A prize of $1,000 and publication in Tampa Review is given annually for a short story. The editors will judge. Submit a story of 500 to 5,000 words with a $20 entry...
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.
Nowhere Magazine
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 12/31/18
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 place.” Porter...
read moreBoulevard
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $16
Application Deadline: 12/31/18
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for a short story by a writer who has not published a nationally distributed book. Submit a story of...
read moreBefore Columbus Foundation
Cash Prize:
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/18
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Awards are given annually for books published in the United States during the previous year to recognize “outstanding literary achievement from the entire spectrum of America’s...
read moreFlorida Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/31/18
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Florida Review is given annually for a chapbook of short fiction, short nonfiction, or graphic narrative. Submit a manuscript of...
read moreLivingston Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 12/31/18
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000, publication by Livingston Press, and 100 author copies is given annually for a first collection of short stories by a U.S. citizen. Fiction writers who have...
read moreVirginia Commonwealth University
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/18
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a first novel published during the previous year. The winner and the winner's agent will also receive lodging and travel expenses to...
read moreNew Rivers Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/31/18
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by New Rivers Press are given annually for a poetry collection and a book of fiction or creative nonfiction by an emerging writer....
read moreBlack Caucus of the American Library Association
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/18
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $500 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a first novel, a book of fiction, and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) by an African...
read moreRiver Styx
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 12/31/18
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication in River Styx is given annually for a short short story. Submit up to three stories of no more than 500 words each with a $10 entry...
read moreCleveland Foundation
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/18
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Prizes of $10,000 each are given annually for books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction published during the previous year that "contribute to our understanding of racism and...
read moreThree Percent
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/18
Two awards of $10,000 each are given annually for a poetry collection and a short story collection or novel translated into English for the first time and published in the...
read morePress 53
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 12/31/18
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000, publication by Press 53, and 50 author copies is given annually for a story collection. Kevin Morgan Watson will judge. Submit a manuscript of 100 to 250...
read moreLascaux Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 12/31/18
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Lascaux Review is given annually for a short story. The winner and finalists will also be published in the 2019 Lascaux Prize...
read moreBayou Magazine
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/1/19
Two prizes of $1,000 each and a subscription to Bayou Magazine are given annually for a poem and a short story. Submit up to three poems of any length or a story or...
read moreMississippi Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 1/1/19
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Mississippi Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Current or former University of Southern...
read moreWhitefish Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/1/19
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Whitefish Review is given annually for a short story. Rick Bass will judge. Using the online submission system, submit a story of...
read moreNorth Carolina Writers’ Network
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/2/19
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and possible publication in Carolina Quarterly will be given annually for a short story or an essay that “conveys the rich and varied existence of...
read moreGlimmer Train Press
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 1/2/19
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $2,500, publication in Glimmer Train Stories, and 20 copies of the prize issue is given annually for a short story about families of any configuration....
read moreSan José State University
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/2/19
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Yearlong residencies at San José State University in San José, California, which include a stipend of $15,000 each, are given annually to fiction writers and creative...
read morePoets & Writers, Inc.
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/7/19
Two prizes of $500 each are awarded annually to a poet and a fiction writer from a select state. Each winner also receives an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to meet...
read moreFrench-American Foundation
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/14/19
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of $10,000 each are given annually for translations from French into English of a book of fiction and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) published...
read moreThird Coast
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 1/15/19
Two awards of $1,000 each and publication in Third Coast are given annually for a poem and a short story. Leila Chatti will judge in poetry and Deborah Reed will judge...
read morePermafrost
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/15/19
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of Alaska Press is given in alternating years for a book of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. The 2019 prize will be given for a...
read moreBkMk Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/15/19
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication by BkMk Press are given annually for a poetry collection and a short story collection. Submit a manuscript of 50 to 110 pages of...
read more