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 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.
Black Lawrence Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Cross-Genre
Iowa Review
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,500 each and publication in Iowa Review are given annually for works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Using only the online submission...
read moreMoney for Women/Barbara Deming Memorial Fund
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Grants of up to $2,000 each are given in alternating years to feminist poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers who are citizens of the United States or Canada. This year...
read moreRegal House Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Regal House Publishing is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages with a $25...
read moreswamp pink
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $2,000 each and publication in swamp pink are given annually for a single poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the online submission system,...
read moreSchaffner Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 1/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
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 morePen 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 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 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 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 moreFinishing Line Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/15/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Finishing Line Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Leah Huete de Maines will judge. Submit a manuscript of 16 to 34 pages, a...
read morePlentitudes
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 2/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in the Plentitudes is given annually for a single poem, a short story, an essay, and a work of flash fiction or nonfiction....
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