A prize of $1,000 and publication by Schaffner Press is given annually for a poetry collection, a novel, a story collection, an essay collection, or a memoir that “deals in...
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.
Schaffner Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Pen America
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Nine fellowships of $1,500 each and participation in a virtual five-month mentorship program, which includes one-on-one mentorship with an established writer; introductions to...
read morePinch
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
An award of $1,000, publication in Pinch, and two contributor copies will be given annually for a work of flash creative nonfiction. Using only the online submission...
read moreNimrod International Journal
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Two prizes of $2,000 each and publication in Nimrod International Journal are given annually for a poem or group of poems and a work of fiction. A runner-up in each...
read moreGhost Story
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Ghost Story website is given biannually for a work of flash fiction with a supernatural or magical realist theme. The editors...
read moreChautauqua Institution
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
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 morePrairie Heritage, Inc.
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a published poetry collection, book of fiction, or book of creative nonfiction that “illuminates the heritage of North America’s mid-...
read moreFish Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,155
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,155) and publication in the annual Fish Publishing anthology is given annually for a short memoir. The winner is also invited to give a...
read moreAustin Community College
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,500 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a book of fiction, and a book of creative nonfiction published during the previous year. Authors or...
read moreBlack Lawrence Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Cross-Genre
A prize of $1,000, publication by Black Lawrence Press, and 10 author copies is given annually for a novel. The contest is open to traditional novels as well as “novels-in-...
read moreAmerican Short Fiction
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 2/1/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in American Short Fiction is given annually for a work of flash fiction. Using only the online submission system, submit up to two...
read moreWB Yeats Society of NY
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 2/1/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the WB Yeats Society of NY website is given annually for a single poem. The winner also receives a two-year membership to the organization...
read moreBrick Road Poetry Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 2/1/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Brick Road Poetry Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Matthew Layne will judge. Submit a manuscript of 50...
read moreSalem State University
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $10
Application Deadline: 2/1/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Soundings East, the annual literary journal of Salem State University, is given annually for a group of poems. Susan Rich will...
read moreStadler Center for Poetry & Literary Arts
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two residencies of up to four months at the Stadler Center for Poetry & Literary Arts at Bucknell University, which include a stipend of $5,000 each, are given annually to...
read moreBiographers International Organization
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/1/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two fellowships of $5,000 each are given annually to writers working on a book-length biography of an African American figure (or figures) “whose story provides a significant...
read morePoetry Center at Passaic County Community College
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/1/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and publication in Paterson Literary Review is given annually for a single poem. A second-place prize of $1,000 and publication is also given. The...
read morePoetry Center at Passaic County Community College
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 2/1/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 is given annually for a poetry collection published in the previous year. The winning poet is expected to participate in an awards ceremony, give a reading,...
read moreMasters Review
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/1/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $3,000 and online publication in Masters Review is given biannually for a short story by an emerging writer. Writers who have not published a book, have...
read moreSlippery Elm
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 2/1/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Slippery Elm are given annually for a single poem and a short story or essay. Using only the online submission system,...
read morePoetry Foundation
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/2/26
Genre: Poetry
An award of $10,000 and publication by Graywolf Press will be given triennially for a poetry collection by a U.S. poet who is 40 years old or older. Poets who have published no...
read moreSouthern Indiana Review
Cash Prize: $6,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 2/2/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $6,000 and publication by Southern Indiana Review Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Carl Phillips will judge. Submit 40 to 120 pages of poetry (no...
read moreAcademy of American Poets
Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 2/15/26
Genre: Poetry
A fellowship of $25,000 is given biennially to support the translation into English of a work of modern Italian poetry. The winning translator will also receive a five-week...
read moreSarabande Books
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $34
Application Deadline: 2/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication by Sarabande Books are given annually for a poetry collection, a work of fiction, and an essay collection. For the Kathryn A. Morton...
read more