A prize of $1,500, publication by Conduit Books & Ephemera, and 15 author copies is given annually for a debut poetry collection. Bob Hicok will judge. Submit a manuscript...
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.
Conduit Books & Ephemera
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 7/7/25
Genre: Poetry
Stony Brook Southampton
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 7/14/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a short story by a current undergraduate college student. The winner also receives a full scholarship to attend the Southampton Writers...
read moreRattle
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 7/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $15,000 and publication in Rattle is given annually for a single poem. A Readers’ Choice Award of $5,000 and publication is also given to one of ten finalists...
read moreComstock Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 7/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Comstock Review is given annually for a single poem. Carolyne Wright will judge. Submit up to five poems of no more than 60 lines...
read moreGhost Story
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 7/15/25
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 moreDIAGRAM/New Michigan Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 7/15/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Cross-Genre
A prize of $1,000, publication by New Michigan Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a chapbook of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or hybrid-genre work. Ander...
read moreThe Word Works
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 7/15/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by the Word Works, and 30 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who has published at least two full-length books of...
read moreWashington Writers’ Publishing House
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 7/15/25
Three prizes of $1,500 each, publication by Washington Writers’ Publishing House, and 25 author copies are given annually for a poetry collection, a short story collection or...
read moreWestern Connecticut State University
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 7/18/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction published in the previous year. The winners also receive $500 in travel expenses and...
read moreNarrative
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $26
Application Deadline: 7/18/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 is given annually for a poem or group of poems. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit up to five poems of any length with a...
read moreFarrar, Straus and Giroux
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 7/18/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $15,000 will be given annually to an emerging poet, fiction writer, or creative nonfiction writer from an underrepresented community who has not published and is not...
read morePress 53
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 7/31/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Press 53, and 53 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Tom Lombardo will judge. Submit a manuscript of 50 to 120 pages with...
read moreLos Angeles Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 7/31/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Los Angeles Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, a work of flash fiction, and an essay. Using only the...
read moreRed Wheelbarrow
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 7/31/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Red Wheelbarrow is given annually for a single poem. The winner also receives 20 copies of a letterpress broadside of the winning...
read moreMunster Literature Centre
Cash Prize: $2,235
Entry Fee: $21
Application Deadline: 7/31/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of €2,000 (approximately $2,235) and publication in Southword is given annually for a short story. The winner also receives a four-night stay at a hotel to give...
read moreNew Millennium Writings
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 7/31/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Four prizes of $1,000 each and publication in New Millennium Writings and on the journal’s website are given biannually for a poem, a short story, a short short story,...
read moreSewanee Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 7/31/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Sewanee Review are given annually for a single poem or group of poems, a short story, and an essay. Cindy Juyoung Ok will...
read moreNarrative
Cash Prize: $2,500
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 7/31/25
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $2,500 is given annually for a work of flash fiction, a short story, a graphic story, an essay, a memoir, or an excerpt from a work of fiction or creative nonfiction...
read moreAnthology Magazine
Cash Prize: $1,118
Entry Fee: $21
Application Deadline: 7/31/25
Genre: Fiction
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,118) and publication in Anthology Magazine is given annually for a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit a...
read moreBlack Warrior Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 8/1/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Black Warrior Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay. Using only the online submission system,...
read morePrairie Schooner
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 8/1/25
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Prairie Schooner is given annually for an essay. Submit up to 5,000 words of prose with a $20 entry fee by August 1. Visit the...
read moreBOA Editions
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 8/1/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication by BOA Editions will be given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who is a woman of color and lives in the United States, “including...
read moreDelaware Division of the Arts
Cash Prize: $8,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 8/1/25
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Established Professional Fellowships of $8,000 each and Emerging Artist Fellowships of $5,000 each are given annually to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers...
read moreRadar Poetry
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 8/1/25
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Radar Poetry is given annually for a group of poems by a poet who identifies as a woman. Diane Seuss will judge. Using only the...
read moreSeneca Review Books
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $27
Application Deadline: 8/1/25
Genre: Poetry, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Seneca Review Books is given biennially for a collection of lyric essays. The winner will also receive an invitation to give a reading with...
read more