A prize of $2,500 is given annually for a work of flash fiction, a short story, a graphic story, an essay, a memoir, or an excerpt from a work of fiction or creative nonfiction...
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.
Narrative
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 7/31/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
New Millennium Writings
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 7/31/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in New Millennium Writings and on the journal’s website are given biannually for a poem, a short story, a short short story,...
read moreSewanee Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 7/31/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Sewanee Review are given annually for a single poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Cindy Juyoung Ok will...
read moreLos Angeles Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 7/31/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Los Angeles Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, a work of flash fiction, and an essay. Using only the...
read morePrairie Schooner
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 8/1/25
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Prairie Schooner is given annually for an essay. Submit up to 5,000 words of prose with a $20 entry fee by August 1. Visit the...
read moreDelaware Division of the Arts
Cash Prize: $8,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 8/1/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Established Professional Fellowships of $8,000 each and Emerging Artist Fellowships of $5,000 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers...
read moreGranum Foundation
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 8/1/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $5,000 is given annually to a poet, fiction writer, or creative nonfiction writer to support the completion of a manuscript-in-progress. Up to three finalists are...
read moreSeneca Review Books
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 8/1/25
Genre: Poetry, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Seneca Review Books is given biennially for a collection of lyric essays. The winner will also receive an invitation to give a reading with...
read moreBlack Warrior Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 8/1/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Black Warrior Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the online submission system,...
read moreLiterary Arts
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 8/8/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Fellowships of $3,500 each are given annually to aid Oregon writers in initiating, developing, or completing literary projects in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction....
read moreTulipTree Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 8/9/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a poem, a short story, or an essay that responds to the following prompt: “What if the only way to save yourself from this reality is to...
read moreFuturepoem
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 8/15/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Cross-Genre
A prize of $1,000, publication by Futurepoem, and 25 author copies is given annually for a book of innovative poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or hybrid work “that...
read moreIndiana Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 8/15/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Indiana Review is given annually for a poem or a work of flash fiction or creative nonfiction. Submit up to three poems, stories, or...
read moreHowling Bird Press
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 8/31/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $2,500 and publication by Howling Bird Press is given in alternating years for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. The 2026 prize will be awarded in...
read moreBlack Lawrence Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 8/31/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000, publication by Black Lawrence Press, and 10 author copies is given annually for a debut collection of poems, short stories, or essays. The editors and a...
read moreKinsman Quarterly
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 8/31/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Kinsman Quarterly is given annually for a group of poems, a short story, or an essay on a theme related to African culture or...
read moreMaine Arts Commission
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/3/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A fellowship of up to $5,000 is given annually to a poet, a fiction writer, a creative nonfiction writer, or a writer working in a genre outside these categories who is a...
read moreLiterary Arts
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $55
Application Deadline: 9/5/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for books of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and general nonfiction published in the current year by writers living in...
read moreDogwood
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $12
Application Deadline: 9/5/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Dogwood are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the online submission system, submit up to...
read moreMasters Review
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 9/7/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $3,000 and publication in Masters Review is given annually for a short story or an essay by an emerging writer. Writers who have not published a book, self-...
read moreHarvard University
Cash Prize: $78,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/11/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Fellowships of $78,000 each, as well as office space at the Radcliffe Institute and access to the libraries at Harvard University, are given annually to poets, fiction writers...
read moreAmerican-Scandinavian Foundation
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 9/15/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation
A prize of $2,500 and publication of an excerpt in Scandinavian Review is given annually for an English translation of a work of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction...
read moreSanta Fe Writers Project
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 9/15/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication by the Santa Fe Writers Project is given biennially for a book of fiction or creative nonfiction. Deesha Philyaw will judge. Using only the...
read more