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.

Hippocrates Prize

Cash Prize: $1,271
Entry Fee: $8
Application Deadline: 2/14/25
Genre: Poetry

A prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,271) and publication in the Hippocrates Prize anthology is given annually for a single poem on a medical theme. A prize of £1,000 (...

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Sarabande Books

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $34
Application Deadline: 2/15/25

Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication by Sarabande Books are given annually for a poetry collection, a work of fiction, and an essay collection. For the Kathryn A. Morton...

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Finishing Line Press

Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/15/25
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,500 and publication by Finishing Line Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Saba Syed Razvi will judge. Submit a manuscript of 16 to 34 pages, a brief...

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Academy of American Poets

Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/15/25

A prize of $10,000 is given biennially for the translation into English of a work of modern, standard (non-dialect) Italian poetry. Books by living translators are eligible....

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Arrowsmith Press

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/15/25
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $2,000 is given annually for a poetry collection by a writer who is not a citizen of the United States published in English during the previous year. Authors or...

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Center for African American Poetry and Poetics/Autumn House Press

Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/15/25
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $3,000 and publication by Autumn House Press is given annually for a first or second poetry collection (or a work that intersects with poetry, including hybrid text...

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Academy of American Poets

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/15/25
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poetry collection translated from any language into English and published in the United States during the previous year....

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Syracuse University Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/15/25
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Syracuse University Press is given biennially for either a debut fiction or nonfiction manuscript written by a U.S. veteran, active-duty...

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Furious Flower Poetry Center

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 2/15/25
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,500 and publication in Obsidian, the literary journal of Illinois State University, is given annually for a group of poems that explore Black themes. The...

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Omnidawn Publishing

Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 2/16/25
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $3,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 20 author copies is given annually for a first or second poetry collection. Daniela Naomi Molnar will judge. Using...

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Arts & Letters Prizes

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/20/25

Three prizes of $1,000 each and online publication in Arts & Letters are given annually for a group of poems, a short story, and an essay. James Kimbrell will judge...

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Hayden’s Ferry Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 2/28/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction

Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Hayden’s Ferry Review will be given annually for a poem or a group of poems and a work of fiction. Using only the online...

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Sixfold

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $5
Application Deadline: 2/28/25
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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Little Tokyo Historical Society

Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/28/25
Genre: Fiction

Two prizes of $500 each and publication in Rafu Shimpo and on the Discover Nikkei and Little Tokyo Historical Society websites are given annually for short stories that...

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Tupelo Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 2/28/25
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000, publication by Tupelo Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Deborah Landau will judge. Submit a manuscript of 20 to 36 pages...

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Red Hen Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 2/28/25

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a book of fiction or nonfiction by a writer who identifies as a woman. Alyssa Graybeal will judge....

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West Chester University

Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/28/25
Genre: Poetry

Five prizes of $1,000 to $1,500 each are given annually for a single poem “composed in the traditional modes of meter, rhyme, and received forms” (Iris N. Spencer Poetry Award...

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Fish Publishing

Cash Prize: $1,056
Entry Fee: $17
Application Deadline: 2/28/25
Genre: Fiction

A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,056) and publication in the Fish Publishing anthology is given annually for a work of flash fiction. The winner is also invited to give a...

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Association of Writers & Writing Programs

Cash Prize: $5,500
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 2/28/25

Three prizes of $5,500 each and publication by a participating press are given annually for a poetry collection, a short story collection, and a novel. A prize of $2,500 and...

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Black Caucus of the American Library Association

Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/28/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction

Two prizes of $2,500 each are given annually for a poetry e-book and a fiction e-book self-published by an African American writer during the previous year. The awards honor...

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Autumn House Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 2/28/25
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Autumn House Press is given annually for a book of fiction. The winner also receives a $1,500 travel and publicity grant. Alexandra Kleeman...

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Airlie Press

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

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Airlie Press is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a...

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Biographers International Organization

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 3/1/25

A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a work-in-progress by a writer who has not published a biography, a book of historical nonfiction, or other book-length work of...

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Mississippi Arts Commission

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/25

Grants of up to $5,000 each are given in alternating years to Mississippi poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. This year the fellowships will be offered in...

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Alabama State Council on the Arts

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/25

At least two fellowships of $5,000 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers who are legal residents of Alabama and have lived in the...

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Wayne State University

Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/25
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $500 will be given annually for a chapbook-length work of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. The 2025 prize will be given in poetry. Using only the online submission...

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Poets & Writers, Inc.

Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction

Two prizes of $500 each are given annually to a poet and a fiction writer residing in the United States. Each winner also receives a monthlong residency at the Jentel Artist...

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Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation

Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $100
Application Deadline: 3/1/25

Two prizes of $10,000 each are given annually for a book of fiction and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) published in the previous year that “foster peace,...

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Masters Review

Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 3/2/25
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $3,000 and online publication in Masters Review is given biannually for a short story by an emerging writer. Writers who have not published a book or who have...

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Poetry Foundation

Cash Prize: $27,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/3/25
Genre: Poetry

Five fellowships of $27,000 each are given annually to U.S. poets between the ages of 21 and 31. Using only the online submission system, submit 10 pages of poetry and an...

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Persea Books

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 3/7/25
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $2,000 and publication by Persea Books is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who is a U.S. citizen or resides in the United States and who has...

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Selected Shorts

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 3/7/25
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,000 and tuition for a 10-week writing class through New York City’s Gotham Writers Workshop is given annually for a short story. The winning work is published on...

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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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National Endowment for the Arts

Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/12/25

Approximately 35 grants of $25,000 each are given annually in alternating years to poets and prose writers to “enable the recipients to set aside time for writing, research,...

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Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 3/15/25
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem. Alicia Ostriker will judge. Submit up to three poems of no more than three pages each with a $10 entry fee by March 15....

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Broadside Lotus Press

Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/15/25
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $500 and publication by Broadside Lotus Press is given annually for a poetry collection by an African American poet. Submit two copies of a manuscript of...

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Prairie Schooner

Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 3/15/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction

Two prizes of $3,000 each and publication by University of Nebraska Press are given annually for a poetry collection and a story collection. Submit a poetry manuscript of at...

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James Jones Literary Society

Cash Prize: $12,000
Entry Fee: $33
Application Deadline: 3/15/25
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $12,000 is given annually for a novel-in-progress by a U.S. writer who has not published a novel. The first runner-up receives $3,000 and the second runner-up...

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Narrative

Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 3/31/25

A prize of $2,500 and publication in Narrative is given annually for a short story, a work of flash fiction, an essay, a memoir, or an excerpt from a longer work of...

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