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 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
Cleveland 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 moreTupelo Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 10/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Tupelo Press is given annually for a full- or chapbook-length poetry collection or a book of creative nonfiction (including memoir, essays...
read moreRiver Teeth
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 10/31/26
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of New Mexico Press is given annually for a book of creative nonfiction. Sue William Silverman will judge. Using only the online...
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 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 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 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 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 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...
read moreCommonwealth Club of California
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Five prizes of $2,500 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, a first book of fiction, a book of creative nonfiction, and a book dealing with a...
read morePushcart Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/15/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 is given occasionally for a fiction or nonfiction manuscript that has been rejected by a commercial publisher. The award recognizes “worthy manuscripts that...
read moreNarratively
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 11/15/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $3,000 and publication on Narratively’s storytelling platform is given annually for a short work of memoir written in the first person. Using only the online...
read moreBrooklyn Film & Arts Festival
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 11/15/26
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $500 and publication on the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival website is given annually for a work of nonfiction that is set in Brooklyn, New York, and renders the...
read moreCommunity of Literary Magazines & Presses
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $65
Application Deadline: 11/18/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $2,000 each are given annually for a book of poetry, a book of fiction, and a book of creative nonfiction published by an independent press in the current year...
read moreRed Hen Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 11/30/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Red Hen Press is given annually for a story or essay collection, a novel, a memoir, or a hybrid work of prose by a queer writer. Using only...
read moreGreen Linden Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 11/30/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Green Linden Press is given annually for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction translated from any language into English....
read morePushcart Press
Cash Prize: $0
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Publication in The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses is awarded annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction published by literary magazines...
read moreMassachusetts Center for the Book
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three awards of $1,000 each will be given annually for a poetry collection, book of fiction, and a book of nonfiction written by a current Massachusetts resident and published...
read moreTexas Institute of Letters
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 12/18/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A fellowship of $10,000 will be given annually to an emerging, mid-level, or returning writer to support the completion of a poetry collection, book of fiction, or book of...
read morePlentitudes
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 12/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Plentitudes is given annually for a single poem, a short story, an essay, and a work of flash fiction or nonfiction....
read moreBlack Caucus of the American Library Association
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a debut novel, a book of fiction, and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) by African...
read moreMississippi Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $16
Application Deadline: 1/1/27
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Mississippi Review are given annually for a single poem, a short story, and an essay. Current or former University of...
read more