A prize of $2,000 and publication by Persea Books is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who is a U.S. citizen or resides in the United States and who has...
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.
James Jones Literary Society
Cash Prize: $12,000
Entry Fee: $33
Application Deadline: 3/15/26
Genre: Fiction
A fellowship of $12,000 is given annually for a novel-in-progress that honors “the spirit of unblinking honesty, determination, and insight into modern culture as exemplified...
read moreIowa City UNESCO City of Literature
Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/15/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $25,000 is given annually to a writer “who, like Paul Engle, represents a pioneering spirit in the world of literature through writing, editing, publishing, or...
read moreVanderbilt University Press
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 3/15/26
Genre: Poetry
An award of $10,000 and publication by Vanderbilt University Press will be given annually for a poetry collection. The winner will also receive a weeklong residency at...
read moreAirlie Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 3/15/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Airlie Press is given annually for a poetry collection. The editors will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit a...
read moreAmerican Literary Translators Association
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/16/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a book of fiction or nonfiction translated from Italian into English and published in the previous year. Publishers or translators may...
read moreAmerican Literary Translators Association
Cash Prize: $4,000
Entry Fee: $50
Application Deadline: 3/16/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation
Two prizes of $4,000 each are given annually for a poetry collection and a book of prose translated from any language into English and published in the previous year....
read moreAmerican Literary Translators Association
Cash Prize: $3,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/16/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation
A prize of $3,000 is given annually for a debut poetry collection, book of fiction, or book of creative nonfiction translated from any language into English and published in...
read moreAmerican Literary Translators Association
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/16/26
Genre: Poetry, Translation
A prize of $10,000 is given annually for a poetry collection or a text from Zen Buddhism translated from an Asian language into English and published in the previous year....
read moreAmerican Literary Translators Association
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/16/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation
A prize of $5,000 is given annually for a book of fiction or nonfiction translated from Basque, Catalan, Galician, or Spanish into English and written by an author of Spanish...
read moreDAG Foundation
Cash Prize: $20,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/18/26
Genre: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
A prize of $20,000 will be given annually to support work on a second book of fiction or creative nonfiction by an emerging writer who “expands the possibilities for American...
read moreNational Poetry Series
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $35
Application Deadline: 3/21/26
Genre: Poetry
Five prizes of $10,000 each and publication by participating trade, university, or small press publishers are given annually for poetry collections by U.S. poets. Using only...
read moreFour Way Books
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication by Four Way Books is given annually for a poetry collection. The winner is also invited to participate in a reading either virtually or in...
read moreTRP
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000, publication by TRP: the University Press of Sam Houston State University, and 10 author copies is given annually for a poetry chapbook. francine j. harris...
read moreBanipal Trust for Arab Literature
Cash Prize: $4,038
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Translation
A prize of £3,000 (approximately $4,038) is given annually for a poetry collection or a book of fiction translated from Arabic into English and published for the first time in...
read moreA Public Space
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three six-month fellowships of $1,000 each are given annually to emerging poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers who “embrace risk in their work” and have not published...
read moreTRP
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $20
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $1,000, publication by TRP: the University Press of Sam Houston State University, and 10 author copies is given annually for a novella. Using only the online...
read morePress 53
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Prime Number Magazine are given annually for a poem and a short story. Using only the online submission system, submit a...
read moreUrsula K. Le Guin Foundation
Cash Prize: $25,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Genre: Fiction
A prize of $25,000 is given annually for a book of fiction published in the previous year that “reflects the concepts and ideas that were central to [Ursula K. Le Guin’s] own...
read moreLaura Boss Poetry Foundation
Cash Prize: $5,000
Entry Fee: $25
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $5,000, publication by New York Quarterly Books, and 25 author copies is given annually for a collection of narrative poetry. The winner is also invited to give a...
read morePinch
Cash Prize: $2,000
Entry Fee: $28
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $2,000 and publication in Pinch will be given annually for a single poem. Using only the online submission system, submit up to six poems totaling no more...
read moreBlack Lawrence Press
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Cross-Genre
A prize of $1,000, publication by Black Lawrence Press, and 10 author copies is given annually for a collection of poems, short stories, essays, or hybrid work. The editors...
read moreBook Industry Charitable Foundation
Cash Prize: $10,000
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Five prizes of $10,000 each are given annually for an excerpt of a poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction manuscript-in-progress written by a bookseller. Writers who are...
read moreLascaux Review
Cash Prize: $1,000
Entry Fee: $15
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Genre: Poetry
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Lascaux Review is given annually for a single poem. Previously published and unpublished poems are accepted. Using only the online...
read moreGeorgia Writers
Cash Prize: $500
Entry Fee: $0
Application Deadline: 3/31/26
Genre: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
Three grants of $500 each will be given annually to a poet, fiction writer, and nonfiction writer to “amplify the voices of LGBTQIA+ youth in Georgia.” Grantees will also...
read more