Seven grants of $7,000 each will be given annually to emerging poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers with works-in-progress and “for whom a monetary boost...
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.
The de Groot Foundation
Cash Prize: $7,000
Entry Fee: $22
Application Deadline: 2/12/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Sarabande Books
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $29
Application Deadline: 2/15/23
Two prizes of $2,000 each and publication by Sarabande Books are given annually for collections of poetry and fiction. For the Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry, using only the...
read moreSyracuse University Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/15/23
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Syracuse University Press is given biennially in alternating years for either a debut fiction or a debut nonfiction manuscript written by a...
read moreSustainable Arts Foundation
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/24/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Up to 20 awards of $5,000 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers with children. Writers with at least one child under the age of 18...
read moreAssociation of Writers & Writing Programs
Cash Prize: $5,500
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of $5,500 each and publication by a participating press are given annually for a poetry collection and a story collection. In addition, two prizes of $2,500 each and...
read moreChautauqua Institution
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $5,000 and publication in Chautauqua is given annually for a single work of fiction or nonfiction by an emerging writer displaying “daring formal and...
read moreBlack Caucus of the American Library Association
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
Two prizes of $2,500 each are given annually for a poetry e-book and a fiction e-book by an African American writer self-published in the United States during the previous year...
read moreAustin Community College
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
Two prizes of $1,500 each are given annually for a poetry collection and a book of fiction published during the previous year. Authors or publishers may submit three copies of...
read moreRed Hen Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a book of fiction or nonfiction by a writer who identifies as a woman. Cai Emmons will judge. Using...
read moreFish Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,035
Entry Fee: $14
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
Genre: Fiction
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,035) and publication in the Fish Publishing anthology is given annually for a short short story. The winner is also invited to give a...
read moreMinds Shine Bright
Cash Prize: $1,031
Entry Fee: $3
Application Deadline: 2/28/23
A prize of $1,600 AUD (approximately $1,031) and publication in the Confidence Minds Shine Bright anthology will be given annually for works of poetry or fiction exploring the...
read moreBiographers International Organization
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a work-in-progress by a writer who has not published a biography. The winner will also receive review of their proposal by an agent,...
read morePoets & Writers, Inc.
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
Two prizes of $500 each are awarded annually to a poet and a fiction writer from a select state. Each winner will also receive a monthlong residency at the Jentel Artist...
read moreKansas City Public Library
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
A prize of $10,000 is given in alternating years for a poetry collection or a novel by an author whose work “demonstrates a commitment to social justice in America and/or the...
read moreMississippi Arts Commission
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Grants of up to $5,000 each are given in alternating years to Mississippi poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. This year the fellowships will be offered in...
read moreUniversity of Wisconsin
Cash Prize: $39,000
Entry Fee: $50
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
An academic year in residence, which includes a stipend of at least $39,000, at the University of Wisconsin in Madison is given annually to at least five writers working on a...
read moreAlabama State Council on the Arts
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/1/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Approximately two fellowships of $5,000 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers who have lived in the state of Alabama for at least...
read moreDayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $100
Application Deadline: 3/3/23
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of $10,000 each are given annually for a book of fiction and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) published in the previous year that “foster peace,...
read moreTulipTree Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 3/8/23
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 spirit...
read moreNational Endowment for the Arts
Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/8/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Around 35 grants of $25,000 each are given annually in alternating years to poets and prose writers to “enable the recipients to set aside time for writing, research, travel,...
read moreSelected Shorts
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 3/10/23
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and tuition for a 10-week writing class through New York City’s Gotham Writers Workshop is given annually for a short story. The winning work will be...
read morePrairie Schooner
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 3/15/23
Two prizes of $3,000 each and publication by University of Nebraska Press are given annually for a poetry collection and a story collection. Kwame Dawes will judge. Submit a...
read moreJames Jones Literary Society
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $33
Application Deadline: 3/15/23
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $10,000 is given annually for a novel-in-progress by a U.S. writer who has not published a novel. The first runner-up will receive $3,000 and the second runner-up...
read moreHidden River Arts
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 3/15/23
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Sowilo Press is given annually for a first book of fiction by a woman writer over the age of 40. Works translated into English are eligible...
read moreLorian Hemingway Short Story Competition
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 3/15/23
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication on the competition website is given annually for a short story by a writer whose fiction has not appeared in a nationally distributed...
read more