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...
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.
Alabama State Council on the Arts
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/2/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Poetry Foundation
Cash Prize: $27,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/2/26
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...
read moreTulipTree Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 3/8/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
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...
read moreRobinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 3/14/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a single poem. Andrew Schelling will judge. Submit up to three poems of no more than three pages each with a $10 entry fee by March 14....
read moreAirlie Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 3/15/26
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...
read moreVerse
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $17
Application Deadline: 3/15/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Factory Hollow Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook. The winner also receives an invitation to give a reading at the Tomaž Šalamun...
read moreVanderbilt University Press
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 3/15/26
Genre: Poetry
An award of $10,000 and publication by Vanderbilt University Press will be given annually for a poetry collection. The winner will also receive a weeklong residency at...
read morePrairie Schooner
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 3/15/26
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...
read moreBellingham Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 3/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
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...
read moreBroadside Lotus Press
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/15/26
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...
read morePersea Books
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 3/15/26
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...
read moreIowa City UNESCO City of Literature
Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $25,000 is given annually to a writer “who, like Paul Engle, represents a pioneering spirit in the world of literature through writing, editing, publishing, or...
read moreAmerican Literary Translators Association
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/16/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation
A prize of $3,000 is given annually for a debut poetry collection, book of fiction, or book of creative nonfiction translated from any language into English and published in...
read moreAmerican Literary Translators Association
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/16/26
Genre: Poetry, Translation
A prize of $10,000 is given annually for a poetry collection or a text from Zen Buddhism translated from an Asian language into English and published in the previous year....
read moreAmerican Literary Translators Association
Cash Prize: $4,000
Entry Fee: $50
Application Deadline: 3/16/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation
Two prizes of $4,000 each are given annually for a poetry collection and a book of prose translated from any language into English and published in the previous year....
read moreNational Poetry Series
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 3/21/26
Genre: Poetry
Five prizes of $10,000 each and publication by participating trade, university, or small press publishers are given annually for poetry collections by U.S. poets. Using only...
read moreTrio House Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
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 by a poet living in the United States....
read morePress 53
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Prime Number Magazine are given annually for a poem and a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit a...
read moreFour Way Books
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Four Way Books is given annually for a poetry collection. The winner is also invited to participate in a reading either virtually or in...
read moreTRP
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by TRP: the University Press of Sam Houston State University, and 10 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. francine j. harris...
read moreGeorgia Writers
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three grants of $500 each will be given annually to a poet, fiction writer, and nonfiction writer to “amplify the voices of LGBTQIA+ youth in Georgia.” Grantees will also...
read moreA Public Space
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three six-month fellowships of $1,000 each are given annually to emerging poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers who “embrace risk in their work” and have not published...
read moreLaura Boss Poetry Foundation
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $5,000, publication by New York Quarterly Books, and 25 author copies is given annually for a collection of narrative poetry. The winner is also invited to give a...
read moreLascaux Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Lascaux Review is given annually for a single poem. Previously published and unpublished poems are accepted. Using only the online...
read moreBlack Lawrence Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Cross-Genre
A prize of $1,000, publication by Black Lawrence Press, and 10 author copies is given annually for a collection of poems, short stories, essays, or hybrid work. The editors...
read more