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.

Pulitzer Prizes

Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $75
Application Deadline: 10/15/24

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...

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University of Louisville

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/15/24
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. Elizabeth Crane...

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TulipTree Publishing

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/17/24

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 pages...

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Sixfold

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $5
Application Deadline: 10/24/24
Genre: Poetry, Fiction

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Sixfold are given quarterly for a group of poems and a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit up to...

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Masters Review

Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/27/24
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A prize of $3,000 and publication in Masters Review is given annually for an excerpt of an unpublished novel or novel-in-progress displaying “a strong voice, compelling...

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Tucson Festival of Books

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/31/24

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...

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Bedford Competition

Cash Prize: $1,951
Entry Fee: $11
Application Deadline: 10/31/24
Genre: Poetry, Fiction

Two prizes of £1,500 (approximately $1,951) each and publication in the Bedford Competition anthology are given annually for a poem and a short story. Jessica Mookherjee will...

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Cloudbank Books

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/31/24

A prize of $1,000, publication by Cloudbank Books, and 50 author copies is given annually for a collection of poetry, flash fiction, or a combination of the two. Submit a...

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Malahat Review

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $26
Application Deadline: 11/1/24

Three prizes of $2,000 Canadian (approximately $1,461) each and publication in Malahat Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the...

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American Academy in Rome

Cash Prize: $16,000
Entry Fee: $50
Application Deadline: 11/1/24

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...

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F(r)iction

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 11/1/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,000 and publication on the F(r)iction...

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Fiction Collective Two

Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/1/24
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...

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North American Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $23
Application Deadline: 11/1/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,000 and publication in North American Review is given annually for a work of speculative fiction. Kevin Brockmeier will judge. Submit up to two works of...

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John Updike Society

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/1/24

A prize of $1,000 and a two-week residency at the Mission Hill Casitas in Tucson will be given annually for a group of poems or a work of fiction or nonfiction. The fellowship...

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Moment Magazine

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/1/24
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...

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Fiction Collective Two

Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/1/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,500 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...

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Stanford University

Cash Prize: $102,000
Entry Fee: $55
Application Deadline: 11/1/24
Genre: Poetry, Fiction

Five fellowships in poetry and five fellowships in fiction, each of $51,000 per year to attend Stanford University’s two-year creative writing program, will be given annually...

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Autumn House Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 11/15/24
Genre: Poetry, Fiction

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Autumn House Press is given in alternating years for a debut work of poetry or fiction. The 2025 prize will be given for fiction. The...

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Writer’s Digest

Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 11/15/24
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....

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Fine Arts Work Center

Cash Prize: $9,750
Entry Fee: $40
Application Deadline: 11/15/24
Genre: Poetry, Fiction

Fellowships for a seven-month residency at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, are given annually to four poets and four fiction writers who have not...

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Commonwealth Club of California

Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/15/24

Four prizes of approximately $2,500 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, a first book of fiction, and a book of creative nonfiction that relates...

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The Story Prize

Cash Prize: $20,000
Entry Fee: $75
Application Deadline: 11/15/24
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $20,000 is given annually for a story collection written in English and first published in the United States in the current year. Two runners-up will receive $5,000...

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Community of Literary Magazines & Presses

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $65
Application Deadline: 11/15/24

Three prizes of $2,000 each are given annually for a book of poetry, a book of fiction, and a book of creative nonfiction published by an independent press in the current year...

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Pushcart Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/15/24

A prize of $1,000 is given occasionally for a fiction or nonfiction manuscript that has been rejected by a commercial publisher. The award recognizes “worthy manuscripts that...

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Loft Literary Center

Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/19/24

Four prizes of $25,000 each will be given annually to Minnesota poets, prose writers, and spoken word artists. Fellows will also receive an all-expenses-paid, one- or two-week...

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