A yearlong fellowship of $2,000, access to One Story online classes, and admission to One Story’s weeklong summer writers’ conference, which includes craft...
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.
Pulitzer Prizes
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $75
Application Deadline: 10/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Six prizes of $15,000 each are given annually for books of poetry, fiction, general nonfiction, U.S. history, biography, and memoir or autobiography first published in the...
read moreTennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/15/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 is given annually for a short story by a writer who has not published a book of fiction. The winner will also receive domestic airfare of up to $500, private...
read moreCleveland Foundation
Cash Prize: $30,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 10/16/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $30,000 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, a memoir or autobiography, and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction)...
read moreTuliptree Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/17/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in the Fall/Winter issue of TulipTree Review is given annually for a humorous poem, story, or essay. Submit a poem of up to five...
read moreCreative Writing Ink
Cash Prize: $1,335
Entry Fee: $16
Application Deadline: 10/21/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,335), publication on the Creative Writing Ink website, and a free online writing course with Creative Writing Ink is given annually for a...
read moreTucson Festival of Books
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 10/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The winners will also receive scholarships to attend a workshop at the...
read moreBedford Competition
Cash Prize: $2,670
Entry Fee: $11
Application Deadline: 10/31/26
Two prizes of £2,000 (approximately $2,670) each and publication in the Bedford Competition anthology are given annually for a poem and a short story. Fran Lock will judge in...
read moreCloudbank Books
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 10/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Cross-Genre
A prize of $1,000, publication by Cloudbank Books, and 50 author copies is given annually for a collection of poetry, flash fiction, or a combination of the two. Submit a...
read moreJohn Updike Society
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and a two-week residency at the Mission Hill Casitas that John Updike owned and worked out of in Tucson is given annually for a group of poems or a work of...
read moreAmerican Academy in Rome
Cash Prize: $16,000
Entry Fee: $50
Application Deadline: 11/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Half-term and full-term fellowships of $16,000 and $30,000 respectively are given annually to artists, academics, and creative writers, including poets, fiction writers, and...
read moreWillow Springs Books
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 11/1/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Willow Springs Books is given annually for a short story collection. Submit a manuscript of three or more stories totaling at least 100...
read moreFiction Collective Two
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/1/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $3,000 and publication by Fiction Collective Two, an imprint of University of Alabama Press, is given annually for a novel, a story collection, a novella, or a...
read moreNorth American Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $23
Application Deadline: 11/1/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in North American Review is given annually for a work of speculative fiction. Kate Folk will judge. Submit up to two works of flash...
read moreMalahat Review
Cash Prize: $1,405
Entry Fee: $21
Application Deadline: 11/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $2,000 Canadian (approximately $1,405) each and publication in Malahat Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only...
read moreFonograf Editions
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 11/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,500, publication by Fonograf Editions, and 15 author copies will be given annually for a book in any genre, including poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and...
read moreFiction Collective Two
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/1/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $15,000 and publication by Fiction Collective Two, an imprint of University of Alabama Press, is given annually for a novel, a story collection, a novella, or a...
read moreEpiphany
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $2,000 and publication in Epiphany is given annually for a poem or a group of poems, a work of fiction, or a work of creative nonfiction. The winner will...
read moreStanford University
Cash Prize: $75,000
Entry Fee: $55
Application Deadline: 11/2/26
Ten fellowships, five in poetry and five in fiction, of $75,000 each per year to attend Stanford University’s two-year creative writing program are given annually for...
read moreMasters Review
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 11/8/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $3,000 and publication in Masters Review is given annually for an excerpt of an unpublished novel or novel-in-progress by an emerging writer. The winner...
read moreNarrative
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 11/13/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $2,500 is given annually for a short story, a work of flash fiction, an essay, a memoir, a photo essay, a short graphic narrative, or an excerpt from a longer work...
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