Three prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction published in the previous year. The winners also receive $500 in travel expenses to...
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.
Western Connecticut State University
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 6/13/21
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Autumn House Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 6/15/21
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Autumn House Press are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, and a book of creative nonfiction. Each winner...
read moreUniversity of Akron Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 6/15/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication by University of Akron Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Erika Meitner will judge. Using only the online submission system,...
read more42 Miles Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 6/15/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by 42 Miles Press, and 30 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Current and former students of Indiana University in South...
read moreBitter Oleander Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 6/15/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Bitter Oleander Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 80 pages with a $28 entry fee between May 1...
read moreMaine Arts Commission
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/17/21
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A fellowship of up to $5,000 is given annually to a poet, a fiction writer, a creative nonfiction writer, or a writer working in a genre beyond these categories who has lived...
read moreGreat Lakes Colleges Association
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/25/21
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes are given annually to a poet, a fiction writer, and a creative nonfiction writer to honor their first books. The winners each receive an all-expenses paid trip to...
read moreBauhan Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 6/30/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Bauhan Publishing, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Meg Kearney will judge. Submit a manuscript of 50 to 80...
read moreWinning Writers
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $65
Application Deadline: 6/30/21
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A grand prize of $5,000 and seven additional prizes of $1,000 each given annually for self-published books of poetry, fiction, genre fiction, creative nonfiction, children’s...
read moreOmnidawn Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 6/30/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 100 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Rae Armantrout will judge. Submit a manuscript of 20 to 40...
read moreFinishing Line Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 6/30/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Finishing Line Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook by a writer who identifies as a woman and has not yet published a full-length...
read moreCider Press Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $26
Application Deadline: 6/30/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Cider Press Review, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48...
read moreNowhere Magazine
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 6/30/21
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Nowhere Magazine is given twice yearly for a poem, a short story, or an essay that “possesses a powerful sense of people, place,...
read moreTwyckenham Notes
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 6/30/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Twyckenham Notes will be given annually for a poem or group of poems. The editors will judge. Submit up to seven poems with a $20...
read moreBarrow Street Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 6/30/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Barrow Street Press is given annually for a poetry collection. A. Van Jordan will judge. Submit a manuscript of 50 to 80 pages with a $25...
read moreLos Angeles Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 6/30/21
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Los Angeles Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, a short short story, and an essay. Francesca Bell will...
read moreGriffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry
Cash Prize: $51,078
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/30/21
Genre: Poetry
Two prizes of CAD $65,000 (approximately $51,078) each are given annually for poetry collections by a Canadian poet or translator and by an international poet or translator...
read moreMoon City Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 7/1/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Moon City Press is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a...
read moreFuturepoem
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 7/1/21
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000, publication by Futurepoem, and 25 author copies is given annually for a book of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or hybrid-genre work. The editors will judge....
read moreNuclear Age Peace Foundation
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 7/1/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation website is given annually for a single poem that explores “positive visions of peace and the human spirit...
read moreConduit Books & Ephemera
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 7/5/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500, publication by Conduit Books & Ephemera, and 30 author copies is given annually for a debut poetry collection. Bob Hicok will judge. Submit a manuscript...
read moreMudfish
Cash Prize: $1,200
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 7/15/21
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,200 and publication in Mudfish is given annually for a single poem. Marie Howe will judge. Submit up to three poems of any length with a $20 entry fee ($3...
read moreCincinnati Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 7/15/21
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Cincinnati Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Rebecca Lindenberg will judge in poetry,...
read moreBellevue Literary Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 7/15/21
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Bellevue Literary Review are given annually for a group of poems, a story, and an essay about health, healing, illness,...
read more