2,000 and publication in Epiphany is given annually for a poem or a group of poems, a work of fiction, or a work of creative nonfiction. The winner will...
read moreAfrican Poetry Book Fund
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/1/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 is given annually for a group of poems by an African poet who has not published a full-length collection. Writers who were born in Africa, who are nationals...
read moreJohn Updike Society
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/1/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and a two-week residency at the Mission Hill Casitas that John Updike owned and worked out of in Tucson is given annually for a group of poems or a work of...
read moreAmerican Academy in Rome
Cash Prize: $30,000
Entry Fee: $50
Application Deadline: 11/1/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Half-term and full-term fellowships of $16,000 and $30,000 respectively are given annually to artists, academics, and creative writers, including poets, fiction writers, and...
read moreMoment Magazine
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/1/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a story that relates to Judaism or Jewish culture or history. The winning story will be considered for publication in Moment...
read moreConduit Books & Ephemera
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/3/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500, publication by Conduit Books & Ephemera, and 15 author copies is given annually for a book of poetry. The editors will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48...
read moreCave Canem Foundation
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/3/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000; publication by O, Miami Books; and 10 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook by a Black poet. The winner will also receive a residency in the...
read moreMasters Review
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 11/9/25
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,...
read moreUniversity of Wisconsin Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 11/10/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication by University of Wisconsin Press is given annually for a poetry collection in translation. Daniel Borzutzky will judge. Using only the online...
read moreLitMag
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 11/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication in LitMag is given annually for a single poem. The winner will also have their work reviewed by agents Amy Bishop-Wycisk (Trellis...
read moreAcademy of American Poets
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Academy of American Poets website is given annually for a poem that helps readers recognize “the vulnerable state of our environment.”...
read moreLoft Literary Center
Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/15/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $25,000 each are given annually to Minnesota poets, prose writers, and spoken word artists. Fellows will also receive an all-expenses-paid, one- or two-week...
read moreYale University Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Yale University Press is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who has not published a full-length book of poetry and who...
read moreBrooklyn Film & Arts Festival
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/15/25
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $500 and publication on the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival website is given annually for a work of nonfiction that is set in Brooklyn, New York, and renders the...
read more