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.

Poetry Foundation

Cash Prize: $25,800
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 4/14/23
Genre: Poetry

Five fellowships of $25,800 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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Spoon River Poetry Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 4/15/23
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication in Spoon River Poetry Review, prefaced by a judge’s introduction, is given annually for a single poem. Multilingual submissions...

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University of Arkansas Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 4/15/23
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Arkansas Press is given annually for a first or second poetry collection by a writer of Arab heritage. Series editors Hayan...

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New Ohio Review

Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $22
Application Deadline: 4/15/23

Three prizes of $1,500 each and publication in New Ohio Review are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Submit a poem or group of...

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Florida Review

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 4/15/23

Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Florida Review are given annually for a poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. The editors will judge....

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Desperate Literature

Cash Prize: $1,581
Entry Fee: $21
Application Deadline: 4/15/23
Genre: Fiction

A prize of €1,500 (approximately $1,581), a weeklong residency at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation’s castle in the Umbria region of Italy, and publication in Desperate...

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Hub City Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 4/17/23
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Hub City Press is given biennially for a poetry collection. U.S. poets who have published no more than one full-length poetry collection...

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Pen Parentis

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 4/17/23
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $2,000, a year of mentorship, and publication in Dreamers Creative Writing Magazine is given annually to a fiction writer who is the parent of a child under...

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American Literary Translators Association

Cash Prize: $6,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 4/17/23

A prize of $6,000 is given annually for a book of poetry or a text from Zen Buddhism translated from an Asian language into English and published in the previous year....

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American Literary Translators Association

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 4/17/23

A prize of $5,000 will be given annually for a book of fiction or nonfiction whose author is of Spanish nationality translated from Spanish, Basque, Galician, or Catalan into...

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American Literary Translators Association

Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 4/17/23

A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a book of fiction or nonfiction translated from Italian into English and published in the previous year. Publishers or translators may...

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American Literary Translators Association

Cash Prize: $4,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 4/17/23

Two prizes of $4,000 each are given annually for a book of poetry and a book of prose translated from any language into English and published in the previous year. For the...

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Carve

Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 4/17/23
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $2,000 and publication in Carve is given annually for a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of up to 10,000 words with an $18...

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Sixfold

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $5
Application Deadline: 4/23/23
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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Australian Book Review

Cash Prize: $4,062
Entry Fee: $17
Application Deadline: 4/24/23
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $6,000 AUD (approximately $4,062) is given annually for a story. A second-place prize of $4,000 AUD (approximately $2,708) and a third-place prize of $2,500 AUD (...

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Whiting Foundation

Cash Prize: $40,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 4/25/23

Up to 10 grants of $40,000 each are given annually for creative nonfiction works-in-progress to enable writers to complete their books. Creative nonfiction writers under...

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Bristol Short Story Prize

Cash Prize: $1,222
Entry Fee: $11
Application Deadline: 4/26/23
Genre: Fiction

A prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,222) and publication in the Bristol Short Story Prize anthology is given annually for a short story. Submit a short story of up to 4,...

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DIAGRAM/New Michigan Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $24
Application Deadline: 4/28/23

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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F(r)iction

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 4/28/23
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,000 is given twice yearly for a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of 1,001 to 7,500 words with a $15 entry fee by April 28. All...

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Inlandia Institute

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 4/30/23
Genre: Poetry

Two prizes of $1,000 each, publication by the Inlandia Institute, and 20 author copies are given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S. resident and a poetry collection by...

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Trio House Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 4/30/23
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000, publication by Trio House Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a first or second poetry collection. Steve Bellin-Oka will judge. Using only the...

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Ghost Story

Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 4/30/23
Genre: Fiction

A prize of $1,500 and publication on the Ghost Story website is given twice yearly for a short story with a supernatural or magic realism theme. The winning work will...

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Tadpole Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 4/30/23

A prize of $1,000 is given twice annually for a work of flash poetry or prose. Multilingual submissions are eligible, including work that is written entirely in a language...

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Marsh Hawk Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 4/30/23
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Marsh Hawk Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Mary Jo Bang will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a...

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Trio House Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 4/30/23
Genre: Poetry

A prize of $1,000, publication by Trio House Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Kimberly Blaeser will judge. Using only the online...

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