A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem. Marge Piercy will judge. Submit up to five poems of no more than two pages each with a $15 entry fee by January 12. Visit...
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.
WOMR/WFMR Community Radio
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 1/12/26
Genre: Poetry
French-American Foundation
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/12/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation
Two prizes of $10,000 each are given annually for translations from French into English of a book of fiction and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) published...
read moreColorado Review
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/14/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,500 and publication by the Center for Literary Publishing is given annually for a poetry collection. Victoria Chang will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 100...
read moreGeorgia Review
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/15/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Georgia Review is given annually for a short story or an essay. Kiese Laymon will judge. Submit a story or essay of up to 9,000...
read morePoetry Society of Virginia
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $36
Application Deadline: 1/15/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poetry collection published during the current year. The winner is also invited to read at the Poetry Society of Virginia’s annual...
read moreArts + Literature Laboratory
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 1/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and a five-day stay at Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of...
read moreRed Hen Press
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/15/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $5,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a story collection, a novella, a novel, or other book-length work of fiction. Using only the online...
read moreNorth Carolina Writers’ Network
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $12
Application Deadline: 1/15/26
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for an essay “that is outside the realm of conventional journalism and has relevance to North Carolinians.” The winning essay is also...
read moreEllen Meloy Fund
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 1/15/26
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $5,000 is given annually to enable a creative nonfiction writer “whose work reflects the spirit and passions for the desert embodied in Ellen Meloy’s writing” to...
read moreLongleaf Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 1/15/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Longleaf Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The winner is also invited to give a virtual reading in early...
read moreAsheville Poetry Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/15/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Asheville Poetry Review is given annually for a single poem. The winner is also invited to give a reading at Malaprop’s Bookstore...
read morePassager Books
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/15/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Passager Books is given biennially for a first book of poems by a writer who is 70 years old or older. Submit a manuscript of 50 to 65...
read moreLit Fox Books
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/15/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500, publication by Lit Fox Books, and 25 author copies will be given annually for a poetry collection. Kristina Marie Darling will judge. Using only the online...
read moreNew American Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/15/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500, publication by New American Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Rick Barot will judge. Writers of any citizenship working...
read moreVirginia Commonwealth University
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/15/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $5,000 and an all-expenses-paid trip to give a reading at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond is given annually for a first or second book of poetry...
read moreStanford University Libraries
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $50
Application Deadline: 1/30/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of $5,000 each are given biennially for books of fiction and nonfiction published in the previous two years. The awards, cosponsored by the Stanford University...
read moreNorth Carolina Writers’ Network
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/30/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Thomas Wolfe Review is given annually for a short story or a self-contained novel excerpt. Karen Tucker will judge. Submit a work...
read moreBlack Lawrence Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Cross-Genre
A prize of $1,000, publication by Black Lawrence Press, and 10 author copies is given annually for a novel. The contest is open to traditional novels as well as “novels-in-...
read moreAustin Community College
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,500 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, and a book of creative nonfiction published during the previous year. Authors or...
read moreswamp pink
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication in swamp pink are given annually for a single poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the online submission system,...
read morePEN America
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Nine fellowships of $1,500 each and participation in a virtual five-month mentorship program, which includes one-on-one mentorship with an established writer; introductions to...
read moreRegal House Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages with a $25...
read moreIowa Review
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,500 each and publication in Iowa Review are given annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Using only the online submission...
read moreMoney for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Grants of up to $2,000 each are given in alternating years to feminist poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers who are citizens of the United States or Canada. This year...
read moreChautauqua Institution
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $5,000 and publication in Chautauqua is given annually for a single work of fiction or nonfiction by an emerging writer displaying “daring formal and...
read more