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.

Pushcart Press

Cash Prize: $0
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/1/24

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...

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Georgia Writers

Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 10/1/24

Three grants of $500 each are given annually in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction to “elevate, encourage, and inspire the voices of Black writers in Georgia.” Grantees also...

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Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival

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

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...

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Great Lakes Colleges Association

Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/25/25

Three prizes are given annually for first books by a poet, a fiction writer, and a creative nonfiction writer. The winners each receive an all-expenses-paid trip to several of...

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Ashland Creek Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/31/21

A prize of $1,000 is given biennially for an unpublished or published book of fiction or creative nonfiction that focuses on the environment, animal protection, ecology, or...

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Indiana Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 3/15/24

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Indiana Review are given annually for a single poem and an essay. Submit up to three poems of any length or a work of prose...

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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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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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Trio House Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/15/25

A prize of $1,000, publication by Trio House Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a book of nonfiction by a writer living in the United States. The editors will...

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TulipTree Publishing

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/17/21

A prize of $1,000 and publication in TulipTree Review is given annually for a poem, story, or essay. The theme for this fall’s contest is “disruption.” Submit a poem of...

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Inlandia Institute

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 1/31/25

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Inlandia Books is given annually for a book of fiction or creative nonfiction by a writer who identifies as Hispanic, Latino/a/e/x, or...

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TulipTree Publishing

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 3/8/25

A prize of $1,000 and publication in TulipTree Review is given annually for a single poem, a short story, or an essay “whose main characters embody the wild woman spirit...

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DIAGRAM/New Michigan Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 7/15/25

A prize of $1,000, publication by New Michigan Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a chapbook of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or hybrid-genre work. Ander...

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Literary Arts

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $55
Application Deadline: 9/5/25

Four prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for books of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and general nonfiction published in the current year by writers living in...

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Bellingham Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 3/15/25

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Bellingham Review are given annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The Parallel Award for Poetry...

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Permafrost

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

A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Alaska Press will be given in alternating years for a book of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. The 2024 prize will be given in...

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Gulf Coast

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 8/31/24

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Gulf Coast is given annually for a short work of prose. Submit up to three prose poems, works of flash fiction, or micro essays (or...

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New Millennium Writings

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 7/31/25

Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in New Millennium Writings and on the journal’s website are given biannually for a poem, a short story, a short short story,...

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Vine Leaves Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 7/1/25

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Vine Leaves Press will be given for a book of nonfiction, including biography, memoir, and hybrid work. Using only the online submission...

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Schaffner Press

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

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Schaffner Press is given annually for a poetry collection, a novel, a story collection, an essay collection, or a memoir that “deals in...

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Indiana Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 8/15/25

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Indiana Review is given annually for a poem or a work of flash fiction or creative nonfiction. Submit up to three poems, stories, or...

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Green Linden Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/30/24

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Green Linden Press is given annually for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction translated from any language into English....

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Black Warrior Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 9/1/21

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Black Warrior Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Eduardo C. Corral will judge in poetry, K...

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Lascaux Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 9/30/24

A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Lascaux Review website is given annually for an essay. Previously published and unpublished essays are eligible. Using only the...

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Fourth Genre

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 4/15/25

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Fourth Genre is given annually for an essay. Sonya Huber will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit an essay of up...

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