Writing 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.

Winning Writers

Cash Prize: $3,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/1/26

Two prizes of $3,500 each, two gift certificates for two-year memberships to the literary database Duotrope, and publication on the Winning Writers website are given annually...

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High Desert Museum

Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/1/26

A prize of $3,000 is given annually for a work of nonfiction that recognizes “the vital role deserts play worldwide in the ecosystem and the human narrative.” The winner is...

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Interlochen Center for the Arts

Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 5/1/26

A prize of $25,000 and a two- to three-day residency at Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan, is given annually for a book of fiction or nonfiction published in...

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Trio House Press

Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 5/15/26

A prize of $1,000, publication by Trio House Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a book of nonfiction by a writer living in the United States. Deborah Derrickson...

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