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...
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.
Great Lakes Colleges Association
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/25/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Bridport Arts Centre
Cash Prize: $6,699
Entry Fee: $16
Application Deadline: 5/31/26
Two prizes of £5,000 (approximately $6,699) each and publication in the Bridport Prize anthology are given annually for a poem and a short story. A prize of £1,500 (...
read moreAnhinga Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 5/31/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Anhinga Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The winner also receives $500 to cover travel costs for the...
read moreOversound
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 5/31/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Oversound, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Ari Banias will judge. Using only the online submission...
read moreFence
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/31/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $5,000, publication by Fence Books (with distribution by Consortium), and 40 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who identifies as a...
read moreTwo Sylvias Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 5/31/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Two Sylvias Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Kim Addonizio will judge. Submit a manuscript of 17 to 24...
read moreSouthern Poetry Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 5/31/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Southern Poetry Review is given annually for a single poem. Submit three to five poems totaling no more than 10 pages with a $20...
read moreLivingston Press
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Cross-Genre
A prize of $500, publication by Livingston Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a novel-in-verse. Eleanor Boudreau will judge. Submit a manuscript of 90 to 160...
read morePEN America
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two grants of $5,000 each are given annually for poetry, fiction, and nonfiction works-in-progress “by immigrant and refugee writers, recognizing that the literature of...
read moreBoulevard
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 6/1/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for a group of poems by a poet who has not published a poetry collection with a nationally distributed...
read morePEN America
Cash Prize: $4,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation
Ten grants of $4,000 each are given annually to support the translation of book-length works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction that have not previously appeared in...
read moreGaudy Boy
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 6/1/26
Genre: Poetry
A grant of $1,500 and publication by Gaudy Boy, an imprint of the New York City–based literary nonprofit Singapore Unbound, is given annually for a poetry collection by a...
read moreHost Publications
Cash Prize: $8,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 6/1/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $8,000, publication by Host Publications, and 25 author copies will be given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Using only the online...
read moreMoon City Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 6/1/26
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by Moon City Press are given annually for a poetry collection and a short story collection. The editors will judge. Using only the...
read moreSouthern Humanities Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 6/1/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Southern Humanities Review is given annually for a “poem of witness in honor of the late poet Jake Adam York.” The winner also...
read moreBoa Editions
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/15/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Boa Editions is given annually for a poetry collection by a U.S.-based poet who is a woman of color, “including poets who identify as cis,...
read moreUniversity of Akron Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 6/15/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication by University of Akron Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Brenda Shaughnessy will judge. Using only the online submission system...
read moreTusculum Review
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 6/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Tusculum Review is given annually for a collection of poems, a short story, or an essay in alternating years. The winner’s work is...
read moreGriffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry
Cash Prize: $94,891
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/19/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $130,000 Canadian (approximately $94,891) is given annually for a poetry collection written in or translated into English by a living poet or translator from...
read moreGriffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry
Cash Prize: $7,299
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/19/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $10,000 Canadian (approximately $7,299) is awarded annually for a debut poetry collection by a living citizen or permanent resident of Canada published during the...
read moreArtist Trust
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/22/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Grants of $2,500 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers who are residents of Washington State. Students enrolled in a degree-granting program...
read moreWashington Writers’ Publishing House
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 6/30/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of $1,500 each, publication by Washington Writers’ Publishing House, and 25 author copies are given annually for a poetry collection and a short story collection or...
read moreAnthology Magazine
Cash Prize: $1,169
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 6/30/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,169) and publication in Anthology Magazine is given annually for a single poem. Rachael Hegarty will judge. Submit a poem of no...
read moreCider Press Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 6/30/26
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. Using only the online...
read more