A prize of $1,000 and publication by Essay Press will be given annually for lyric essays, prose poems, and works of experimental biography and autobiography that “challenge 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.
Essay Press/University of Washington Bothell
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 12/15/22
Genre: Poetry, Creative Nonfiction
Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown
Cash Prize: $8,000
Entry Fee: $50
Application Deadline: 12/15/22
Fellowships for a seven-month residency at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, are given annually to four poets and four fiction writers who have not...
read moreLongleaf Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 12/15/22
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Longleaf Press, and 25 author copies will be given annually for a poetry collection. The winner will also be invited to give a virtual reading...
read moreCenter for Book Arts
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 12/15/22
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $500 and letterpress publication by the Center for Book Arts is given annually for a poetry chapbook. The winner will also receive 10 copies of their chapbook and an...
read moreStory
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/15/22
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Story is given annually for a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit a short story of no more than 10,000...
read moreVirginia Commonwealth University
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/30/22
Genre: Fiction
A prize of at least $3,000 is given annually for a debut novel published during the current year. The winner and two additional guest panelists (usually the winner’s agent and...
read moreCodhill Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 12/30/22
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Codhill Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. James Sherwood will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 70...
read moreOmnidawn Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $18
Application Deadline: 12/31/22
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 20 author copies is given annually for a work of fabulist fiction. Michelle Ruiz Keil will judge. Using only the...
read moreLitMag
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 12/31/22
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $2,500 and publication in LitMag is given annually for a short story. The winner will have their work reviewed by agents from Bankoff Collaborative, the Bent...
read moreBlack Caucus of the American Library Association
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/22
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for a poetry collection, a first novel, a book of fiction, and a book of nonfiction (including creative nonfiction) by African...
read morePoetry Society of America
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 12/31/22
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Poetry Society of America website is given annually for a group of poems from a manuscript-in-progress. Wayne Miller will judge. Using...
read morePoetry Society of America
Cash Prize: $20,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/22
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $20,000 is given annually for a unified and complete sequence of poems published in the United States in a print or online journal, a chapbook, or a book during the...
read moreAmerican Library Association
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 12/31/22
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a novel published in the current year that is set in a period when the United States was at war. Publishers or authors may submit seven...
read morePoetry Society of America
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 12/31/22
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,500 and publication on the Poetry Society of America website is given annually to a poet over 40 who has published no more than one book. Nuar Alsadir will judge...
read moreMichigan Quarterly Review
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/31/22
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $2,000 and publication in Michigan Quarterly Review will be given annually for a short story. Desiree Cooper will judge. Using only the online submission...
read moreKallisto Gaia Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/31/22
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Kallisto Gaia Press is given annually for a collection of short works of fiction. Lesley Bannatyne will judge. Using only the online...
read moreLascaux Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 12/31/22
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Lascaux Review is given annually for a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit a story of up to 10,000 words...
read moreBurnside Review Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/31/22
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Burnside Review Press, and 10 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Jaswinder Bolina will judge. Using only the online...
read moreTupelo Press
Cash Prize: $9,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 12/31/22
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $9,000, publication by Tupelo Press, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The winner also receives the option of either a weeklong...
read moreThe Moth
Cash Prize: $6,128
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 12/31/22
Genre: Poetry
A prize of €6,000 (approximately $6,128) and publication in the Moth is given annually for a single poem. Three runner-up prizes of €1,000 (approximately $1,021) each...
read moreKallisto Gaia Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/31/22
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Kallisto Gaia Press is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Austin Smith will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit 28 to...
read moreOhio University Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 12/31/22
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Ohio University Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Claire Wahmanholm will judge. Using only the online submission system,...
read moreBoulevard
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $16
Application Deadline: 12/31/22
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for a short story by a writer who has not published a nationally distributed book. The editors will...
read moreCrosswinds
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 12/31/22
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Crosswinds is given annually for a single poem. Alexandria Peary will judge. Submit up to three poems of no more than 60 lines each...
read moreFlorida Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 12/31/22
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Florida Review is given annually for a chapbook of short fiction, short nonfiction, or graphic narrative. Submit a manuscript of up...
read more