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 to...
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.
Western Connecticut State University
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 6/13/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
New American Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 6/15/23
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,500, publication by New American Press, and 25 author copies is given annually for a book of fiction. Gabriel Bump will judge. Using only the online submission...
read more42 Miles Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 6/15/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by 42 Miles Press, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Current and former students of Indiana University South Bend...
read moreTowson University
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/15/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $1,000 is given annually for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction by a current resident of Maryland who has lived in the state for at least three years...
read moreBitter Oleander Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 6/15/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Bitter Oleander Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 80 pages with a $28 entry fee between May 1...
read moreUniversity of Akron Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 6/15/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication by University of Akron Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Sandra Beasley will judge. Using only the online submission system,...
read moreGreat Lakes Colleges Association
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/25/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes are given annually for first books by a poet, a fiction writer, and a creative nonfiction writer. The winners each receive an all-expenses-paid trip to several of...
read moreThe Moth
Cash Prize: $3,217
Entry Fee: $16
Application Deadline: 6/30/23
Genre: Fiction
A prize of €3,000 (approximately $3,217) is given annually for a short story. A prize of a weeklong retreat at Circle of Misse in Missé, France, with an open-ended travel...
read moreUniversity of North Texas Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 6/30/23
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication by University of North Texas Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Using only the online submission system, submit a...
read moreOmnidawn Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 6/30/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Omnidawn Publishing, and 20 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. Brody Parrish Craig will judge. Using only the online...
read moreWinning Writers
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $75
Application Deadline: 6/30/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A grand prize of $10,000 and eight additional prizes of $1,000 each are given annually for self-published and hybrid-published books (works published by presses that coordinate...
read moreUniversity of Pittsburgh Press
Cash Prize: $15,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/30/23
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $15,000 and publication by University of Pittsburgh Press is given annually for a collection of short fiction. Writers who have published at least one previous book...
read moreLascaux Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 6/30/23
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Lascaux Review online and in print is given annually for a work of flash fiction. Previously published stories are eligible. Using...
read morePoetry London
Cash Prize: $6,044
Entry Fee: $12
Application Deadline: 6/30/23
Genre: Poetry
A first-place prize of £5,000 (approximately $6,044), a second-place prize of £2,000 (approximately $2,417), and a third-place prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,209) are given...
read moreLos Angeles Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 6/30/23
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 short short story, and an essay. M. Soledad Caballero...
read moreBarrow Street Press
Cash Prize: $1,500
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 6/30/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,500 and publication by Barrow Street Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Nathalie Handal will judge. Submit a manuscript of 50 to 80 pages with a $25...
read moreAnthology Magazine
Cash Prize: $1,072
Entry Fee: $13
Application Deadline: 6/30/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of €1,000 (approximately $1,072) and publication in, plus a subscription to, Anthology Magazine will be given annually for a single poem. Rachael Hegarty will...
read moreBauhan Publishing
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 6/30/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Bauhan Publishing, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. Brad Crenshaw will judge. Using only the online submission...
read moreCider Press Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $26
Application Deadline: 6/30/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by Cider Press Review, and 25 author copies is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48...
read moreGriffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry
Cash Prize: $96,732
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 6/30/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $130,000 Canadian (approximately $96,732) is given annually for a poetry collection written or translated into English by a living poet or translator from anywhere...
read moreClaremont Graduate University
Cash Prize: $100,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 7/1/23
Genre: Poetry
The $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award is given annually to honor a book of poetry by a midcareer U.S. poet. The winner will spend one week in residence at Claremont Graduate...
read moreBellevue Literary Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 7/1/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Bellevue Literary Review are given annually for a poem, a short story, and an essay about health, healing, illness, the...
read moreNuclear Age Peace Foundation
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 7/1/23
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation website is given annually for a single poem that explores “positive visions of peace and the human spirit...
read moreBrooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival
Cash Prize: $1,750
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 7/1/23
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,750, publication on the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival (BCLF) website, and an invitation to participate in a BCLF podcast episode will be given annually for...
read moreMaine Arts Commission
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 7/3/23
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A fellowship of up to $5,000 is given annually to a poet, a fiction writer, a creative nonfiction writer, or a writer working in a genre outside these categories who has lived...
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