Up to two prizes of $1,000 each and an invitation to give a public lecture at the Athenaeum of Philadelphia is given annually for books of fiction and/or nonfiction published...
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.
Athenaeum of Philadelphia
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/1/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Pushcart Press
Cash Prize: $0
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/1/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Publication in The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses is awarded annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction published by literary magazines...
read moreRegal House Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/1/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing is given annually for a story collection. Heather Bell Adams will judge. Using only the online submission system,...
read moreNarratively
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 12/7/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $3,000 and publication on Narratively’s storytelling platform is given annually for a short work of memoir written in the first person. The winner will also be...
read moreFriends of American Writers
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/13/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of around $2,500 is given annually for a book of fiction or creative nonfiction published during the current year that is set in the Midwest or by a writer who is a...
read moreWriter’s Digest
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 12/15/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $3,000 is given annually for a short short story. The winner is also provided money for travel and lodging expenses to attend the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference....
read moreStory
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/15/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Story is given annually for a short story. Deesha Philyaw will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of...
read moreVirginia Commonwealth University
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/30/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a debut novel published during the current year. The winner is also provided money for the cost of travel and lodging to attend the...
read morePress 53
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 12/31/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000, publication by Press 53, and 53 author copies is given annually for a story collection. Kevin Morgan Watson will judge. Submit a manuscript of 100 to 250...
read moreLascaux Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 12/31/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Lascaux Review is given annually for a short story. Previously published and unpublished stories are eligible. The editors will...
read moreHub City Press
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/31/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $5,000 and publication by Hub City Press is given biennially for a short story collection. Emerging writers who have not published a story collection or more than...
read moreTampa Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 12/31/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Tampa Review is given annually for a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of 500 to 5,000 words...
read moreLitMag
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 12/31/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $2,500 and publication in LitMag is given annually for a short story. The winner will also have their work reviewed by agents Lisa Bankoff (Bankoff...
read moreAnamcara Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/31/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000, publication by Anamcara Press, and 50 author copies will be given annually for a poetry collection, story collection, essay collection, novel, or memoir....
read moreBoulevard
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 12/31/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for a short story by a writer who has not published a nationally distributed book. The editors will...
read moreAction, Spectacle
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/31/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Cross-Genre
A prize of $1,000, publication by Action, Spectacle, and 25 author copies is given annually for a chapbook of poetry, prose, or hybrid-genre work. Using only the...
read moreBlack Caucus of the American Library Association
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a debut novel, a book of fiction, and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) by African...
read morePlentitudes
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 12/31/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in the Plentitudes is given annually for a single poem, a short story, an essay, and a work of flash fiction or nonfiction....
read moreAmerican Library Association
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a novel published in the current year that is set in a period when the United States was at war. Publishers or authors may submit seven...
read moreMississippi Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 1/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Mississippi Review are given annually for a single poem, a short story, and an essay. Current or former University of...
read moreNorth Carolina Writers’ Network
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/2/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a short story or an essay that “seeks to convey the rich and varied existence of Black North Carolinians.” The winning entry is...
read moreSan José State University
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/4/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Six yearlong residencies at San José State University in San José, California, which include stipends of $15,000 each, are given annually to fiction writers and creative...
read moreLeon Levy Center for Biography
Cash Prize: $72,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/4/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four yearlong fellowships of $72,000 each, writing space at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City, access to research facilities, and research assistance from a graduate...
read moreFlorida Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/7/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000, publication by the Florida Review, and 50 author copies is given annually for a chapbook of short fiction, short nonfiction, or graphic narrative....
read moreNew Literary Project
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/9/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Up to ten fellowships of $5,000 each are given annually to creative writers who are high school teachers to support summer work on an ongoing fiction, creative nonfiction,...
read more